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SMS Messaging

SMS works well for short, time-sensitive outreach such as follow-up nudges and quick reminders.

Before you start​

  • Patient consent. You need documented consent to text patients, in line with TCPA rules and your organization's policies.
  • Contact details. Texts go to the patient's highest-priority eligible phone number. No email address is needed. If no eligible phone number is available, the SMS step is skipped. See Which contact details are used.
  • Optional: your own number. If your organization has registered its own 10DLC or toll-free number, that number is used by default. Otherwise, texts fall back to CareLaunch's shared marketing number. To register your own number, contact CareLaunch support. It then appears under Outreach → Outreach Identities → Phone numbers.
  • Optional: an SMS template. Create one under Settings → Templates on the SMS tab. See Templates.

Adding an SMS step​

  1. In the campaign builder, click Add Action and choose Send SMS.
  2. Write the Message Content or pick a Message Template, and set Recipient to Patient.
  3. Optional: choose the SMS identity (below).
  4. Check the Message Preview, then Save.

SMS identity​

SMS identity chooses which number the text comes from. Leave it empty (Organization default) to send from your organization's registered number, or from CareLaunch's shared number if your organization has no registered number. If your organization has its own registered number or sender ID, select it here to send from that instead.

The actual message type is determined by how the number is registered with carriers, not by a per-step choice.

Writing good SMS​

  • Keep it short. One SMS segment is 160 characters. Longer messages are split into several segments and cost more. Personalized text such as {{FirstName}} counts toward the length after it's filled in.
  • Lead with the point. Many people only read the notification preview.
  • Say who you are. Start or end with your practice name, especially when sending from the shared number.
  • Include a clear next step, such as a link or a phone number.
  • Avoid link shorteners. Carriers often flag them as spam.
  • Images and attachments aren't supported.

Opt-outs​

Recipients can reply STOP to stop receiving texts from the number that texted them. Patients whose record is marked as opted out of texts are skipped, and the Logs show "SMS skipped — patient opted out." A text blocked by a STOP reply that hasn't been recorded on the patient's record appears as "SMS delivery failed" instead. See Opt-Outs.