Patient Communication

Before starting this communication section, we recommend that you:

1. Decide on all your Recall Schemes. This is the expiry date of the patient's prescription and when the patient is due for another appointment.
2. Decide how many stages each of these Recall Schemes will have. Stages manage the time intervals of the patient's reminders.
3. Decide the order for your preferred communication types. Communications allow you to individualise your reminders to different groups of patients and allows you to assign alternative modes of communication if your preferred communication is not viable.

You should also have any Word documents for letters saved and ready. Your recall letters should be saved in the appropriate folder ready to be attached in Maintenance.

You can find the folder location by going to Maintenance, Branch & System and then Branch Full Config.

If the Word document you are saving is Recall letter, the file location where you need to save the document is the Recall Communications Path:

If it is any other communication, such as a Marketing letter, the file location where you need to save the document is the Adhoc Communications Path:

Document Set Up

When you have your content for each of your patient letters saved in the correct folder, as shown above, you need to input "placeholders" in order that the patient's details will be mail merged into the document. You need to export a Sample Mail Merge File from i-Clarity to use in your document.

1. Log in to i-Clarity and go to any Patient Record.
2. Click on 'Extras' and then 'Create Sample Merge Files' at the bottom right-hand corner.
   
3. Take a note of the file path that the Merge file has saved to from the pop-up message.
   
4. Go to your Word document that contains your letter and click on 'Mailings'. Then click 'Select Recipients' the 'Use Existing List'.
   
5. Find the file using the file path you noted from step 3.
   
6. Select the Merge File you are working on. Either RecallSampleMerge for Recall letters or AdhocSampleMerge for Adhoc communications. Then click 'Open'.
7. This will open a new window, as shown below. Click 'Ok'.
   
   
   
8. In 'Mailings' go to 'Insert Merge Field' and select the field you want from the list.
   

Once you have inserted all the information, you can save your document. If you have not already done so, make sure that the document is in the correct folder depending on the file path set out in Maintenance.

Patient Recalls

i-Clarity recalls can be separated into three sections: schemes, stages and communication. The function of the Recall Schemes is to manage the expiry date of the patient's prescription and when the patient is due for another appointment. Stages manage the time intervals of the patient's reminders. Communications allow you to individualise your reminders to different groups of patients and manage the order of your communication type preferences.

Recall Schemes

Go to Maintenance, Patient Communications and then Recall Schemes.

Working in the top half of the screen, you need to add each of the Recall Schemes that you want available for use, filling in the boxes from left to right.

1. Insert the scheme name e.g. CL 6 months in the Recall Scheme Name box.
2. Add any notes in the Notes box.
3. Add the time (in months) before the patient is due to return for their next appointment in the Months box.
4. Add the expiry of the prescription in the Expiry box. So, for example, you may want the patient to return after 6 months for a contact lens check, but the prescription will be valid for supply for 12 months. This will allow the system to supply contact lenses for 12 months even after the patient's 6 month return period.
5. If a patient has a recall communication due, but already has an appointment booked in, i-Clarity will not generate the Recall communication. If you would like this recall to generate even if the patient has an appointment booked, you can tick the Appt box.
6. Finally, you need to assign a Scheme type. "Eye Exam" scheme types should be assigned to recalls that need to be available for selection from the Spectacle Prescription or main Clinical Record form. "Contact Lens" schemes should be assigned to recalls that need to be available from the CL Prescription or Contact Lens Clinical Record. Scheme type "Other" should be used for any recalls you would like to select from the Other/Supplementary Clinical Record (Clinical Record users only). Scheme type "None" should be assigned to recalls that do not fall into any of the above categories. "Hearing Assessment" and "Hearing Procedure" scheme types should be assigned to recalls that need to be available from the Audiometry Clinical Record.
   
   Please note, you can only assign a patient one eye exam, contact lens, other, hearing procedure and hearing assessment recall, but you can assign a patient multiple recalls attached to the None scheme type.
   
