Patient Messaging User Guide

www.medfusion.net/support

877-599-5123 x2

Medfusion Implementation

12/08/2008

Version 1.0.6

TABLE OF CONTENTS Patient Messaging User Guide

Section 1 – Login and Get Started

Section 2 – Using Patient Messaging

A. List Patient Messaging

B. Build a Message

C. Manage Templates

D. View Failures

E. Quick Send

F. Automatic Appointment Reminders G. My Labs

Section 3 – Automatic Patient Messaging Section 4- Terminology

SECTION 1

Login and Get Started

1. Login to the Secure Practice Portal™ at www.medfusion.net/login using the user ID and password created by your website administrator.

2. Click on “Patient Messaging”.

3. You will be directed to the Patient Messages Page. Refer to section 2A for more information about outbound messages.

Important note for Patient Messaging Guide users:

In this guide, buttons will be shown as “Button Name” and links will be shown as Link Name.

All time and date stamps in Patient Messaging are based on the time zone set in the Site Generator.

SECTION 2

Using Patient Messaging

A. Search Patient Messaging – In this section, you will learn how to view, edit, and search through Patient messages.

1. Search for Patient Fax, Email, and Secure Communication Messages – This allows you to search for all messages that have been sent through Patient Messaging. Incomplete messages will appear in red text.

a. Select if you would like to view all messages, sent messages,

message in your outbox, or drafts. (See image 2.1) b. You will see all messages matching the search criteria. c. If you search for “sent” items, click on History beside the

message you want to view. This will show you the history of when this message was used.

d. If you search for “drafts”, click on Complete beside the message. Click “Next” after you finish editing each section to bring you back to the Message Details page.

Image 2.1

e. Click “Publish Message” to save your changes and publish the Patient fax, email, or secure communications message.

f. Once you publish the message, the Complete link will be changed to History (see Image 2.2).

Image 2.2

2. View the History of a Complete Message a. Click on “List Patient Messages” from the main menu of

Patient Messaging. b. Once a message is completed, Complete will

change to History. d. The start of transmission time, end of transmission time,

and message information is now in view. e. If there are any message failures, you can view these by

clicking on View Message Failures under the Information category. A detailed explanation will follow, and this allows you to see what recipients did not get the message.

3. Search Through Patient Messages – This allows you to search through Patient messages by message name, delivery mode, and creation date. You can then view and edit the Patient message.

a. Click on “List Patient Messages” on the main menu of Patient Messaging.

b. Enter the search parameters (see Image 2.3). c. Click “Search”. d. You will see a list of messages that meet your search criteria.

e. Filter by column by clicking on the title of a column.

Image 2.3

5. Delete Patient Messages – This allows you to delete an unpublished Patient message. It is advised not to delete a completed message that has already been sent out to recipients, as all history will be lost.

Image 2.4

6. Unpublish Patient Messages – This allows you to unpublish a completed Patient message, if you want to end the message early.

a. Click View/Edit next to the completed message you want

to unpublish. b. Unpublish the message by clicking “Unpublish

Message” (see Image 2.5).

b. Delete the message by clicking “Delete Message” (see Image 2.4).

a. Click View/Edit next to the unpublished message you want to delete.

Image 2.5

1. Build a Fax, Email, and Secure Communications Message – This

allows practices to communicate with their patients in a variety of ways on a one-time basis or through regularly occurring messages. A Secure Communications message can only be sent to registered Medfusion users. *It is also important to note that prior to sending telephone messages (other than the pre-recorded templates), practices must contact Medfusion for set-up.*

a. Click on “Build a Message” on the main menu of Patient Messaging.

b. From the drop-down menu, select the Delivery Mode (how you want to communicate) of Fax, Email, Secure Communications, or Secure Communication/Email (see Image 2.7). It is important to note that fax, telephone, and email are not secure forms of communication.

** Secure Communication/Email delivery mode will send a Secure Communication if the recipient is a registered member, and an email otherwise. This works great with the Batch Patient ID File Upload, because if the EMRId is pointing to a registered patient, it will send a Secure Communication, and if it is a locked patient, imported patient, or someone not in the system, then it will send them an email.

B. Build a Message Note: A progress bar will guide you through creating an entire message, letting you know

the progress.

