Text Messaging for Clinics
Text messaging for clinics means a patient can text the number they already have for the clinic, the one on the appointment card, the website and the door, and reception can answer. Textstr text-enables that number. Each text arrives as an email in the inbox reception already reads, and the reply goes back to the patient as a text from the clinic's number. Phone calls carry on as they do now.
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Scheduling by text
Reception answers without picking up the phone
Use texts for scheduling and logistics. Clinical details belong elsewhere.
What patients text a clinic
Patients text because the phone line is busy at opening time, or because they are at work and cannot talk. The questions are mostly about logistics:
Can I move my appointment?
The most common text, and the one that leaves a gap in the schedule when nobody sees it. With the number text-enabled, it arrives in the reception inbox and someone can offer a new time.
Are you open on Saturday?
Hours, directions and parking questions take a line to answer and save a phone call on both sides.
Do you take my insurance?
Coverage questions are easier to answer in writing, and the answer stays in the thread.
Are my results in?
Reception can tell the patient to call or come in. Clinical details are best not sent by text at all; see the note below.
Keep clinical details out of texts
Text messages are a good channel for scheduling and logistics. They are not the place for diagnoses, results or anything else a patient would not want on a lock screen. If your clinic handles protected health information, decide what staff may and may not say by text before you switch it on, and check it against the rules that apply to you. Textstr does not make that decision for you, and this page is not compliance advice.
Why reception answers from email
Reception already lives in an inbox. Textstr does not add an app or a second system. Texts arrive as ordinary email, and replies go back as texts. A clinic with several practitioners or locations can give each its own inbox.
- Patients text the number they already have for the clinic
- No new number on the cards, the website or the signs
- Texts arrive as email, and replies go back as texts from the clinic's number
- An auto-reply tells a patient the text arrived when reception is busy
- A Text Us button for your website, so a visitor can ask a question by text
What it costs
$200 a month for unlimited users and unlimited messages, with no contract. Nothing is charged until your number is live for texting: usually the same day in Canada, and a few business days in the US. Details are on the pricing page. For the general picture, read what Textstr is, and for wellness businesses see health and wellness texting.
Frequently asked questions
Can patients text our clinic's existing phone number?
Yes. Textstr text-enables your current landline or toll-free number. Patients text the number they already have, and calls are not affected.
Does reception need a new app?
No. Texts arrive as email in the inbox reception already uses, and replying to the email sends a text.
Should we send test results by text?
We recommend against it. Use texts for scheduling and logistics, and decide your clinic's rules for clinical information before you start.
How much does Textstr cost for a clinic?
$200 a month for unlimited users and unlimited messages, with no contract. Nothing is charged until the number is live.