Patient Communication in D4Web

Patient Communication in D4Web

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Patients can stipulate, usually on a New Patient Form or verbally thereafter, the methods they wish to be contacted via, then those preferences should be set in their file

Communication Methods overview

  1. Click the navigation menu > Patients > Patients page > Address sub-tab
  2. Ensure the patient has a Mobile if SMS will be used and/or E-mail entered if email will be used
To set Patient Preferred Contact Method for Appointments, Invoices, Recalls and Queries reminders, setup the communication methods required for each patient.
  1. Click the navigation menu > Patients > Patients page
  2. Send Appt reminder / Invoices / Recalls / Queries to: 
    1. Select the patient / other Family member / Guardian or Third Party from list
  3. Click the mceclip1.png icon for each type of communication
  4. In the “Select Allowed Communication Methods” window:
    1. Not known at this time (by default)
    2. Communicate using the following methods:
      1. A communication method can only be selected if a patient has the information recorded on file.
        Eg: Patient can only receive a SMS if they have a mobile number
      2. A patient can choose to have multiple communication methods
    3. The patient has requested no further communication
    4. Click OK
      mceclip2.png

Setup Unsubscribe Feature

Under the Australian Spam Act, every commercial electronic message must contain a functional and legitimate 'unsubscribe' facility. This is an electronic address the recipient can use to tell the sender they do not wish to receive messages (amca.gov.au, 2015).
The purpose of this feature is to allow users to easily comply with the requirement of this act by including an unsubscribe link in messages which they deem to be a commercial electronic message (CEM).
With the Unsubscribe feature activated, when a patient replies 'STOP' to an SMS or e-mail, D4Web will automatically mark their file as such, so they do not receive future communication. 
If a patient unsubscribed from eAppointment Reminders, he/she will still receive Recall Reminders. So to unsubscribe from other areas they will be required to reply 'STOP' to each SM and/or e-mail.

Prerequisites

Client must be on a current Support and Upgrade contract with Centaur
Either using Automation or Templates to send Reminders
Contact Centaur Support for back-end activation before proceeding below
Info
Activate feature in General Settings (link coming soon)

Setup Security

To prevent employees from re-subscribing a patient, put security on Access Re-subscribe 
and select who has permission to do so. 

Setup templates

Add the Unsubscribe option to your templates so patients have the option to opt-out.

Re-Subscribe a Patient

When a patient unsubscribes from any communication, the system will know which reminder type they are unsubscribing from (Appointment, Recalls or Queries).
For example, a patient can unsubscribe from Recall reminders, but still receive their Appointment reminders.
If the patient wishes to subscribe again, this is done manually within their patient file.
Note: Only those with security permission can complete this action. 
  1. Click the navigation menu > Patients > Patients page
  2. Address tab
    1. Click the hyperlink (blue text) against the method (mobile or E-mail) to re-subscribe

    2.  In the 'Unsubscribe Patient' window:
      1. Untick the options the patients wishes to subscribe to
      2. Click OK

Set Duty of Care to Overwrite Unsubscribe Feature

When a patient unsubscribes from a query (for example; a reactivation query) they will not be sent any further correspondence from Queries by that method. Sometimes a particular message must be received by all patients, and therefore the unsubscribe can be overwritten. 
  1. Click the navigation menu > Debtors & Marketing > Queries page
  2. Create the query as required
    1. Tick Duty of Care box, to overwrite the patient's unsubscribe status
  3. Click SMS, EMAIL or PRINT

Add Unsubscribe Option to Templates

Once the Unsubscribe feature is activated, each active template should have the option to opt-out added, so patients can respond and automatically be removed from the list. 
Templates are setup in multiple areas of D4Web, choose the relevant section from the below list and then follow the steps. 

Where to Find Templates

 Appointments
 (SMS only)
Click the navigation menu > Debtors and Marketing > Mail Merge Setup page > Mail Merge category: Appointments >  Select relevant template > Click Edit SMS Template icon 

 Recalls (Manual)Click the navigation menu > Debtors and Marketing > Mail Merge Setup page > Mail Merge category: Recalls >  Select relevant template > Click Edit SMS Template icon 

 Queries (Manual)

Click the navigation menu > Debtors and Marketing > Mail Merge Setup page > Mail Merge category: Queries >  Select relevant template > Click Edit SMS Template icon 

 Automation (Appointment 
 Reminders, Recalls and
 Queries)

Click the navigation menu > Location Management > Automation page > Appointments/Recalls/Queries tab >  Reminders sub tab > Select the relevant reminder > Click Edit SMS Template icon 

Add the Unsubscribe Input Field to SMS Templates

With the relevant template in view: 
  1. Select position in the template where the opt-out input field will be placed
  2. Mail Merge tab > Add Field
    1. Select STOP
    2. Click OK
    3. File menu > Save > Exit

Add Unsubscribe Input Field to E-mail Templates

E-mail templates must have a hyperlink added so patients can click on the link to unsubscribe from the e-mail. Instructions on how to access the Input Fields will differ depending on the version of MSWord or Rich Text Editor being used. 

With the relevant template in view:
  1. Select position in the template where the Hyperlink will be placed
  2. Mail Merge tab > Add Field
    1. Select Unsubscribe Link
    2. Click OK

    3. Add a sentence around the Unsubscribe link Input field to ensure it makes sense to the reader
    4. File menu > Save > Exit

Info
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