Conversations (formerly "Two-Way SMS Messaging")

Conversations is where your team texts patients and leads in Second Door. You can see every text conversation in one place, assign each one to a teammate, and track which ones need a reply.

How to get to Conversations

1. In the left menu, find the Inbox section.
2. Click Conversations, just below Leads.

How to send a text

The open conversation looks like a standard text message window. The box at the bottom is where you type.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Make sure SMS is selected below the message box.
3. Type your message and send it.

How to start a new conversation

1. Click New Conversation at the top right of the Conversations page.
2. Search for and select the patient or lead.
3. Type your message and send it.

You can only start a conversation with a patient or a lead. Conversations doesn't have a contact list for referring providers or other businesses.

How to text from a lead profile

1. Open the lead profile.
2. Click the SMS tab.
3. Click Start Conversation.

How to choose which phone numbers are used

• The patient's number. If the patient has more than one phone number, use the To field above the message box to pick the number you text.
• Your practice's number. If your practice has more than one texting number, pick the number you text from. This list includes any of your own numbers that Second Door hosts for texting, and the number Second Door gave you when you registered. If Second Door hosts your number, texts send from that number by default.

To change which numbers your practice texts from, see the SMS setup guide.

How to use text templates

Text templates are saved messages you can send without retyping them. Every practice starts with three templates under Organization Templates: Checking In, Introduction, and Missed You.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Click the folder icon below the SMS icon, across from the send button.
3. Click the template you want to use.

• To edit a template, click the pencil icon next to it.
• To delete a template, click the trash can icon next to it.

How to create a text template

1. Click the folder icon below the SMS icon.
2. Click New Template.
3. Type a name for the template at the top of the box.
4. Type your message in the message field.
5. To fill in details automatically, click a merge field below the message field. A merge field is a placeholder that Second Door swaps for the real detail when you send the text. For example, becomes the patient's first name. You can add the patient's first name, last name, or full name, your first name or full name, your organization name, or today's date.
6. Under Available to, select Just me or Everyone in my organization.
7. Click Create Template.

Templates practices commonly create:

• A greeting for a new lead
• A reminder to schedule the appointment the patient asked about
• A check-in when a patient stops replying mid-conversation
• A closure notice for bad weather
• Rescheduling and cancellation messages
• Directions to your clinic

What you can text patients about

Phone carriers require every business that texts from a local number to register the kind of messages it sends. Second Door registers your practice's texting as patient care. That covers messages like appointment scheduling, reminders, confirmations, rescheduling, intake paperwork, and directions.

Carriers don't allow marketing texts under a patient care registration. Examples of marketing texts include:

• Invitations to events
• Fundraiser announcements
• Promotions or discounts
• Offers for services the patient hasn't asked about

When a business's texts don't match its registration, carriers can suspend that business's texting. For recommendations on reaching patients with marketing, see How to choose the right messaging method.

How to leave an internal note

An internal note is only visible to your team. The patient never sees it.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Select Internal Note below the message box.
3. To tag a teammate, type @ and select their name.
4. Type your note and save it.

For example, if you'll be out of the office tomorrow, leave a note tagging a teammate and ask them to answer the patient's question.

How to assign a conversation

The owner of a conversation and the owner of a lead are set separately. Owning a lead doesn't make you the owner of that patient's text conversation.

This lets different people handle different jobs. For example, a patient is already in care for their shoulder and sends in a new referral for their back. Your intake coordinator owns the new lead and books the initial evaluation. Your scheduling team owns the text conversation and handles the patient's day-to-day questions.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Click the people icon with a plus sign at the top right.
3. Select the teammate who owns this conversation.

Some notifications only cover conversations assigned to you. See Push notifications for your options.

How to use conversation statuses

Every conversation has a status. The status tells your team who needs to act next.

How to change a conversation's status

1. Open the conversation.
2. To resolve it, click Mark Resolved at the top right.
3. To pick any other status, click the arrow next to Mark Resolved and choose the status.

