How do I send an SMS to a patient from the Phonebar?
You can send a patient an SMS directly with their clinical record open, using the numbers in their Patient Records or an alternative number, or you can send a patient an SMS through Active Patient and Appointments, as well as a group SMS to all patients in that Appointment list
These SMS can be selected from surgery templates, or free typed and you can include NHS condition information
They can be viewed in the patient Contact History and filed to the patient record
See our guide on SMS Charges
This guide will take you through how to send, view and file SMS
Step by step guide
Sending an SMS through Active Patient
With a Patient Record open, click on the Active Patient icon
This will bring up the Active Patient communication window
With the Active Patient window open, click on the SMS icon
Or, hover over the SMS icon for the active patient number options
You can click on the number in the list or type an alternative number into the box and then click the SMS icon
When you have actioned the SMS request the SMS sending window will open
The box in the centre is empty for you to type an ad-hoc message to the patient, or you can select a message template
To choose an SMS template message or select a particular NHS condition, use the dropdown
You can do any of these in combination with each other
Once you are happy with your selection and wording you can choose to file it directly to the patient record by selecting File message
You can also choose to file the message later from the Patient Contact history
Then click SEND
You can reset the message which will clear the text box, click RESET
Or, you can cancel the message completely, which will close the Send SMS message window, by clicking CANCEL
Sending an SMS though Appointments
When your appointments list is loaded, you will see the Patient details listed
With the Appointments window open, click on the SMS icon
Or, hover over the SMS icon for the patient number options
You can click on the number in the list or type an alternative number into the box and then click the SMS icon
When you have actioned the SMS request the SMS sending window will open
The box in the centre is empty for you to type an ad-hoc message to the patient, or you can select a message template
To choose an SMS template message or select a particular NHS condition, use the dropdown
You can do any of these in combination with each other
Once you are happy with your selection and wording you can choose to file it directly to the patient record by selecting File message
You can also choose to file the message later from the Patient Contact history
Then click SEND
You can reset the message which will clear the text box, click RESET
Or, you can cancel the message completely, which will close the Send SMS message window, by clicking CANCEL
Sending an SMS to all patients in the appointments list
When you open an appointment list you will see an SMS ALL PATIENTS button above and to the right of the list of patients scheduled
Click on the SMS ALL PATIENTS button, an SMS window opens
You can select a template from the drop down menu at the top, type an ad hoc message in the SMS message box or do both
When you click Send the message will be sent to all your patients with a mobile phone number in the list the SMS
You can clear the message which will clear the text box, click Clear
You will receive a notification that your message has been delivered, and any problems with delivery will be highlighted
Sending an SMS using hotkeys
To send an SMS to a patient you can use keyboard shortcuts to open the SMS sending window. You MUST have the the patient record open first
Type Ctrl + Shift + S on your keyboard
Note: If you do not have an active patient record open you will receive an error message
This will open up the SMS sending window
The box in the centre is empty for you to type an ad-hoc message to the patient, or you can select a message template
To choose an SMS template message or select a particular NHS condition, use the dropdown
You can do any of these in combination with each other
Once you are happy with your selection and wording you can choose to file it directly to the patient record by selecting File message
You can also choose to file the message later from the Patient Contact history
Then click SEND
You can reset the message which will clear the text box, click RESET
Or, you can cancel the message completely, which will close the Send SMS message window, by clicking CANCEL
Sending an SMS from the Phonebar
When you input a mobile number with the softphone as your call device, you can send an SMS directly from the Phonebar
Click on the green Message icon in your Phonebar
This will open up the SMS sending window
The box in the centre is empty for you to type an ad-hoc message to the patient, or you can select a message template
To choose an SMS template message or select a particular NHS condition, use the dropdown
You can do any of these in combination with each other
Once you are happy with your selection and wording you can choose to file it directly to the patient record by selecting File message
You can also choose to file the message later from the Patient Contact history
Then click SEND
You can reset the message which will clear the text box, click RESET
Or, you can cancel the message completely, which will close the Send SMS message window, by clicking CANCEL
Viewing an SMS
Any sent SMS will be available via the patient Contact History for up to 2 months (current month and previous month)
You can access the patient Contact History via the Active Patient or your loaded Appointment list
With a Patient Record open, click on the Active Patient icon
This will bring up the Active Patient communication window
Select the Contact History icon
Or, if you are in Appointments
Select the Contact History icon
When you have selected the Contact History icon, a window of the Contact History not yet filed for that that patient will appear on your screen
To view the SMS sent click on Read SMS
The SMS will display on the contact history window
Filing an SMS
Any sent SMS will be available via the patient Contact History for a period up to 2 months (current month and previous month)
You can access the patient Contact History via the Active Patient or your loaded Appointment list
With a Patient Record open, click on the Active Patient icon
This will bring up the Active Patient communication window
Select the Contact History icon
Or, if you are in Appointments
Select the Contact History icon
When you have selected the Contact History icon, a window of the Contact History not yet filed for that that patient will appear on your screen
You can use the scroll bar on the right hand side to move up and down the list. Calls, call recordings, messages, photo requests and submitted photos will be listed in date order
Select the communications you would like to file to the Patient Record
When you are happy with your selection click on the FILE TO PATIENT RECORD button
Once you have done this the clinical record will update and you will see all the filed communication history from within the patient record
NOTE: Patient communications will stay in the Contact History for up to 2 months (current month and previous month) if not filed to the patient record in your clinical system, photos will stay in the contact history for 28 days only
SMS Templates
Supervisors can create standard SMS templates in the Configuration Console, for everyone to use when sending messages from the practice
Accessing the SMS Templates through the Configuration Console
Log in to Surgery Connect - sso.x-onweb.com - with your NHS email address and Surgery Connect password
Select the Configuration Console
Supervisors can use the Configuration Console to change the standard configuration of Groups, Extensions, Voicemail, edit Users, Calendars and the Directory and much more
Don't forget - if you are already logged into a Surgery Connect console, you can navigate to any other console quickly by using the Menu, next to your initials
Or; Click on the arrow in your toolbar to see the hidden icons
Right click on the Surgery Connect Logo and select Launch Consoles. This will open up the selected console in a new window for you
Choose Integrations from the menu on the left hand side menu
Select the SMS Templates view
This will take you to the SMS Templates dashboard
New SMS Template
To add/create a new SMS template select the + New SMS Template button
Give your SMS Template a Name
You can insert fields into your message, so you can address the recipient by name and add a surgery signature
Type the wording of your SMS into the Template box
The Preview box will show you the layout of your template, together with your populated auto prompts
There are NHS conditions which can be added to your templates
To add these to a template choose the condition from the drop down list (scroll alphabetically or type to search) and click Add condition
Once added a NHS information link will be included in your message
When you are happy with your SMS Template, click Save
You will see the green success notification at the top of you screen
Editing a SMS Template
With your SMS Templates dashboard open, you will be able to see all of the SMS Templates that have been created for your surgery
Find the template you would like to change and click on the Edit button
Make changes in the Template box, and preview those changes in the Preview box
When you are happy with your SMS Template, click Save
You will see the green success notification at the top of you screen
Deleting a SMS Template
With your SMS Templates dashboard open, you will be able to see all of the SMS Templates that have been created for your surgery
Find the template you would like to remove and click on the Delete button
You will be asked to CONFIRM the deletion
You will see the green success notification at the top of you screen