Note: It is important to note that patients may choose to opt-out of all Patient Message. Also, at the bottom of e-mail messages, patients will be directed on the proper way to remove themselves from future communications.

c. From the drop-down menu, select Message Template. If you

select an already created template, the message body will appear. You should enter the subject of the message and click “Next”, where you will then be taken to Recipient Type. If a template has never been created for that Message Type, the default is New Template, and you will need to proceed to create a new template.

d. From the drop-down menu, select the Message Type. You can choose from Other, Patient Education, Billing Reminder, Lab Results, Appointment Reminder, Post-op Instructions, Pre-op Instructions, and Practice Information. These are general categories to group various message templates.

e. In the Subject text box, type the name of the message you are sending and click “Next”. This subject will also be the subject of the email, the header of the fax, or the name of the Secure Communication (see Image 2.7).

Image 2.7

f. You are now at the screen where you need to add new fields to the new template you are creating for your message. Fields allow the message to be patient specific, but are not required. First, enter the Template name in the appropriate field (see Image 2.8).

Image 2.8

h. You have the option to make the template you are creating reusable. To choose this option, select the radio button beside Reusable. If you do not want to use this template in the future, the default radio button will remain at Nonreusable. You are also given the option to create an html or a plain text template. Select the appropriate radio button beside the choice you wish to use (see Image 2.9). All created templates will appear in the “Manage Template” section. Refer to Section 2.C for more information about managing your templates.

Note: It is important to note that you have the ability to create an HTML Template, as well as a plain text template. You can choose to create an HTML template, a plain text template, or both. It is also important to note that you should use a plain text template for all Fax Messages.

Image 2.9

i. The left-hand column holds the fields you need to add to the right-hand column. The right-hand column is also known as the text editor. Begin typing your message in the text editor, add fields as you need them, and continue typing the message. Make sure you add a space before you add the variable field. To add a field, select the field you want, and click “>>>Add>>>”. You can also add a field by typing “~field~” where you want it in the right-hand column (filling in „field‟ with a word from the left-hand column).

j. Once you have typed the template, click “Save Template”. This template will now be saved for future use.

k. Next, choose the Recipient Type, or who the message will be sent to. The options are All Patients, Individual Patient(s), Specific Criteria, Unregistered Patient, or Batch File Import.

1) All Patients: This allows you to send a message to every single patient that is registered in the Medfusion system.

Note: If all patients is selected, a warning is given to confirm sending the message to all patients.

2) Individual Patient(s): This allows you to search for given Medfusion patients you are looking for by User ID, First Name, Last Name, Email, and Patient ID. Three characters are required in at least one of the search fields in order to complete a search. To add a recipient from the Search Results, click the green arrow beside the patient you would like to add. To delete a recipient from the Selected Recipients box, click the red X beside the patient you would like to remove. You are able to perform multiple searches, and add as many patients to the message as you would like. (see Image 2.10). Click “Select Recipients and Continue”.

3) Specific Criteria: This allows you to send a message to all Medfusion patients who meet a certain criteria. Several different fields appear where you can choose to send the message to a group of patients based on gender, age, date of birth, name, race, and location.

4) Unregistered Patient: This option is not available for Secure Communications messages. This allows you to type in everything that the system needs to send the message including e-mail, name, and phone number. Once you select this type as a recipient, you will be required to enter this information on the Static Parameter page. Refer to Section 2.B.l.m. for more information.

5) Batch File Import: This is generally used for a one-time message. It allows you to use an uploaded text file containing the data needed to send a message to patients not registered with Medfusion. We expect the date format to be mm/dd/yyyy, like 12/01/2005. If the date format is not like this, you need to specify this on the Batch File parameters page. Refer to Section 2.B.1.m. A standard file upload screen will be presented, where you can upload a comma (,) or semicolon (;) delimited text file from your Practice Management System or EMR. You will then be prompted to select either comma or semicolon delimited. Click “Upload” if you have chosen Batch File Import as the Recipient Type. You will then be presented a screen where you need to match the Sample Data with the variable fields. Fields can be skipped if desired. Click “Confirm” to continue. 6) Batch File Patient ID Upload: will look up a patient in the database based on the EMRId specified in the batch file. This allows EM”S to be sent to members, locked members, and imported members, and the system will look up the information for those members, so things like name, email, etc do not have to be specified in the batch file, only the EMRId does.

