Create and Manage Email Broadcasts

This article will help you understand email broadcasts and how to work with them.

You can use email broadcasts (eBroadcasts) to send and schedule messages to patients to promote a service or product, inform about changes in office hours, or send season’s greetings. Broadcasts can be created from scratch or by using a predefined template. You may also include an attachment with your broadcast email.

Note: The patient’s privacy is preserved as recipients see only their own email address in the To field.

To personalize your emails, you can pre-populate the email subject and body with patient-specific information. In this article, that information is referred to as the Merge Fields.

The following merge fields are available when creating email broadcasts:

• Patient first and last name
• Facility name, address, phone, fax and email

To perform the following procedures, open eBroadcast and select Broadcast.

Send Broadcast Messages

1. Click Create and select Email Broadcast.
2. Click edit (top-left) and give your broadcast a descriptive name.
   Note: The broadcast name is for office use only. Your recipients won’t see it.
3. Add recipients by manually typing email addresses in the Recipients field or select them from a list. See Select Message Recipients.
4. Add a Subject and write your message or apply an existing template. See Apply a Template.
   Tip: You can use the Insert Fields button to populate the message subject and body with patient name and facility information. See Merge Fields.
5. Click Send.
   Note:  The system may take up to 90 seconds to process the message before it enters the queue.
   Tips:
   • To save the message for later, click the three-dotted button, then save as a draft.
   • To schedule the broadcast, check the Schedule box at the bottom left, set the Schedule for date and time, then click Schedule.

Attach a File

You can add attachments such as files, videos, and photos in your emails. Be sure to stay below attachment size limits permitted by the email service provider you use to send emails.

1. With an email broadcast open, click Attach (Paperclip Button).
2. Locate and select a file.
3. Click Open.
   Note: To remove the attachment, click the X to the right of the attachment name.

Apply a Template

You can use an existing template to pre-populate the message subject and body. Any attachments in that template will also be added to your message.

1. With an email broadcast open, click Apply template.
   The Select Template window opens.
2. Select a template from the drop-down menu and click OK.
   Note: Applying a template removes existing content in the broadcast subject and body including attachments. See the Create and Manage Email Templates article for more information.

Insert an Image

You can add and edit images within the body of your emails.

Important: Be sure to stay below attachment size limits permitted by the email service provider you use to send emails.

1. When creating or editing an email broadcast, position the cursor where you want the image to appear.
2. Click Insert picture button .
3. Locate and select a file.
4. Click Open.
   Note: To remove the image, click on the inserted image and press the Delete key on your keyboard.
5. To edit the inserted image, click on the inserted image. This will display a toolbar next to the image with editing options.
6. To resize the image, simply drag the corners or the sides of the image.

Select Message Recipients

1. With an email broadcast open, click Recipients.
   The Select recipients window opens.
   Note: Only patients who have an email address in their patient file can be selected, and by default, patient records with the Subscribed to email notifications box checked are displayed. To list both subscribed and unsubscribed emails, check the Show all box.
2. Check the box next to the patients names or check the Select all box to add them to the recipients list.
   Tip: To search for a patient, check the Show all box, type a few letters of the patient’s name or email address in the Search field, then click search.
3. Click Ok.

Merge Fields

1. With an email broadcast open, position the cursor anywhere in the subject or body.
2. Click Insert Fields, select either In Subject or In Body, then select a merge field to be inserted.
   Note: The merge field is inserted with the field name enclosed in chevron brackets << >>. Be sure not to accidentally remove any part of the merge tag including brackets and spelling of the field.

Edit Broadcast

Note: Once a broadcast has been sent, it cannot be edited.

1. Select Drafts or Scheduled.
2. Double-click on a broadcast or click Edit (at the far-right).
3. Make changes, then save, send, or schedule the broadcast.

Delete Broadcast

1. Select Drafts or Scheduled.
2. Click Delete (at the far-right).
3. Click Yes when prompted.

Rename Completed Broadcast

1. Open any saved, scheduled, or completed broadcast.
2. Click edit (at the top-left).
3. Enter a new name, then click Save.

Review Broadcast Statistics

1. Select Completed to show the list of completed broadcasts including the message Sent date, Broadcast title, Subject, whether it was sent Via SMS or Email, # of recipients and the user it was Created by.
2. Double-click on a completed broadcast to display a preview of the message including, recipients information, and delivery status.