How to create Patient Connect programs

Patient Connect is HealthTrack's automated patient communication engine. It lets you send SMS, email, or letters to patients automatically based on a trigger event, without staff having to remember to do it manually. You configure it in Admin > Patient Connect Management, where each "program" defines what messages go out, when, and via what channel.

Patient Connect program types

Each program has one of the following types. The type is selected when the program is first created and cannot be changed afterwards.

Create a new Patient Connect Program

The Patient Connect Manager is where you create and configure programs before assigning them to patients.

1. Go to Admin > Patient Connect Management.
2. The Patient Connect Manager opens. The left panel lists existing programs; the right panel shows the selected program's configuration.

3. Click New to open the Create a New Program dialog.

4. Select a program type using the radio buttons next to each option. Refer to the program types table above if you're unsure which type to select.
5. Enter a Program Name. Use a short, descriptive name - it may appear in automated messages sent to patients.
6. Set the Cycles field to the number of times the program will run for each patient.
7. Set the Frequency by entering a number and selecting a time period (days, weeks, months). This is required for Recall, Program, and similar multi-cycle types. Booking and Referral programs run for a single cycle, so the Frequency field does not apply to them.
8. Click Save to open the Actions & Properties Editor for the new program.

Add actions

Actions define what happens at each step of a program. At least one action is required before a program can be enabled.

1. In the Patient Connect Management screen, click Add Action to open the Patient Connect Action dialog.

2. Select an action type from the drop-down.
   • SMS - select a linked SMS Template from the drop-down. Select Save Reply Content if you want to capture patient replies (for example, to record weight data in monitoring programs).

   • Email - select an Email Template from the drop-down, or create a new one.

     For configured SMS and Email templates in the Notification Manager, there is no need to set up any rules for the template as Patient Connect automates this process.

   • Letter to Patient / Letter to GP - select a Letter Template from the drop-down. Select from the print options below:
     • Mail - letter is added to the Distribution List for manual posting.
     • ePost - letter is added to the Distribution List and sent via ePost automatically.
     • Save File - letter is saved as a PDF to a configured directory.
   • Task - creates a task in HealthTrack for a staff member to action, rather than sending a message to the patient. Use this to build a manual step into an automated program, for example a reminder for a staff member to phone the patient. The Task Name, Task Type, Priority, Task Duration, and Task Assignment are all configurable.
   • Pause - no further configuration required. The program pauses at this step until a staff member manually advances it, for example after a follow-up phone call.
3. Set the timing for the action. The reference date the timing is measured from varies by program type - see the program types table above. For a Recall it is the proposed future booking date; for a Booking program it is the date of the booking.
4. Choose whether to select Pause on Error.
   • Selected - if the action fails (for example, no mobile number on file), the program pauses and flags the patient for manual follow-up.
   • Cleared - the program skips the failed action and moves to the next step automatically.
5. Click OK and repeat for any additional actions. When finished, select Save.

Configure booking types

Booking type settings control whether a patient's booking automatically completes a program cycle.

1. In the Patient Connect Management screen, locate the Booking Types to Complete Cycle section.
2. Select one of the following options:
   • Ignore Booking Types - bookings do not complete the program cycle. Use this for health monitoring programs where you want the full action sequence to run regardless.
   • Any Booking Type - any booking will complete the current cycle.
   • Selected Booking Types - choose one or more specific booking types that will complete the cycle.
3. Click Save.
4. If using the 'Selected Booking Types' option, go to Admin > Diary & Booking > Booking Types.
5. In the Add/Modify Booking Types screen, select the chosen Booking Type.
6. Go to the Other Settings tab, and select the corresponding Patient Connect program to link to the booking type.