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Patient Communications User Guide

Overview

Zermmi automatically manages patient communications throughout the appointment lifecycle and for recall notifications. The system respects patient communication preferences (email, SMS, WhatsApp) and sends messages in the patient's preferred language.

Automatic Communications

These communications are sent automatically by the system without requiring any action from practitioners.

Appointment Confirmations

  • When: Immediately when an appointment is created
  • Content: Appointment details (date, time, practitioner, clinic address)
  • Purpose: Confirm the appointment booking with the patient

24-Hour Reminders

  • When: Automatically scheduled 24 hours before the appointment start time
  • Content: Reminder of upcoming appointment with all details
  • Purpose: Reduce no-shows by reminding patients of their appointment
  • Note: If an appointment is rescheduled, the reminder is automatically updated to the new time

Rescheduling Notifications

  • When: Whenever an appointment is rescheduled
  • Content: Old appointment time, new appointment time, and updated details
  • Purpose: Inform patients of the schedule change

Cancellation Notifications

  • When: When an appointment is cancelled (by staff or patient)
  • Content: Cancelled appointment details
  • Special Feature: The system automatically detects if the cancellation occurs within 24 hours of the appointment (late cancellation) and flags it internally for tracking
  • Purpose: Confirm the cancellation with the patient

Recall Notifications

  • When: On the recall due date at 9 AM (practice timezone)
  • Content: Reminder to book the next appointment for the specific procedure (e.g., cleaning, checkup)
  • Includes: Practice contact information and online booking link
  • Purpose: Encourage patients to book their next preventive care appointment
  • Note: Automatically cancelled if the recall is marked as completed or cancelled

Manual Communications

These communications require practitioner action to send.

Invoice Emails

  • When: Practitioner clicks "Send by Email" on an invoice
  • Content: Invoice PDF attachment
  • Optional: Google review link (if enabled in practice settings)
  • Channel: Email only
  • Purpose: Send invoice documentation to the patient

Late Cancellation Follow-up

  • What Happens: When a patient cancels within 24 hours of their appointment, the system flags it as a late cancellation
  • Action Required: Review late cancellations in the appointments list and decide on appropriate follow-up (no automatic fee or message is sent)
  • Purpose: Track potential no-show patterns and manage late cancellation policies

Communication Methods & Patient Preferences

Available Channels

The system supports three communication channels, with more coming soon:

| Channel | Status | Used For | |---------|--------|----------| | Email | Available | All communications | | SMS | Available | All communications | | WhatsApp | Coming Soon | All communications |

Channel Priority

When a patient has consented to multiple channels, the system uses this priority order:

  1. WhatsApp (when available)
  2. SMS
  3. Email

Patient Language Preferences

Messages are sent in the patient's preferred language:

  • English (EN)
  • French (FR)
  • German (DE)
  • Italian (IT)

If a template is not available in the patient's language, the system falls back to English.

Setting Patient Communication Preferences

In the patient profile, you can configure:

  1. Preferred Language: Select from EN, FR, DE, IT
  2. Email Communications: Enable if patient consents to receive emails (requires valid email address)
  3. SMS Communications: Enable if patient consents to receive SMS (requires valid mobile phone number)
  4. WhatsApp Communications: Enable if patient consents to WhatsApp messages (requires SMS to be enabled first)

Important Notes:

  • Patients must explicitly consent to each communication method
  • Phone numbers must be in international format (e.g., +41791234567)
  • If a patient removes consent for a channel, any scheduled messages via that channel are automatically cancelled

Practice Configuration

Administrators can configure communication settings in Settings > Notifications:

Email Configuration

  • Set up custom email domain or use Zermmi's managed sender
  • Configure sender name and reply-to address
  • Verify domain with DKIM, SPF, DMARC for better deliverability

SMS/WhatsApp Configuration

  • Connect Twilio messaging service
  • Set alpha sender ID for SMS branding (your practice name)
  • WhatsApp setup (coming soon)

Message Templates

  • Customize message templates for each communication type
  • Available for all supported languages
  • Include practice-specific information (address, phone, branding)
  • Preview templates with sample data before saving

Additional Settings

  • Google Review Links: Optionally include your Google review link in invoice emails to encourage patient feedback

Key Points for Practitioners

What Happens Automatically

  • Appointment confirmations (on creation)
  • 24-hour reminders (scheduled)
  • Rescheduling notifications (on reschedule)
  • Cancellation notifications (on cancel)
  • Recall notifications (on due date)

What Requires Your Action

  • Sending invoices by email
  • Following up on late cancellations
  • Managing patient communication preferences in patient profiles

Communication Best Practices

  1. Always verify patient contact information before saving to ensure accurate delivery
  2. Ask patients for communication preferences during registration or profile updates
  3. Review late cancellations periodically to identify patterns and manage your practice policy
  4. Keep message templates up to date with current practice information
  5. Monitor delivery status in the notifications section if messages are not reaching patients

Troubleshooting

If a patient reports not receiving communications:

  1. Check their patient profile for valid email/phone number
  2. Verify they have consented to the communication channel (checkboxes enabled)
  3. Confirm their preferred language matches available templates
  4. Check spam folders for emails
  5. Verify phone number is in international format for SMS/WhatsApp

Related Documentation