Using the SMS Replies facility

SEE ALSO: Portal blog/video - Are you getting the most out of your SMS? Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

With the appropriate configuration, EXACT processes SMS replies, matches them to patient name and appointment times, and populates the Appointment Book with confirmed appointments, all without human intervention.

However, if the replies are ambiguous, EXACT cannot match them, and this automation is not possible. Practice personnel (normally Receptionists) should therefore routinely monitor the SMS Replies List for these ambiguous replies and manually match them (establish whom an SMS is from, what it relates to, and what actions should be taken).

Types of SMSes normally displayed in the SMS Replies Lists:

The SMS Replies lists display all incoming SMSes that EXACT cannot confidently classify and act upon. These can include

Arbitrary messages such as "Hi I'm new to the area and want to sign up as a patient"
Ambiguous replies to Contact List SMS campaigns run by the Practice. For example, the Practice outgoing message is "Hi Mrs Smith, we have a promotion. Whitening treatment just $80. Reply just YES1 if interested or just NO1 to decline". And the ambiguous response is "yes but only next month".
Ambiguous replies to appointment reminders. For example, the Practice outgoing automated reminder is "Hi Mr Jones, you are due for a dental appointment at 3pm on 18 Nov. Please reply just Y to confirm or just N to cancel". And the response is "Are you sure? I thought it was the 19th".

These SMS Replies are listed in two near-duplicate screens with equivalent functionality:

The SMS Replies Tab, an optional display tab in the work area of the Appointment Book.
Receptionists typically manage SMS Replies by means of this tab plus the Cancels Tab, which lists appointment cancellations.
It is recommended that Receptionists enable both of these tabs (see Displaying SMS Replies Tab and Cancels Tabs).
The Manage SMS Replies screen, initiated as a full-screen display from Administration > Manage SMS Replies.

Option to display all SMS Replies, including those that EXACT auto-matches:

The SMS Replies list has a Show Completed checkbox. When checked / ticked, all incoming SMSes display in the list.

This includes clearly matched confirmations and cancellations:

ShowConfirmedAppts in SMSReplies,ShowCompleted

ShowCompleted-cancellationExample

SMS reply scenarios:

SMS Reply Appointment Confirmations:

Patients Confirm correctly (with correct keywords)
Patients Confirm ambiguously (with incorrect keywords, no keywords, or with extraneous text)

SMS Reply Appointment Cancellations:

Patients Cancel correctly (with correct keywords)
Patients Cancel ambiguously (with incorrect keywords, no keywords, or with extraneous text)

SMS Reply for Contact List

Using keywords in manually-generated SMS notices:

It is possible to manually create SMSes and send them to Patients with keyword options. However, these will not result in automated EXACT responses; users will always need to manually process such messages in the SMS Replies lists.