SMS Functionality in Each Scenario
Explains how SMS functions in different scenarios, such as when a practitioner books an appointment, a patient replies to an SMS reminder and so on.
user > Settings > Centre > Patient Messaging > Appointment reminders tab.| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| If the practice has booked an appointment | Patient receives an SMS reminder before their appointment based on the centre's before appointment rule. For more information, see Create Automated SMS Appointment Reminders. |
| If the patient has replied to an SMS reminder and confirmed their appointment | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Booked to
Confirmed in the
Appointments section. For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. After the status is updated, an SMS is automatically sent to the patient, showing that they have confirmed the appointment. |
| If the patient has replied to an SMS reminder and declined their appointment | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Booked to
Declined in the
Appointments section. For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. After the status is updated, an SMS is automatically sent to the patient, showing that they have declined the appointment. |
| If the patient has responded to an SMS reminder with an unrecognised message | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Booked to Reply
Unclear in the
Appointments section. For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. After you manually update the status of an appointment, the patient receives an SMS showing the new appointment status. |
| If the patient has responded multiple times to an SMS reminder | Helix
only considers the first respond to an SMS. For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. After you manually update the status of an appointment, the patient receives an SMS showing the new appointment status. |
| If the practice has cancelled an appointment | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Booked to
Declined in the
Appointments section. For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. Typically you should contact a patient before cancelling their appointment. After an appointment has been cancelled and its status changed to Declined in Helix, no SMS can be sent and the patient cannot reply to previous SMS messages for that appointment. |
| If the practice reschedules an appointment | The appointment status is automatically updated from Booked to Rescheduled in the Appointments section, send an SMS to the patient manually. |
| If the patient has responded to the SMS and confirmed the rescheduled appointment | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Rescheduled to
Confirmed in the
Appointments section. After the status is updated, the patient automatically receives an SMS with confirmation of their appointment. |
| If the patient has responded to the rescheduled appointment SMS with an unrecognised message | The appointment status is automatically updated from
Rescheduled to
Reply Unclear in the
Appointments section.For more information about viewing and
managing the patient replies, see View Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders and Manage Patient Replies to SMS Appointment Reminders. After you manually update the status of an appointment, the patient receives an SMS showing the new appointment status. |