Overview
You can send and receive text messages in Cerbo using an optional integration with Twilio. With the integration, incoming texts to your Twilio number will appear in a "Received Texts" block on your scheduling page. And any texts received from a patient's mobile number, or sent out from their chart in Cerbo, will be logged in their SMS history in their chart. You can view a patient's SMS history, or send them a SMS message, by clicking on their mobile number in their Patient Information block.
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Details
If you have the integration, SMS appointment reminders are sent from your Twilio number, so patients can respond to that SMS reminder message, and their response will show in the Received Texts block (on your schedule page) and will be logged in their chart.
Generally speaking, texting is not considered HIPAA-compliant. We recommend that if you wish to use Twilio texting with patients that you ask on a consent form, or have them opt-in on the Account details page of the portal - if patients agree to interacting via text, ensuring that they understand that texting is not encrypted consequently not 100% secure.
You can also use an integrated Twilio phone number to call out from Cerbo. Call the patient using your Twilio number by clicking on their phone number in their Patient Information block. Twilio will first call you (at another number that you specify), and then connect you to the patient's phone number. The patient will see your Twilio number in their caller ID.
Set up how phone calls and text messages to an integrated Twilio number should be routed to external phones under Admin > Manage > Integrations (scroll to the Twilio section and you should see the Manage Phone Numbers option here). The routing can depend upon whether the call or text is coming in during your business hours, or after hours.
Note: You may set it so that texts to your Twilio number are also routed to a phone number, but if you were to respond from your mobile phone, your mobile phone number is what the patient would receive. For this reason you will generally want to login to Cerbo to view and respond to patient texts.
Currently, calls to/from your Twilio number are logged, but that log is not shown in the patient's chart in the EMR. Text messages sent to your Twilio number, or sent out from the EMR are logged and shown in the patient's chart.
There is no additional charge from Cerbo for this integration, but you will incur costs from Twilio. These are usually nominal for text messages ($.75 per 100 messages at the time of this writing). But they can add up if you use your Twilio number for your main clinic number and have busy phone lines (Starting at $0.0085/min to receive and $0.013/min to place).
Other keywords: SMS texting text messaging