   "CL Rec" or "Specs Rec" should be assigned to recalls that you wish to automatically send to inform patients that their contact lenses or spectacles are ready to collect. Recalls of this scheme type go out automatically when you receive jobs in on the system. Choose the "Spec Coll" scheme if you are setting up a recall that you want to send to follow up with patients after they have collected their spectacles. Recalls of this scheme type go out automatically a pre-set number of weeks (of your choosing), after you have collected the spectacles off the system.
7. Click 'Add'.

Once you have added your scheme to the list you can add "stages" to it. Each stage indicates the time interval of when recalls and follow up recalls are sent for each of the schemes.

1. Highlight the scheme you want to add stages to by clicking on the line in the top half of the screen.
   
2. In the Add Recall Scheme Stage box, fill in the boxes from top to bottom.
   
3. Insert the Stage number in the Stage box, e.g. 1 for the first time you want the patient to be contacted.
4. In the Days To Send box, type how many days after the appointment you want the communication to be sent. All further sequences should be how many days after the previous communication was sent.
5. Then enter the stage name in the Recall Stage Name box. The stage name will be pulled through to the Recall Communication page on the Patient Record so needs to be explanatory, e.g. Scheme Name + Stage Number.
   
6. Click Add and repeat this process for each Stage to you to add for each Recall Scheme.

Arrival Resets Recall

If you do not use the Clinical Module, you can set the system to reset the patient's recall when they are marked on the system as arrived for their appointment.

If you go to Maintenance, Branch & System and then Branch Full Config and check the box 'Arrival resets recall'.

Now when you mark a patient as arrived, their recall will reset.

Recall Communications

The communication defines the content of the Recall the patient receives and how they receive the recall. It also allows you to breakdown each communication stage into age groups so that you can send different content to each age group in different ways.

Go to Maintenance, Patient Communications and then Recall Schemes.

1. In the Add Recall Communication box you can now add the communications for the Recall Stages you have created for each of your Recall Schemes.
   
2. Select the Stage you want to add communications to from the dropdown list.
3. Enter the name of the communication in the Comms Name box.
4. If you would like to divide the Stages into different age groups, you can put the maximum age of the group in this next box down.
5. When sending Recall letters, i-Clarity will always send by your chosen mode of communication. Because your chosen mode of communication may not be suitable for all of your patients, e.g. if you choose email and not all of your patients have an email address, you can choose multiple types of communication and order them by preference. i-Clarity will look to see if a Recall can be sent by the type marked as preference 1. If that type of communication is not available for a patient, i-Clarity will look to see if the Recall can be sent by the type marked as preference 2 and so on.
   
   Please note - Please make sure that each Stage includes a letter or telephone communication. If you only have SMS and/or email set up and a patient does not have an email address or mobile telephone number, they will NOT receive a Recall. Therefore they will not be moved to the next Stage of communications and so their recall will be lost.
6. The Content box depends on the Communication Type. This is explained in more detail further down in this article. The content can be added in after the communication has been added.
7. Add any notes to the Notes box.
8. You can type the subject of the email in the Email Subject box if your Communication Type is an email.
9. Select the Communication type from the dropdown list.
   a) Choose "Email" if you are using i-Clarity email services.
   b) Choose "Export" if you are using a Mailing/Email/Text Service outside of i-Clarity and you need a list of patient communication details.
   c) Choose "Letter" if you print the letters in practice or if you use i-Clarity Mailing Service.
   d) Choose "Phone" if you want to make a phone call. The recalls assigned as Phone will appear in your Task List as a Task.
   e) Choose "SMS" if you are using the i-Clarity SMS Service.
10. Click Add.

Adding Content

Once your Communication has been added, you can then add the content.

1. In the Recall Scheme box in the top half of the screen, click to highlight the Recall Scheme you want to add communications for, as shown below.
   
2. In the Add Recall Communication box, you can filter by Stage Number, Max Age and Communication Preference by checking the box of the filter you would like to use and selecting from the drop-down list or typing in the box.
   
   E.g. you may choose to update all 12 months Recall Scheme Communications that are preference 1, then move on to preference 2. This will keep your lists very short and avoid confusion.
   
   
3. Once you have added the Comms Name, Comms Type, Max Age, Email Subject (if applicable), Notes (if applicable) and Order Preference, click the Add button to set up the communication. This will now appear in the Recall Communication box above the Add Recall Communication box.
   
