What is bulk messaging?
Bulk messaging allows you to save time by sending messages to a cohort (group) of patients at the same time using either email or SMS.
Is there a limit to how many patients I can send a bulk message to?
You can send a message to 10,000 patients maximum. This is to ensure the Patchs system doesn't get overloaded and slow down too much when sending.
How do I access bulk messaging?
When bulk messaging is enabled at your practice, you can access from the Bulk Messages link from your main menu.
The Bulk Messages landing page shows a list of all previously sent bulk messages, with the most recent ones at the top of the list.
How do I send a bulk message?
To create a new bulk message, click the Create new Bulk Message button.
Step 1 Add a patient list
- Enter a name for the list of patients you want to message
- Choose a .csv file containing the list of patients you wish to send a message to.
- And then upload the .csv file. The following links show how to your .csv file in your clinical system:
⚠️ When creating patient lists from your clinical system, please ensure that you exclude deceased patients and patients who haven't consented to be contacted by SMS/Email ⚠️
Step 2a Compose and send a free text message
Note: Free text bulk messages marked as "Reply not required" send in the body of the email or SMS sent. Ones marked "Reply required" are sent as a secure link to the message within Patchs.
- Type your message text
- Choose how you want the messages to be sent, either by SMS (where available) or Email
- For reply required messages, you can choose to send responses to the ‘Completed’ inbox and save them straight to the clinical system without review. This option should not be used if answers could contain important clinical information.
- Choose the message timing
- Send now to send the message straight away
- Send later to send the message at a time in the future
- If required, choose which SNOMED code you want to be saved to the clinical system, along with the message when it is sent to the patient
- Saving to the clinical system will save the message and any chosen SNOMED codes to the patient's record when the message has been successfully delivered.
...then Send the message.
You will then be taken back to the Bulk Messages page, where you will see your most recently sent/scheduled bulk message at the top of the page.
or Step 2b Compose and send a message template
Note: Templates and appointment self-book invites are sent as secure links to the messages within Patchs.
Once you have uploaded your list of patients,
- Search for and select the questionnaire message template you want to send
- For reply required templates, you can choose to send responses to the ‘Completed’ inbox and save them straight to the clinical system without review. This is handy for questionnaires where answers don’t need to be reviewed, for example smoking status, ethnicity, or vaccination invites. This option should not be used if answers could contain important clinical information.
- Choose how you want the messages to be sent, either by SMS (where available) or Email
when sending as SMS, Patchs will show how many SMS segments will be used - Choose the message timing
- Send now to send the message straight away
-
Send later to send the message at a time in the future
- And if you want to Stagger sending you should choose the number of working days you would like to stagger the message sending over.
Patchs will stagger the messages evenly across number of days and sending will start from the chosen start date and time. Each subsequent group of messages being sent 24 apart*
- If required, choose which SNOMED code you want to be saved to the clinical system, along with the message when it is sent to the patient
- Saving to the clinical system will save the message and any chosen SNOMED codes to the patient's record when the message has been successfully delivered.
⚠️ *Bulk messages will only be sent to patients between the hours of 8 am and 6.30 pm on non-bank holiday weekdays⚠️
You will then be taken back to the Bulk Messages page, where you will see your most recently sent/scheduled bulk message at the top of the page.
Attaching files to bulk messages
To add one or more attachments to your bulk message you should:
- Enter your message or select a message template and then Add attachment
-
Remember that your message will be sent to multiple patients, so please do not include attachments that could identify individual patients.
(Maximum PDF file size is 5MB. Maximum image file size is 1MB. Larger images will be resized & compressed if possible.)
- Choose one or more files to attach to your bulk message
- Having added one or more files to your bulk message you can continue to choose your other message sending options.
Sending bulk messages in the body of the email/SMS sent
Bulk messages can be sent to the patient in the body of the email/SMS sent by doing the following:
- Manually type the message into the free text message box (do not use the "Pick message template" or "Self book appointment" options).
- Select the "Reply not required" option.
- Complete the other required options and send the message.
Currently messages do not send in the body of the email/SMS sent if they are either marked as "Reply required" or contain templates or appointment self-book invites. These types of messages take advantage of the chatlog interface and are therefore sent as secure links to open the message within Patchs.
Sending and saving bulk messages to the clinical system
When you create your bulk message, you can choose to save the message, along with any chosen SNOMED codes, to the clinical system.
Saving to the clinical system will save the message and any chosen SMOMED codes to the patient's record when the message has been successfully delivered.
What does the Bulk Messages page show?
For each bulk message, the Bulk Messages page shows:
- The date the message was sent
- Who sent the message
- The first line of the message
- How the message was sent (SMS or email)
- Who the message was sent to (list of patients)
- The delivery status of the bulk message:
OK - the message was sent to all recipients without any errors.
Error - errors were encountered when sending to one or more recipients.
How can I see the recipients who may not have received the message?
When you View the bulk message details, you will see the message details and a list of the messages that were delivered and those with errors.
The Only patients with errors tab shows just the patients who may not have received the message.
You can use the Try sending message again button to re-send those messages that failed to deliver.
Receiving replies to bulk messages - the 'Bulk Message Replies' inbox
When a patient responds to a bulk message their reply will be sent to the Bulk Message Replies inbox. If this inbox doesn't already exist at your practice, it will be automatically created when you receive your first patient response to a bulk message.
If you send bulk messages that patients can reply to, you should keep an eye on this inbox for responses. You can set yourself to be notified when a patient replies to a bulk message by following the instructions in this article.
⚠️ Bulk message replies are not currently ordered automatically by urgency unlike when using Urgency AI ⚠️