Communication Center

Care: Feature Overview – Communication Center

The Communication Center is a feature within the patient record that houses communications between patients and Welkin users as well as Contactable Profiles and users. It is located in the Navigation Layouts tab of the patient record. The Communication Center supports various modes of communication, including, phone, video calls, emails, SMS, live chat, and WhatsApp messages. 

Each mode of communication is housed in its own tab within the Communication Center. The Email tab contains the Inbox, Sent, Scheduled, Draft, and Starred emails. Users can send free-form and templated emails from this area.

The SMS tab displays sent and received text messages as a dialog and individual messages. Similar to emails, users can send templated and free-form SMS.

The Calls tab shows inbound and outbound phone calls. Audio of recorded calls and voicemails can be accessed here.

Live Chat is a running dialog. These messages can be free-form or templated.

Attachments sent via email, SMS, live chat, or WhatsApp are viewable in the dialog section of the respective mode of communication. A list of all the files sent can be seen by clickingthe Files tab at the top right of the Communication Center.

The files can be filtered by:

  • The channel the files were sent or received by: Email, SMS, Live Chat, WhatsApp
  • File Type: Audio, Image, Text
  • Period: A calendar appears where users can select specific dates, or utilize predetermined filters for “All Time”, “Today”, “This Week”, or “This Month”

If you have multiple phone numbers setup in Welkin to send SMS messages and make phone calls from, a default phone number can be configured. The Default Phone is the first phone number listed when communicating with the patient or a Contactable Profile. The phone number can be changed in the SMS or Calls tab prior to sending the message or making the call. To set the Default Phone, click the gear icon next to the Files folder. The Communication Settings will appear. Select the desired phone number from the dropdown menu under “Default Phones”.

Cadences for automatically sending draft emails and SMS are setup in the Communication Settings, as well. To create a cadence:

  1. Select the Low, Medium, or High tab under “Priority Cadence”
  2. Choose the day of the week the draft should be sent by clicking on the box to the left of the time box
    1. The first two letters of the weekday will appear when the box is checked. The top box is for Sunday and the bottom box for Saturday
  3. Set the time of day the draft will be sent. The default time is 8:00 AM. Clicking on the time box will give a list of times in 30 minute increments (6:00 AM, 6:30 AM, etc.)
    1. The time can be changed by typing in a new time, e.g. 8:15 AM
    2. The Time Zone used by the Priority Cadence is the same Time Zone set in the Patient Profile
  4.  Select the week(s) of the month the draft will be sent by clicking the boxes to the right of “Repeat every”
    1. The boxes indicate the week of the month the draft will be sent
    2. The first column is the first week of the month, the second column is the second week of the month, etc.

In the example below, the drafts will automatically be sent on Monday at 8:35 AM of the first and third week of the month.

NOTE: Automations to send a SMS or email draft will need to be created in order for this section to work. The priority specified in the Automation and in the Priority Cadence of the Communication Center have to be the same.

More Questions?

If you have any questions, please visit the Welkin Health Knowledge-Base or contact your Implementation/CSM for more information.

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In this article, we’ll walk through:

  • What is the Communication Center
  • How to use the Communication Center

What is the Welkin Health Communication Center?

Welkin Health supports the ability to communicate with patients in multiple ways via the Communication Center. All Care Team members can communicate with their patients within the Welkin Health Care Portal. Care Teams can also see all interactions between the Care Team and patient. These forms of communication include secure email, text/SMS messaging, phone, chat, video conferencing, and other forms. 

How to Use the Communication Center

Communicating With Patients

The Communication Center can be found in the Patient Summary Navigation Bar. Within the Patient Summary Navigation Bar, select the icon for the appropriate communication method for you to use. By clicking the orange button in the upper right-hand corner, you can draft a message, call, or chat with your patient. 

Using Communication Templates 

Additionally, Care Teams have the ability to utilize a predetermined template.  Click the drop-down menu in the top write of the message to select a template created by your program administrator. Communication templates are defined and managed within the Designer Tool of Welkin Health. These communication templates allow for automated workflows to stay on top of patient engagement. 

Patient Facing Assessments through the Communication Center

Care Teams will have the option to send patients a link to complete an online assessment. These patient-facing forms are used to collect information directly from the patients. They are sent from the Communication Center via email or text/SMS message. Sending a patient an assessment link does not require the patient to register or log in to a page or platform.  Assessments are created by the program administrator and can be found in the same drop-down menu as templates. Learn more about creating and sending patient-facing assessments. 

SMS/Email Patients

Communicate with patients through our communication center. SMS and email messages can be sent from anyone on the patient’s care team. SMS/Email messages received from the patient can be reviewed and responded to within the Communication Center from the patient’s profile. Secure email is available for any communication to the patient that needs to be encrypted. Draft emails can be created and sent to the patient when desired.

Unrecognized communication

Existing patients or people who are not yet patients of your program can call, email or send sms to a Welkin Customer’s Care Portal. These messages can be read or listened to, and can easily be added to existing patient profiles.

Calls 

Outbound calls can be placed by care teams members to patients, right from the patient profile, improving efficiency by offering one click access to dialing the patient. Inbound calls from patients are routed to the correct member of the care team or care program personnel using phone tree logic that is configured based on your organization’s needs.

Chat

Care team members receive chat messages from patients and can respond right from the Care portal. When chat messages are received in Welkin, care team members will be notified so they can respond promptly. Chat history between a patient and care team member is available to view from Welkin.

Video Calling / Telehealth 

Set up video calling within Welkin to speak with patients face to face when they cannot attend in person appointments. Our Zoom for Healthcare integration links directly to the communication center