4. You can now add your Content to the communications you have set up. To do this, click the button next to the communication you are editing. This will open a different window depending on what communication type is selected.

Email

If your communication type is an email, the following window will open:

If you have not already, you can put the email subject in the 'Email Subject' box.

If you want to add personal information in the subject line, you can add merge fields by clicking the Add button next to the subject line and double click on the required merge field.

Please note that this merge field button only works for the subject line. To insert merge fields in the body of the text, use the 'Add Merge' button at the bottom of the window.

You can add links to your email by clicking 'Insert' and then 'Link'. This will open up a new window.

You can add merge fields to the body of your email by clicking on the bottom 'Add Merge' button and dragging the appropriate field across to the main body of the email.

SMS

If the communication type is an SMS, the following window will open:

Type the body of the text inside this box. To insert merge fields, click on the 'Select Merge Field' button.

Double click on the desired merge field to move it across into the main body of the text.

Once you have completed the main body of your SMS, click 'Save'.

Phone

If the communication type is phone, you can type directly into the Content box.

The text that you type into the Content box is what will appear in the Action List to prompt the telephone recall.

Letter

If the communication type is a letter, type the file name of the document, including the file extension, directly into the Content box. You can find the file name by following these steps:

Open the file location but do not open the document.

Right click on the document and select 'Properties'.

The file name is made up of the name and the file extension. This example would be Recall Letter.docx

Type this into the Content box for that recall communication.

 

Ad Hoc Comms

This is where you can set up any kind of communication other than a recall. You will need to create a sample merge file to set up your documents with the correct merge fields. Please go to the Document Set Up section above for instructions on how to do this.

Once you have set up any word documents you need you can add them to i-Clarity by going to Maintenance, Patient Communications and then Ad Hoc Communications. 

Click 'Add Ad Hoc Communication at the bottom right of the screen to launch the following window:

1. Select the Communication Type from the drop-down list. Selecting the type Email will create a Email Subject box for you to add the subject of the email.
   
   Choose "Email" if you are using i-Clarity Email Services.
   Choose "Export" if you are using a Mailing/Email/Text Service outside of i-Clarity and you need a list of patient communication details.
   Choose "Letter" if you print the letters in practice or are using the i-Clarity Mailing Service.
   Choose "Phone" if you want to make a phone call. The recalls assigned as phone will appear in your Task List as a task.
   Choose "SMS" if you are using the i-Clarity SMS Service.
   
   
2. Type the Communication Name in the Communication Name box.
3. Use the tick boxes to select where you would like the communication to be accessible from.
   
   Show on Marketing - This will allow the document to be sent from the Marketing module.
   Show on Patient Screen - This will make the document available from the Document Centre and the Patient Record.
   Show on Prescription and Clinical - This will make the document available from the Eye Exam record.
   Show on CL Prescription and CL Clinical Record - This will make the document available in the CL record.
   Show on Audiology - This will make the document available in the Audiology Record.
   
   
4. Choose what you would like to happen when a Word document is generated.
   
   Automatically Print - If this box is ticked, when you open the document, it will automatically send to print.
   Automatically Save To The PX Folder - if this box is ticked, it will trigger the document to automatically save to the patient file. If it is something that needs to be edited, such as a Dr referral letter, it can be opened and re-saved from within i-Clarity.
   Include Sensitive Direct Debit Data - if this box is ticked, any sensitive direct debit data will be included in your communication.
   
   If you do not select either of these options, the Word document will open and merge the patient details and you can choose what to do with it from there.
5. If the communication is specific to one branch, you can select that branch from the drop-down list.
6. You can now add your communication to the Contents box.

Email

If your communication type is an email, the following window will open when you double click in the Contents box:

If you haven't already, you can put the subject of the email in the Email Subject box. You can then type the body of the email in the white box.

If you want to add personal information in the subject line, you can add merge fields by clicking the Add button next to the Email Subject and then double click on the required merge field.

Please note that this merge field button only works for the subject line. To insert merge fields in the body of the text use the 'Add Merge' button and the bottom of the window.

