We recommend keeping message content short to optimize the patient experience, voice calls should be more conversational.

Message Formatting Guidelines

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."

Here is a list of leading practices for formatting call messages:

• Avoid using "/" which will read as "slash."
• Avoid the abbreviations Bldg, N, E, S, W. Insteac, type the complete word.
• Abbreviations that are recognized include Ste. and Ste as "Suite" and Dr. and Dr as "Drive."
• 101-B ignores the - and will be read as 101B.
• 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.

Preview Phone Call: Before creating a message that is sent via phone call, it is best to validate how the message will sound and test the reminder. In the sample call, any Smart Phrases will be randomly populated with generic placeholders. This includes the {eventConfirmText} Smart Phrase, so you will not be able to preview any customizations made to the message within your Default Settings.

If you would like to preview those customizations, you can create yourself as a test patient, schedule a future appointment, and send yourself a Broadcast message from the Scheduled view with the {eventConfirmText} Smart Phrase.

1. Click the Phone icon at the bottom of the message.
2. Enter a valid phone number and select Call Me. 
3. Be sure to say Hello to activate the message delivery.