Automated phone calls are a great way to reach patients who are less likely to read texts or emails. You can use Automations, Broadcasts, and Campaigns to send automated phone calls.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

You may see the phone call functionality referred to as IVR or Interactive Voice Response. This is the technical term for the automated phone system technology Artera uses to deliver phone messages to patients. 

Patient Call Interaction

Greeting

When a patient receives an automated phone call, they must answer with "Hello" or another greeting to prompt the message to start. 

What happens if the call goes to voicemail? 

Artera uses answering machine detection to listen to the answered greeting of the call and determines (based on length and sound patterns) whether or not to deliver the message as a voicemail. See the table below for more specifics on the message delivered. 

Message Content Delivered

The message delivered to the patient can change depending on whether or not the patient answers the call. For example, automated Appointment Confirmation phone calls will not play the {eventConfirmText} Smart Phrase message that prompts patients to confirm their appointment by pressing 1. Instead, it will simply leave the initial part of the response.

Call Event Messages in Patient Channel

There are several Event Messages that appear in the Patient Channel which can help you determine if the patient has received the call. 

Check out the following table for a list of the call status in Artera and the related Event Message:

Creating a Phone Message

When building your Phone message, keep the following recommendations in mind:

Abbreviations

Avoid using abbreviations in your call verbiage since the IVR system may not recognize the abbreviation and pronounce it incorrectly. For example, the abbreviation "appt" should be replaced with the full word "appointment."

• Avoid using "/" which will read as "slash."

• Avoid the abbreviations Bldg, N, E, S, W. Instead, type the complete word.

• Recognized abbreviations include: Ste. and Ste as "Suite" and Dr. and Dr as "Drive."

• 101-B ignores the - and will be read as "101B."

Appointment Confirmation Messages

When creating Appointment Confirmation messages (i.e. messages where you are asking the patient to confirm an upcoming appointment), ensure the {eventConfirmText} Smart Phrase is the last part of your message. Remember, while you will not be able to see the {eventConfirmText} Smart Phrase content (e.g. "To confirm your visit, please press 1") in the Patient’s Channel for IVR calls, the patient will still hear that part of the message if the call was answered.

Language Preferences and Translations

Call messages can be configured and delivered in any of the supported translations using the + Translation link. However, not all Smart Phrases accommodate the translations supported by the message capability in Artera

Preview Phone Message

To preview a Phone Message:

1. When creating or editing the Call message, select the Phone icon.

2. Enter a valid phone number and click Call Me. 

3. Say “Hello” to activate the message.