You can add links to your email by clicking on 'Insert' and then 'Link'. This will open a new window:

SMS

If the communication type is an SMS, the following window will open when you double click the Contents box:

Type the body of the text inside this box. To insert merge fields, click on 'Select Merge Field'.

Double click on the desired merge field to move it across into the main body of the text.

Once you have completed the main body of your SMS, click 'Save'.

Phone

If the communication type is phone, you can type directly into the Contents box. The text you type in this box is what will appear in the Action List to prompt the telephone call.

Letter

Type the file name of the document, including the file extension, directly into the Contents box. You can find the file name by following these steps:

Open the file location but do not open the document.

Right click on the document and select 'Properties'.

The file name is made up of the name and the file extension. This example would be Marketing Letter.docx

Automatic Messages

You can set the system to automatically send appointment confirmations and reminders.

Appointment Confirmations

To set up appointment confirmations, go to Maintenance, Branch & System, Branch Full Config and click on 'Config Appointment Confirmations'.

This will open the following window:

Email

Double click in the Email box under Appointment Confirmations Message.

This will open up a new window.

You can then type in the Email Subject and also type the body of the email into the white box.

If you want to add personal information in the subject line, you can add merge fields by clicking the 'Add' button next to the Email Subject box, and double click on the required merge field.

Please note that this merge field button only works for the subject line. To insert merge fields in the body of the text use the 'Add Merge' button at the bottom of the window.

To add the merge field, drag the appropriate merge field across to the main body of the email.

You can add links to your email by clicking on 'Insert' and then 'Link'. This will open a new window:

SMS

If the communication type is an SMS, double click the SMS box to open the following window:

You can type the main body of the SMS into the white box. To insert merge fields, click on the 'Select Merge Field' button.

Appointment Specific Confirmations

You can create different messages for different appointment types. e.g. you may want to include a reminder to wear contact lenses for an aftercare appointment.

This can be done by filling in the 'Add Appointment Type Specific Confirmation Message' section of the Appointment Communications box.

Select the appointment type from the Appointment Type drop-down list and select the communication type from the Type drop-down list.

Double click in the Contents box to add the content of your confirmation message. A different window will open for Email and SMS communication types.

Reminders

You can set up appointment reminders in the Appointment System Values of the Appointment Communications window.

Click the 'Send Automated' box and enter the number of days before the appointment you would like the reminder to be sent.

Then type your reminder message in the box. This will already have a generic message entered. You can add merge fields by clicking 'Select Merge' and selecting from the options.

You can also send out an automatic failed to attend SMS. Click the 'Send Automated' box and select the number of days after the appointment you want the SMS to be sent. 

Then type you message into the box. This will already have a generis message entered. You can add merge fields by clicking 'Select Merge' and selecting from the options.

If you are sending out automatic text message reminders, we recommend that you set a time to stop text messages going out at unsociable hours.

Alternatively, if you would like to send out manual appointment reminders, you can untick the 'Send Automated' box for appointment reminders and FTA messages.

Additional Communication Configuration Options

SMS From

In the Branch Full Config form in Maintenance, there is a text box for you to type in what name you would like to appear as the sender on your SMS messages.

Email Footer

You can add an email footer for each branch that will be added to the bottom of all emails send through i-Clarity:

1. Double click on the text box. This will open a new window.
   
   
2. Type your email footer in the window.
3. Click Save.

Automatically Delay Multiple Recalls

Go to Maintenance, Branch & System and then System Parameters. There is an 'Automatically Delay Multiple Recalls' button. If you tick this box, when a patient is due for a Contact Lens Check and an Eye Exam on the same day, the Contact Lens letter will be delayed until the next recall run. This is to prevent the patient receiving two separate letters on the same day.

Send Long SMS Without Prompting

There is a character limit of 160 per SMS message. If you go over this character count, there will be additional charges.

Go to Maintenance, Branch & System and then System Parameters. There is a 'Send Long SMS Without Prompting' checkbox. If this checkbox is not ticked, when sending mass communications such as recalls or marketing, the communications will fail to send if the SMS messages are over 160 characters.

If the box is ticked, then the communications will send, even if the character limit has been exceeded, but you will be charged for additional messages.