Image 2.10

l. Secure Communication or email messages may now be optionally replied to by the patient. For email messages, you can choose what the reply address will be. This email address must include a valid domain name (i.e. @medfusion.net.). Enter the email address in the field the “Reply Address” field (see Image 2.10).

m. Click “Next”.

n. You will then be brought to a screen where you can specify attachments for each patient. You can browse through files and upload attachments for each patient, or use an attachment for all recipients. Once you have browsed for the attachment, select “Upload Attachments”. If you choose not to add any attachments, select “Skip and Continue” (see Image 2.11).

Image 2.11

o. When a message is being sent to multiple recipients, a custom message may be appended to the end of the message for each recipient. To add a custom message, click on the recipient‟s name. When you are finished click “Next”; if you do not want to add a custom message, click “Skip and continue” (see Image 2.12). This will allow personal communications to be mixed in with lab results that are delivered to multiple patients at the same time.

Image 2.12

p. To Specify Static Parameters, plug in the value of each field as you want it to appear in the message. The words that are typed here will directly appear in the message and will be static. The fields in bold need to be specified, and will be the same on every message. Although none of these fields are required, it provides you with a way to input any pieces of information that are not in the database, and allows you to override any fields. If Unregistered Patient was your Recipient Type, you will need to enter in their information (including the Member Email or Member Fax number) in the appropriate field (see Image 2.13). Click “Next”.

Image 2.13

q. To Specify Message Frequency, or how often the message will be sent out, choose the Recurrence Type from the drop-down menu. The choices include Non-ending, # of Times, Until End Date, and One Time. Click “Next”.

1) One Time: The message will be sent

one time only, and you choose the Start Date and Start Time.

2) Continuous: This message will be sent forever. The Every field allows you to specify how often the message will be sent, for forever.

r. From the Message Details page, you can edit each field, if you wish, by clicking on Edit beside the category to edit. It is important to note that the sample message on this page is a sample template of what your message will look like. To publish the message, click “Publish Message” (see Image 2.14).

s. The message has now been sent, and you are back at the “home” page of Patient Messaging.

3) Number of Times: This message will be sent the number of times you specify.

4) Until End Date: This message will be sent

until the End Date you specify.

Image 2.14

C. Manage Templates – This allows practices to search through templates created for Patient Messages. It also allows practices to view details of reusable templates, as well as view and edit details of non-reusable templates.

1. View Templates

a. Click on “Manage Templates”. b. All templates are now sorted on this page by Template

Name (see Image 2.16). c. To view details of reusable templates, click on Details beside

the template you would like to view. There will be a preview of the message, and any messages using this template will also be listed.

d. To view details of non-reusable templates, click on Details beside the templates you would like to view. Any Patient Message using this template will be listed. To edit any non-reusable template, click Edit beside the template you would like to edit, on the Manage Templates page.

Image 2.16

2. Search through Templates - This allows practices to search through created templates by template name, template format, message type, and whether it is usable or non-reusable. You can then view and edit the Patient message.

a. Click on “Manage Templates” on the main menu of Patient Messaging.

c. Click “Search”.

e. Filter by column by clicking on the title of a column.

Note: It is important to note that Medfusion has created a listing of available Reusable templates for Telephone Messages, and these templates cannot be edited. Please refer to Exhibit 1 to view these available messages .If you would like to change or add a new Telephone Message template, please contact your Implementation Coordinator for more information about setting these up.

b. Enter the search parameters d. You will see a list of templates that meet your search criteria.

D. View Failures – This allows practices to view and search for any message failures that occurred when trying to send out messages.

1. View Message Failures a. Click on “View Failures” on the left-hand menu

of Patient Messaging.

b. The failed messages now appear here. The particular message on which the failure occurred is displayed, as well as the failure itself (see Image 2.18).

Image 2.18

E. Quick Send

1. This allows messages being sent to registered Medfusion patients to be sent from a single page instead of multiple screens.

2. Click on “Quick Send” on the left menu of Patient Messaging. a. Select the Delivery Mode. You can chose from email or secure

communication. b. Chose the Message Type. c. Chose the Template and enter a subject. This will be the subject of the email

or the title of the secure message. d. Chose if the patient will have the ability to reply to the message. e. Next chose the recipient type. You can chose from individual patients or all

patients. If you chose individual recipients, you can add as many recipients as you would like. Note: If all patients is selected, a warning is given to confirm sending the message to all patients.

f. When a message is being sent to multiple recipients, a custom message may be appended to the end of the message for each recipient. To add a custom message, click on the recipient‟s name. When you are finished click “Next”; if you do not want to add a custom message, click “Skip and continue” (see Image 2.12). This will allow personal communications to be mixed in with lab results that are delivered to multiple patients at the same time

g. Select the recipients and then „Publish Message‟ to send the message to your patients.

