Sending updates to your patients shouldn't take all day! With ALOHA®, you can send one-time texts, emails, or push notifications to your entire patient list or just a specific group in minutes. Use ALOHA to share office closures, holiday hours, or exciting practice events.
✨ When You Need This Guide
How do I notify patients about a weather-related office closure?
Can I send a holiday greeting to everyone at once?
How do I tell patients their provider is out of the office?
I want to invite specific patients to a health fair.
Is there a way to personalize mass messages with patient names?
What This Covers (And What It Doesn't)
✅ Covers: Sending bulk SMS, Email, and Push notifications, filtering recipients, using templates and personal "replacement strings," and scheduling messages for later.
❌ Doesn't Cover: Automated appointment reminders or campaign messages.
Prerequisites/You'll Need:
An active ALOHA account.
The message you would like to send.
✅ Creating and Sending Your Message
Follow these steps to get your message out to your community.
Open the Bulk Message Tool: Log in to ALOHA and click the Chat Bubble Icon in the top right header to open the Convos drawer. Click the Group Icon (a team of people with a plus sign) in the header of that drawer.
Pick Your Channel: Choose how you want to send your message. You can select SMS, Email, Both, or Push Notification.
Choose Who Receives It: Use the Recipient Criteria dropdown to filter your list. You can target people based on their Next Appointment, Past Appointment, or even specific Tags.
Tip: Use the "Exclude Minors" checkbox if your message is only for adults!
Preview Your List: Click Preview Contacts. This lets you see exactly who is on the list. You can uncheck anyone you want to skip.
Write Your Message: Type your message in the editor.
Personalize it: Click the
icon to insert Replacement Strings. For example, typing Hi {{contact.firstName}} will automatically put each patient's real name in their message!
Use a Template: Click the Paper icon to grab a pre-written message for things like "Weather Closures."
Check Your Length: If sending SMS, keep an eye on the character count. Every 160 characters equals 1 SMS credit.
Send or Schedule: Click Send to deliver it immediately or Send Later to pick a specific date and time for the message to go out.
👥 Understanding Your Recipient Options
This is where you tell the system exactly who should get your message. In the Recipient Criteria dropdown, you can pick:
Past/Future Appointment: Pulls anyone who had (or will have) an appointment in your chosen date range.
Last Appointment: Finds patients whose last visit was within your date range (no future appointments).
Next Appointment: Targets patients whose next visit is coming up soon.
Search by Name: Best for selecting a few specific individuals.
Reactivation: Finds patients who haven't been seen in a while. You can set a date range and choose a specific timeframe, like patients not seen in more than 30 days.
Tagged With: Reaches a specific group you have already labeled, like "VIP" or "Returning Clients."
✅ Using Message History
Once your message is sent or scheduled, you can track it in the history log.
Access History: In the header of the Bulk Messaging page, click View Message History.
Review Sent Messages: You will see a list of every bulk message sent. This includes the date, a preview of the text, the delivery method (SMS or Email), and how many patients received it.
View Full Previews: To see the full content of a past message, click on any Message Preview within the table.
Check Scheduled Messages: Messages waiting to go out will have a Pending status.
Edit or Cancel: Click on a scheduled message to open the message details. Click Edit to change the text or click Cancel Message if you no longer want it to be sent.
Note: Once a message has been sent, it cannot be edited or recalled.
💡 Common Questions
What You Might Notice | Why It's Happening | What to Do |
The "Preview Contacts" button isn't visible. | You haven't finished setting your filters yet. | Make sure you selected a recipient criteria. |
A patient's name looks like {{contact.firstName}} in the conversation. | The replacement string was typed manually or incorrectly. | Always use the replacement strings menu to insert strings to ensure they work. |
My message is taking multiple SMS credits. | Your message is longer than 160 characters. | Shorten the text or add more credits to your account. |
🎉 You'll Know It's Working When:
You see a "Success" confirmation after clicking send.
The message appears in your Message History log.
Replacement strings (like names) show up correctly as actual data in the sent logs.
Patients begin responding to your announcement!
💬 Need Help? We're Here!
If you run into any trouble or have questions about your SMS credit balance, our team is ready to help!
📞 Phone: 800-563-0469
📧 Email: support@getaloha.com