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Create and use SMS Templates

Save the messages your team sends most often as SMS templates in Settings, then insert any of them into an existing patient conversation in one click. No retyping, no copy-pasting from a notepad.

What are SMS templates?

SMS templates are saved, reusable text messages for the replies your team sends to patients again and again. Instead of writing each message from scratch or copying it from a shared document, staff pick a template from a dropdown. The message fills in automatically, and they can adjust it before sending. Templates work for both standard SMS messages and secure texting.

Templates help your practice:

  • Save time on repetitive messages, especially at a busy front desk.

  • Stay consistent so every patient gets the same accurate information, no matter who replies.

  • Reduce the burden of difficult replies. For messages like cancellation policy reminders, staff don't have to work out the wording in the moment.

 

Common ways practices use templates

Any message you send often is a good candidate. Popular examples include:

  • Reminders to complete new patient paperwork

  • Insurance and billing requests

  • Pre-treatment or pre-op instructions

  • Surgery approval updates

  • Cancellation and rescheduling policy reminders

  • Special offer or promotion details

 

How to create an SMS template

Templates are configured at the group level and shared across all of your practice's locations. You only need to create each template once, and every location will have access to it.

  1. Go to nextpatient.co and click Log in.
  2. In the top blue menu bar, click Settings.
  3. In the secondary menu bar under Practice Settings, click SMS Templates.
  4. Click Add new message.
  5. Enter a name for the template. This is what your team will see in the dropdown, so make it easy to scan (see naming tips below).
  6. Set the template to Active so it's available to your team.
  7. Type the message and click Submit.

 

How to send an SMS template

How you open the conversation depends on whether you're sending a standard SMS message or a secure message. After that, adding a template works the same way.

Step 1: Open the conversation

For a standard SMS message: Open the patient's appointment page, or open their existing conversation in the Texting tab.

 

Note: SMS templates are not currently available in the New Conversation message box in the Texting tab. To use a template in a first message to a patient, start from the patient's appointment page instead.

For a secure message:

  1. Find the patient from the top blue menu bar in one of two ways:
    1. Click Today's Patients and locate the patient.
    2. Click Search to look up the patient by name.
  2. From the patient's appointment page, click Open next to Secure Messaging.

Step 2: Insert and send the template

  1. Click Template below the message box.
  2. Choose a template from the list. The message will appear in the message box.
  3. Make any necessary edits to the message.
  4. Click Send.

 

Tips for naming your templates

All templates appear in one list. There are no folders or categories. The easiest way to keep the list organized is to start each template name with a consistent prefix so that related messages group together. For example:

  • Billing – Insurance card request

  • Billing – Balance due reminder

  • Front Desk – Cancellation policy

  • Front Desk – New patient paperwork

  • Clinical – Pre-op instructions

This helps each team member quickly find the templates for their role.

 

FAQs

Why don't I see templates in the Texting tab's New Conversation message box?

SMS templates are not currently available in the New Conversation activity. To start a new conversation with a template, open the patient's appointment page instead. Once a conversation exists, you can use templates from the Texting tab.

Can I edit a template before sending it?

Yes. When you select a template, it fills the message box, and you can change anything before you send it. The saved template stays the same.

How many templates can we create?

There is currently no limit on the number of templates.

Can I organize templates into categories?

Templates appear in a single list. To group them, use a naming convention with a prefix like "Billing –" or "Front Desk –".

What does the Active setting do?

Only active templates are available to your team when sending a message. Set a template to inactive to hide it without deleting it (for example, for a seasonal promotion).

Are templates available for secure messaging as well as two-way texting?

Yes. Templates work for both standard SMS messages and secure texting.

Are templates shared across all locations?

Yes. Templates are configured at the group level, so every template your practice creates is available to all of your locations.