When your office sends a long text message, BrainHi may send the patient a short SMS with the beginning of the message and a citas.pr link to read all of it. This guide is for office staff and explains when it happens, what the patient receives and how to answer the most common questions.
What is it for?
Long messages are split into several parts when sent by SMS. Sometimes they reach the patient out of order or incomplete, and each part counts as a separate message. With the link, the patient gets one short SMS and reads the full message, exactly as you wrote it, on a secure citas.pr page.
When is a message sent as a link?
Only when all of these are true:
- The feature is turned on for your office.
- The message goes out by SMS. WhatsApp messages don't change.
- The message has no photos or files.
- The message is long: more than two SMS parts, about 300 characters. If it has emojis or certain symbols, the limit is lower.
It applies to these messages:
- Messages staff write in Conversations.
- Missed-call messages.
- Appointment confirmations, but only the note your office adds. The confirmation text and the instructions to reply YES or NO still arrive in the SMS, and the patient confirms as usual.
Reminders, the waiting list, campaigns and other automated messages are not sent as a link. They arrive the same as before.
What does the patient receive?
One SMS with your office's name, the beginning of the message and the link. For example:
Full message: https://citas.pr/m/AB12CD34EF
If the beginning of the message doesn't fit, the SMS only says "Dr. Rivera's Office sent you a message." and the link.
In confirmations, the office's note appears as "Message from the office:" followed by the link.
What does the patient see when they open the link?
- For the first 48 hours, anyone with the link sees the full message, without creating an account or signing in. The page shows until when it's "Available without an account".
- After 48 hours, the page says "Message unavailable". Only a patient who had already signed in to their citas.pr account from one of your office's links while that link was available, with the same cell phone number the SMS was sent to, can see it again. That patient signs in with their password or with the "Get a code by text" option. Otherwise, the page tells them they'll get a new link when your office sends them another message.
- If the link is incomplete or copied wrong, the page says "Invalid link".
Do I need to turn anything on?
Your office doesn't need to do anything. BrainHi turns this feature on office by office, gradually. It isn't turned on from the portal. If you have questions about whether it's on for your office, contact support.
Common questions
The patient says the link "is no longer available"
More than 48 hours have passed since the message was sent. If the patient had already signed in to their citas.pr account from one of your office's links while it was available, they can sign in again with the same cell phone number to see it. Otherwise, send them the information again from Conversations.
The patient thinks the SMS is spam
The SMS comes from your office's usual number, starts with your office's name, and the link is from citas.pr, BrainHi's patient portal. It's safe to open.
How does the patient reply to me?
The same as always: by replying to the SMS. Their reply reaches Conversations like any other message.
I don't see anything different in Conversations
That's expected. In Conversations you see the full message, exactly as you wrote it. There's no mark showing the patient received it as a link.
Why didn't a long reminder arrive as a link?
Reminders and other automated messages aren't sent as a link, because many of them expect the patient to reply by SMS. It only applies to staff messages, missed calls and the note in confirmations.
What happens if the link can't be created?
The patient receives the full message by SMS, as before. They never go without the message.