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Inbox Management Cheat Sheet

Best practices & Standard Responses for Text-based enrollment outreach

Andrea Liebsch avatar
Written by Andrea Liebsch
Updated over 6 months ago

Inbox Management Basics

Enrollments

How do I enroll patients?

  • Auto-Enrollment:

    • Patients who respond with "Yes" will be automatically enrolled

    • Newly enrolled patients can be found in the Enrolled tab under New

    • All other patient responses during Enrollment Outreach can be found in the Scheduling inbox.

  • Manual Enrollment

    • For patients who respond with "Yes", but include a question or punctuation after the response, select the "Enroll" button to send the enrollment welcome message

    • If applicable, assign a Care Manager to the patient

    • The patient is now enrolled and can be found in the Enrolled tab

Declinations

What should I do if a patient declines enrollment?

  • Mark patients who respond with "No" as "Declined"

  • Respond to the patient using the "Declinations" template, or by copying and pasting the below message:

    • “Hi {{first_name}}, no problem. We won't enroll you in Connected

      Care at this time. Feel free to save this number & reach

      out if you want to enroll in the future, or need anything (e.g. appointments, medication refills, advice, questions etc.) Thanks!”

Wrong Number

What do I do if I receive a "Wrong Number" response?

  • Open the patient's EMR and double check if the number in Phamily matches

    • If the number doesn't match, update the patient's profile in Phamily with the number documented in the patient's EMR

    • Resend the Enrollment message to the updated number

  • If the correct number cannot be confirmed:

    • TAG the patient with "Wrong Number"

    • Close out the conversation

No Longer with Practice or Moved Out of State

If the patient says they are no longer with the practice:

  • Check your EHR and confirm the patient's last appointment date and review chart notes made.

    • If the patients has attended a recent appointment (past 6 months), confirm if they plan on returning to the practice.

    • If the patient has not been seen in over 6 months, let them know you will be updating the record accordingly and to reach out if they change their mind.

  • Archive the patient and mark as "Not Eligible"

  • Create a note in Phamily: "Patient no longer w/practice. Archived"

  • Update your EHR accordingly and follow your organization's internal protocols

If the patient says they've "moved away" or "out of state":

  • Ask the patient if they have moved permanently, part-time, or plan on returning to the office.

    • If the patient has been seen within the last year and plans on returning within a year, they are still eligible for enrollment!

  • If the patient has permanently relocated and doesn’t plan on returning:

    • Thank the patient for letting you know and let them know you will update their record accordingly.

    • ARCHIVE the patient and mark as "Not Eligible"

    • Create a Note in Phamily: "Patient no longer w/practice. Archived"

    • Update your EHR accordingly and follow internal protocols

Deceased Patients

What do I do if I find out the patient is deceased?

  • Respond to the message using the "Deceased" template or copy and paste the following into the message window:

    • "Hi there. We are very sorry for your loss and thank you for letting us know; we'll update our records accordingly. Please let us know if you need anything during this time. Thank you"

  • Tag the patient as "Deceased"

  • Archive patient and mark as "Not Eligible"

  • Create a note stating: "Patient Deceased. Archived"

  • Update the patient record in your EHR and follow your organization's internal protocols

Calling Patients

Calling patients is an important part of managing your Connected Care program at every stage.

Patient Phone Calls During Enrollment Outreach:

What should I do if a patient responds to the Enrollment Outreach message by requesting a phone call?

  • Respond to the patient and let them know you'd be happy to give them a call. Let them know when you plan on calling (e.g. right now, in 10 minutes, etc.)

    • Try to call the patient as soon as you can

    • Depending on how busy you are, calling the patient right away might be difficult. Create a Task for yourself to call the patient later at a time that works better.

  • Before the call:

    • Open the patient's chart in your EHR and quickly review their recent medical history.

  • During the call:

    • Let the patient know who you are, and where you're calling from

    • Follow the 3 E's of Patient Engagement:

      • Engage patients by always asking the patient how they are

      • Empathize with the patient's unique situation and listen to what they have to say

      • Educate the patient on how you can help and how Connected Care can benefit them.

    • Ask the patient if they'd like to try the program

  • After the call:

    • If the patient agrees to enroll in Connected Care, send them the Enrollment Welcome message by selecting the "Enroll" button on their patient profile in Phamily.

    • If the patient declines enrollment, send them a follow-up message thanking them for the call and letting them know they can text the Connected Care number anytime if they change their mind.

Patient FAQs and Standard Responses

What is Connected Care?

Connected Care is a proactive preventative care program meant to give you the care you need the moment you need it! I will be checking in with you occasionally to help you reach your health goals and better manage your conditions. You'll also be able to text this number any time for scheduling, medication refills, questions, advice, etc. We are recommending this program to all of our eligible patients. Would you like to try it out?

Is there any cost? Is the program covered by insurance?

Connected Care is an insurance covered program, so standard cost-sharing does apply. Although, most patients don’t have to pay anything at all with Medicare plus a supplement!

Can you explain the benefits again?

The main benefits of Connected Care are (1.) improving patient health by slowing functional decline (i.e. slowing the worsening of a condition), and (2.) keeping patients out of the hospital and emergency room by preventing adverse health events. The program is designed to help you, and your families, save time and make living with multiple chronic conditions manageable.

Who/What is a Care Manager?

My job is to help make patients' lives easier! I’m here to help you with whatever you need (appts., refills, referrals, advice, etc.) and be an advocate for you. Ultimately, my goal is to work with you to better manage your conditions and reach your personal health goals.

Do I have to enroll?

Short answer: no, enrollment is completely optional, and it’s your right to choose what works for you! Although, if you have been identified as a candidate for CCM, it means [DR. NAME] thinks it’s a good idea for you to enroll! We think this program would be beneficial for you.

Need help?
Contact our Support Team at support@phamily.com, or click the question mark in Phamily, for assistance.

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