2. Search for Message Failures

a. Click on “View Failures” on the left-hand menu of Patient Messaging.

b. Enter your search criteria in the Message Name box.

d. Click “Search”. e. The results that meet the search criteria will now appear.

Image 2.19

Note: If it is possible that an error can be recovered by the system, the sending of that message will be retried up to 5 times.

c. Specify the number of failures to display from the drop down menu (see Image 2.19).

Section F

Automatic Patient Messaging

A) Information needed by Medfusion

1) Medfusion will need to know what message template from Patient Messaging to use.

2) An example file.

a. This should include samples of the data fields that will be used in the message.

b. This should also include an explanation of what field each column in the example file maps to.

3) The name of the folder on your system where you will save the files to be uploaded and sent.

4) The naming scheme for how the files will be saved (for example: maybe all Appointment Reminders will

start with ar_).

B) Create Message Templates

1) Login to the Secure Practice Portal at www.medfusion.net/login. 2) Select „Patient Messaging.‟ 3) Select the option for „Build Message.‟

a. Select the delivery mode. You will want to choose either „secure communication‟ or „Secure Comm or Email.‟

b. Select the message type. From the drop-down menu, select the Message Type. You can choose from Other, Patient Education, Billing Reminder, Lab Results, Appointment Reminder, Post-op Instructions, Pre-op Instructions, and Practice Information. These are general categories to group various message templates.

c. From the drop-down menu, select Message Template. If a template has never been created for that Message Type, the default is New Template, and you will need to proceed to create a new template.

d. In the Subject text box, type the name of the message you are sending and click “Next”. This subject will also be the subject of the email, the header of the fax, or the name of the Secure Communication (see Image 2.7).

e. You are now at the screen where you need to add new fields to the new template you are

creating for your message. Fields allow the message to be patient specific, but are not required. First, enter the Template name in the appropriate field (see Image 2.8).

f. The left-hand column holds the fields you need to add to the right-hand column. The right-

hand column is also known as the text editor. Begin typing your message in the text editor, add fields as you need them, and continue typing the message. Make sure you add a space before you add the variable field. To add a field, select the field you want, and click “>>>Add>>>”. You can also add a field by typing “~field~” where you want it in the right-hand column (filling in „field‟ with a word from the left-hand column).

g. Once you have typed the template, click “Save Template”. This template will now be saved for future use.

C) Install Client File Import

1) Contact your project manager at Medfusion to schedule a time to install the Client File Import.

Section G

My Labs Link

Your practice can send lab results securely to patients using patient messaging. The lab result patient message will show up in

the My Labs link of the Patient Portal if [LABS] is in the subject line of the message and if “Enable My Labs in Patient Portal” is

checked in the Site Generator.

A) My Labs link activation

The My Labs link can be turned on in the Site Generator by clicking on Manage Patient Messaging Settings

under Interactive Solutions, checking Enable “My Labs” in Patient Portal and Save Settings.

B) [LABS] requirement as prefix of the Subject of your

Patient Message in the Practice Portal

In order to direct the lab result to the “My Labs” link in the Patient Portal, the word LABS must be in

brackets [ ] at the beginning of the Subject line of the patient message you build in the Practice Portal. The

[LABS] portion must be the prefix of the Subject.

Once you have typed the template, click “Save Template.” This template will now be saved for future use.

Next, choose the Recipient Type. The recipient type is who the message will be sent to. The options are All Patients,

Individual Patient(s), Specific Criteria, or Batch File Import. Choose Individual Patient(s). This allows you to search for

Medfusion patients by User ID, First Name, Last Name, and Email. You are able to perform multiple searches, and add as

many patients to the message as you would like.

Enter search content, click Search, then click on the + symbol to add the message recipients. You can also remove recipients

by clicking on the X symbol beside the patient.

Messages may also optionally be replied to by the patient by checking the “Patients can reply to message” box. Once you

have added the recipients, click “Select Recipients and Continue.”

You can specify attachments for each patient by browsing through files and uploading attachments for each patient, or use an

attachment for all recipients. Once you have browsed for the attachment, select “Upload Attachments.” If you choose not to

add any attachments, select “Skip and Continue.”

