How to Manage your Alert Templates

June 16, 2021 14:57

In ER Express, all messages sent to the patients, clinics, referring providers, or staff can be configured and localized to fit your unique workflow. They can be edited to have different verbiage, add reservation-specific information, and can be turned off or on. These alerts can be text messages (SMS), emails, phone calls (Voice), or Fax.

This article will instruct users on how to identify the correct alert template, edit the verbiage of their alert templates, add reservation-specific information, and how to turn alert templates on/off.

Quick tip for managers: If you manage multiple facilities, and want to apply an edit to all of your facilities at the same time, make edits to the alert templates at the parent-level. Your child-level facilities will automatically "inherit" these edits.

Alert Template Classification Guide:

Label	Explanation	Values
	This is the on/off button. If it is green, then the alert template is active and "on". If it is gray, then the alert template is inactive or "off".	ON OFF
ID	This ID number is used purely as an identifier to help us reference a certain alert template.	A number
Alert Trigger	This is usually the action that triggers an alert to be sent out. For example, if the alert trigger was "Online Confirmation", the alert would be sent out every time there is a new online reservation submitted to your facility. It can also be used as a label if the alert is not triggered by a workflow action, such as "1-way text template #1".	Walk-in confirmation, Online confirmation, Ready for Room Update, User locked, 1-way template, Referral confirmation, etc.
Process	This refers to the step in the workflow process. "Pre-arrival" is before the patient has arrived at the facility. "Arrival" is once the patient is at the facility. "Waiting" is once the patient has been deemed "Ready for Room" and is awaiting instructions. "User Management" refers to managing your staff's user accounts.	Prearrival, Arrival, Waiting, Disposition, User Management, 1-way text
Modules	This refers to which ERx module the alert template is associated with. WKX stands for Walk-in Express (Curbside queuing). CHX stands for Check-in express (Online check-in). ERP stands for ER Passport. UM stands for User Management.	WKX, CHX, ERP, UM
Recipient	The recipient is the one receiving the alerts. For example, if the recipient is "Facility", the facility will be receiving that alert template.	Patient, User, Facility, Referring Provider
Alert Type	The alert type is the medium through which the alert will be sent. For example, "SMS" means that the message will be sent as a text message. "Voice" means the message will be sent via a phone call.	SMS, Voice, Email, Fax
Inherit/Custom	"Inherit" means that this template is being inherited from a parent or grandparent facility within your medical system. It could also mean you are using a default ER Express template that we make generic for the majority of our facilities. "Custom" means that this alert template has been localized for your particular facility. Quick Tip: If you make edits to your alert templates at the parent-level, then you will not have to make these same edits to all of the child facilities because they will be "inherited".	Inherit, Custom

Triggered Messages

Our system sends triggered messages as patients move through the workflow. A text message is sent whenever a patient submits a reservation and another message is sent when a patient moves from one column to the next.

Here is a quick visual reference guide showing you which Alert Template IDs correspond with which triggered message:

Three Column Workflow:

Four Column Workflow:

How to edit your alert templates verbiage:

Step 1: Navigate to Global Settings > Alert Templates.

Step 2: Scroll to find the alert template you need to edit. If you need help finding the correct alert template, refer to this section to learn how they are classified: Quick guide on understanding Alert Template classification.
Once you have found the correct alert template, double click on it to open up the alert template's modal.

Step 3: In the top right corner of the modal, toggle from Inherit to Custom. The Custom button will have a blue background once it is selected.

Step 4: Edit your message to reflect the correct verbiage. You can also add reservation-specific information from the sidebar labelled "Click on fields to insert". This is an extremely useful feature. To learn how to use it, please refer to the section below: How to add reservation-specific information to your alert template.

Step 5: Click Save once you are done.

How to add reservation-specific information to your alert template:

We provide many variables that you can add to your alert template to deliver patient-specific and facility-specific information to your messages. These variables can be found in the right sidebar of the alert template modal and are in the form of "tags." If you insert one of these tags into your alert template, the associated information will be populated in lieu of the tag once the message is sent. (More information about this below) Here is a list of tags available:

Patient Information:

{PATIENT_NAME} - patient's first and last name
{FIRST_NAME}
{LAST_NAME}
{PARENT_NAME}
{PARENT_PHONE}
{PATIENT_DATE_OF_BIRTH}
{GENDER}

Reservation Information:

{CHIEF_COMPLAINT} - Reason for visit
{CONFIRMATION_NUMBER} - ERx patient-specific identifier
{TIME}
{TIMEZONE}
{DATE}
{SUBMISSION_TIME}
{INTAKE_SHORTLINK} - unique link to patient's intake form

Facility Information:

{HOSPITAL_NAME} - facility's name
{CLIENT_NAME}
{ADDRESS} - facility's street address
{CITY}
{STATE}
{ZIP}
{PHONE}
{TEXT_QUOTA} - two-way texting quota

Referral information:

{REFERRING_CLINIC}
{REFERRING_PROVIDER}
{REFERRAL_ETA}
{REFERRAL_DATE}
{PATIENT_DISPOSITION}

Step 1: To insert tags into your alert template, open up the alert template modal by double-clicking on the alert template. If you do not know how to do this, please refer to the "how-to" above: How to edit your alert templates verbiage.

Step 2: In the sidebar lavbeled "Click on fields to insert", you will find the tags organized under headers Patient information ,Reservation information, Facility information, Referral information. Click on one of these headers to show the list of tags available.

Step 3: Click on the tag you wish to insert into your template and it will automatically be inserted into the template where your cursor is. If you insert the {PHONE} tag, then the facility's phone number will dynamically insert whenever a message is sent out.

How to turn on/off an alert template:

Step 1: Find the alert template you wish to turn off or on.

Step 2: To the left of the ID number, you will see a green or gray dot. This is the on/off switch. If it is green, then the alert template is active or on. If it is gray, then the alert template is inactive or off. Click the dot to reverse its state.

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