How to mark a conversation as spam

1. Open the conversation.
2. Click the three-dot menu at the top right.
3. Select Mark as spam.

Conversations marked as spam are hidden from your list.

What happens when you resolve a conversation

When a patient texts back after you resolve a conversation, Second Door starts a new conversation. The earlier messages aren't added to the new conversation.

The earlier conversation is still saved. To find it:

• Search. Use the search bar at the top right of the Conversations page to find every conversation with that patient.
• Other conversations. Open the new conversation and look under Other conversations in the right panel.

How to decide when to resolve

Each practice resolves conversations at a different point. Pick one as a team so everyone works the same way.

• Resolve when the task is done. For example, your first conversation with a patient is usually about booking the initial evaluation. Once the evaluation is booked and intake paperwork is sent, you mark that conversation resolved. If the patient texts again, that starts a new conversation.
• Resolve at discharge. Keep one conversation open for the whole plan of care. Every text with that patient stays in one place, so your team always sees what was said last.

How to filter conversations

1. Click the filter icon at the top of the Conversations page.
2. Choose a filter, such as status, priority, service, location, or owner.

The filters teams use most:

• Owner. See only the conversations assigned to you.
• Location. See only the conversations for one location.
• Unread. A shortcut at the top of the page that shows conversations with messages nobody has read.

To come back to the same filters every day, bookmark the page after you set them. Each set of filters has its own web address, so the bookmark opens the page with your filters already applied.

How to switch views

The icons at the top left of the page change how your conversations are laid out.

• Split view. Your list of conversations on the left, the open conversation in the middle, and details about the patient or lead on the right.
• Kanban view. Conversations arranged in columns by status.
• Table view. Conversations listed in rows.

How to set priority and other conversation details

The icons at the top right of an open conversation control its details.

• Priority. Click the flag icon to set the conversation's priority.
• Three-dot menu. Mark the conversation unread, assign it to a location, assign it to a service, mark it as spam, or delete it.

What the right panel shows

In split view, the panel on the right shows who you're texting.

• Recipient details. Information about the patient or lead.
• Appointments. Any appointments scheduled for the patient.
• Cases. The patient's related cases.
• Providers. The providers connected to the patient.
• Other conversations. Earlier conversations with the same patient.
• Details. Dates and other information about the conversation.

If a text comes from a phone number that doesn't match a patient or a lead, recipient details stay empty.

How to see the conversation's history

1. Open the conversation.
2. Click the activity icon next to the overview in the right panel.

The activity feed lists everything that happened in the conversation, in order. Check it when you need to know when a message was sent or who sent it.

Conversations Petey manages

If your practice uses Petey for texting, Petey's conversations appear in Conversations with everyone else's.

• To see only Petey's conversations, click Managed by Petey at the top of the Conversations page.
• To see when or why Petey sent a message, open the conversation and check the activity feed.

For when Petey texts leads and how to set it up, see the Petey Workflow Guide.

Tips and best practices

• Agree on when to resolve. Decide as a team whether you resolve after the task is done or at discharge, so everyone knows when a patient's reply will start a new conversation.
• Use Waiting on You for open tasks. Anything your team still owes a patient belongs in Waiting on You, so nothing gets missed.
• Assign an owner to every conversation. A conversation with an owner has someone watching for the reply.
• Hand off with internal notes. Tag the teammate who's picking up the conversation and say what the patient needs.
• Bookmark your filters. Set your owner and location filters once and bookmark the page.

Common questions

Can I text a referring provider or another business?

Not today. You can only start a conversation with a patient or a lead. 

Why did a patient's reply start a new conversation?

The earlier conversation was marked resolved. A reply to a resolved conversation always starts a new one. Find the earlier messages under Other conversations in the right panel.

I own the lead. Why don't I own the conversation?

Lead owners and conversation owners are set separately. To take over the conversation, click the people icon with a plus sign and assign it to yourself.

Can I still text from the lead profile?

Yes. Open the lead profile, click the SMS tab, and click Start Conversation.