When a message is being sent to multiple recipients, a custom message may be appended to the end of the message for each

recipient. To add a custom message, click on the recipient’s name. When you are finished, click “Next.” If you do not want

to add a custom message, click “Skip and Continue.”

Specify Static Parameters in bold by typing in the value of each field as you want it to appear in the message. Fields in bold

need to be specified or they will be left blank.

Specify Message Frequency, click Next.

The Message Details Page allows you to edit each field, if needed, by clicking on “Edit” beside whatever category you want to

edit. Note: This is your message with sample data. Your message will not have these values. Click “Send Message.”

C) Patient Portal View

The patient can view their lab results in the “My Labs” link on the “My Patient Page” of the Patient Portal or

in the “My Labs” link of “My Messages.”

1. Lab Results a. Your lab results are available. Please dial 1-800-846-4444 and dial the

code ~LabResultsPickupCode~ to retrieve your results. b. Your recent ~LabTestType~ was not normal. Please contact the office as

soon as possible to arrange a follow up appointment if you do not already have one. (~LabTestType~ = {“cholesterol test”, “mammogram”, “prostate test”, etc.})

a. You have an appointment scheduled on ~AppointmentDate~ at ~AppointmentTime~. Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment.

b. You missed your recent appointment with us. Please contact the office as soon as possible to reschedule your appointment.

c. We wanted to let you know that your appointment on ~AppointmentDate~ has been cancelled because ~DoctorName~ has become unavailable. Please contact the office and arrange a new appointment date.

Exhibit 1 Messages Available to All Practices

This lists all of the available standard Medfusion TeleSuite messages. Custom messages can be created for any practice, but these are the ones that will be available to all practices.

Prefix to all messages: “Hello, this is a message is for ~FirstName~ ~LastName~ from ~PracticeName~.”

Postfix to all message: “Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you at your next visit.”

c. Your recent ~LabTestType~ results were Normal. 2. Billing Reminder

a. There is currently an outstanding bill that you owe to our practice. Please contact us as soon as possible to arrange for payment.

3. Appointment Related

4. Practice Information

a. We wanted to let you know that the office will be closed on ~OfficeClosedDate~. If you have an appointment scheduled on this day, please contact the office and arrange a new appointment date.

b. We would like to welcome you to our practice.

d. We wanted to let you know that your appointment on ~AppointmentDate~ has been cancelled due to the office being closed. Please contact the office and arrange a new appointment date.

5. Patient Education a. Flu season is coming up and we wanted to let you know that we have flu

shots available starting on ~FluShotAvailableDate~. Please make arrangements to have a Flu shot as soon as possible.

b. We wanted to remind you to make sure your child has all of their immunizations up to date.

c. You are due for ~AvailableService~. Please contact the office as soon as possible to arrange and appointment to have this done. (~AvailableService~ = {“a mammogram”, “a cholesterol test”, “some routine bloodwork”, “a checkup”, “a prostate examination”,”yearly physical”, etc.”}) d. We wanted to let you know that we will be having an information session

about ~InformationSessionTopic~ on ~InformationSessionDate~ at ~InformationSessionTime~ at the office. We hope that you can attend. (~InformationSessionTopic~ = {“flu and cold season preparation”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”})

6. Other

a. We would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday. b. We would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Holiday season. c. We would like to wish you and your family a very Happy New Year. d. We would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. e. We would like to wish you and your family a Happy

Independence Day.

SECTION

Terminology

Batch File Import – A way to take a comma or semicolon delimited text file and use as a source of data; often uploaded from the practice management system.

Patient Message – A message that is sent to a patient, or number of patients.

Preference – Upon logging into the Patient Portal, the patient will be prompted to select their contact preference. If this option is chosen as the delivery mode, the message will be sent out via the patient‟s communication preference. If they do not have a preference set, the message will go out through a Secure Communication.

Secure Communication – A secure message that is HIPAA compliant, and is used to communicate with a patient. The patient is notified by email that there is a secure communication waiting for them in their “My Patient Page” of the website. This type of message can only be sent to registered Medfusion users.

Static Parameter – A tool that allows you to input information into different fields that is not the database.

Template – A message template is used as a starting point so that the message does not have to be recreated each time it is used.

Upload – Transfer data from your computer to our server.

Unregistered Patient – Patients that are not registered with Medfusion. This recipient type can be used to send Fax, Email, or Telephone Messages.