Creating Automated Patient Communications

Automated (scheduled) patient communications help clinics stay connected with patients throughout their care journey while reducing administrative workload. Sending recalls, after-sales courtesy messages, review requests, birthday greetings, and other marketing communications at the appropriate time encourages patients to return for recommended care, improves patient satisfaction, increases online reviews, and provides a more personalized patient experience.

By automating these communications through WINK, clinics can maintain consistent patient outreach, save staff time, and support practice growth without relying on manual follow-ups.

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Content:

• Before You Begin
• Create a Communication Template
• Create an Automated Communication
• Configure the Schedule
• Configure Patient Filters
• Preview and Activate the Automation
• View Communication Logs

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Before You Begin

Appointment-related communications are not configured through the Automation module.

Appointment confirmations and reminders have their own configuration pages:

• Patient Communications → Settings: Appointment Confirmations → Settings

• Patient Communications → Settings: Appointment Reminders → Settings

Use the Automation module for communications such as:

• Patient recalls
• After-sales courtesy messages
• Review requests
• Birthday greetings

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Create a Communication Template

Before creating an automated communication, create the SMS or email template that will be sent to patients.

If you need assistance creating templates, refer to the Knowledge Base article:

Creating Templates for Recalls and Marketing (SMS and Email)

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Create an Automated Communication

1. Navigate to:
   Patient Communications → Recalls & Marketing: Automation
2. Click New.
3. Complete the basic information:

• List Name (campaign name)
• Method (SMS or Email)
• Send To (Patients, Employees, or Both)
• Template (the communication content)

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Configure the Schedule

Define when and how often the communication will be sent.

In the Frequency tab, configure the appropriate scheduling options, including:

• One-time or recurring communication
• Specific date or date range
• Sending frequency
• Specific sending time or time range

These settings determine when the automation will run.

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Configure Patient Filters

Select the patients who should receive the communication by applying the appropriate filters.

Available filters include, but are not limited to:

• Location
• Patient type
• Purchase type
• Event date
• Date of birth
• Other patient-specific criteria

Important:
Scroll to the bottom of the Patient Filters tab to configure Exclusions.

Using exclusions helps prevent unnecessary or duplicate communications, improving the patient experience and reducing communication fatigue.

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Preview and Activate the Automation

After configuring the automation:

1. Run a simulation in the Run Simulation/Manual Run tab.
2. Review:
   • The list length.
   • A sample of the patients who will receive the communication. 
3. View the schedule of this automated communication :
4. If the results are satisfactory, you can:
   • Start the automated communication immediately by clicking Run Recall/Distribution, or
   • Allow the automation to send automatically during its next scheduled sending window.
5. Print Labels if you would also like to send a traditional mail communication to the patients on the list.

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View Communication Logs

After the communication has been sent, you can review the results in the Logs tab.

The logs display the patients who received the communication.

To improve performance when reviewing large campaigns, apply date and time filters to narrow the results, then click the refresh button.