Creating recare communications

You can create a recare communication (an email message and a text message that get sent to patients automatically regarding their prophyrecare, using procedure codes D1110 and D1120).

Notes:

  • Patient communications are location-specific (each location of your organization has its own communication settings).

  • A patient (assuming he or she is his or her own primary contact) receives patient communications only if the patient's status is New or Active. Also, if a new or an active patient has a non-patient primary contact, the primary contact receives patient communications.

  • When a patient confirms an appointment from an email or a text message, Dentrix Ascend adds an entry for it in the audit log.

To create a recare communication

  1. If you are not already viewing the correct location, select it on the Location menu.

  2. On the Settings menu, under Patient Care, click (or tap) Patient Communications.

    The Patient Communications page opens.

  3. On the Recare tab, click (or tap) Create New.

    The wizard for creating a new recare communication appears.

  4. The communication's Active setting is On by default, which means that the corresponding email or text message will be sent to patients as applicable. Turn the communication Off to not send the corresponding email or text message to any patients.

  5. Set up the recare communication options on the following tabs as needed:

    • Notification Schedule

      Notification Schedule tab

      1. Set up the following options:

        • Send Reminder - Specify the number of days, weeks, or months before or after the due date of a patient's prophy recare that you want the message to be sent.

          Important: In accordance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), to ensure that you send automated text messages to patients only between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, local time zone, do not set up the notification to be sent X number of hours Before appointments start, and do not schedule appointments earlier than when message delivery is wanted. However, any notifications that are scheduled to be sent between 9:00 PM and 11:59 PM will be delivered at 9:00 PM, and any notifications that are scheduled to be sent between 12:00 AM and 8:00 AM will be delivered at 8:00 AM.

        • Exclude automated message - Turn this setting Off to use the default, automated message and any custom message that you specify later on in the wizard. Turn this setting On to use only a custom message that you enter later on in the wizard.

        • Continue sending - Turn this setting On to keep sending a patient this message at a specified interval after this notice is sent out initially (Repeat every number of days, weeks, or months) until the specified number of notices (up to 10) have been sent (Discontinue after [number of ] notices). Turn this setting Off to send this message only once.

      2. Click (or tap) Next to proceed to the next tab of the wizard, or click (or tap) any tab.

    • Preferred Sending Method

      Preferred Sending Method tab

      1. Select the format that you prefer to use for the message:

        • Email - Send this message by email. If a patient receiving the message does not have an email address, Dentrix Ascend will attempt to send the patient a text message.

        • Text - Send this message by text. If a patient receiving the message does not have a valid mobile phone number, Dentrix Ascend will attempt to send the patient an email message.

      2. Click (or tap) Next to proceed to the next tab of the wizard, or click (or tap) any tab.

    • Email Message

      Email Message tab

      1. Customize the email message as needed:

        • Subject - Type the subject of the email message as you want it to appear for patients.

        • Automated message - You cannot change the content, layout, or formatting of the default message. The correct patient names and appointment times will be inserted accordingly into the message. There is no automated message if the Exclude automated message setting is On on the Notification Schedule tab of the wizard.

          When a patient receives an email message, according to the recare communications setup, that has a Book Now button, he or she can click that button to schedule an appointment online.

        • Custom message - Type and format any custom text that you want to include in the message.

      2. Click (or tap) Next to proceed to the next tab of the wizard, or click (or tap) any tab.

    • Text Message

      Text Message tab

      1. Customize the text message as needed:

        • Automated message - You cannot change the content, layout, or formatting of the default message. The correct patient names and appointment times will be inserted accordingly into the message. There is no automated message if the Exclude automated message setting is On on the Notification Schedule tab of the wizard.

        • Custom message - Type any custom text that you want to include in the message.

        Note: Due to technological limitations with text messaging, a text message that exceeds 160 characters will be sent as multiple messages.

      2. Click (or tap) Next to proceed to the next tab of the wizard, or click (or tap) any tab.

    • Practice Info

      Practice Info tab

      The logo, name, address, and phone number of the selected location as they will be displayed on an email message appear. The name and phone number of the selected location as they will be displayed on a text message appear.

  6. On the Practice Info tab, click (or tap) Done to save the settings on all the tabs of the wizard.