Displayed in the Patient Facesheet, the Texting Allowed toggle is one of the Patient Communication Settings that helps determine how messages are delivered to the Patient through Artera. Users who have access to the Phone Line can manually disable SMS communication by setting this toggle to No. Setting the Texting Allowed Toggle to No will block all outbound SMS communication and manual Email messages from all Phone Lines in that specific Practice.

Note: Setting the Texting Allowed toggle to No will automatically disable the ability to send manual emails to the patient.

How does the Texting Allowed toggle work with SMS Status?

Setting Texting Allowed to Yes will not override an SMS Status of Opted Out. The Texting Allowed toggle is designed to stop a patient with an SMS Status of Opted In from receiving SMS in situations where the patient requests text communication to stop in a way other than using one of the single word triggers outlined in this article.

Disable Text and Email

When the Texting Allowed toggle is set to No, this automatically prevents Email and SMS messages to the patient through any Lines that have previously sent communication. It is not possible to stop one delivery method but not the other.

Toggle Requirements

• Message Requirements: In order for the Texting Allowed option of No to apply, a Patient Channel must have at least one existing message in it. If you need to update this toggle on an empty Patient Channel, we recommend using the Internal Mentions feature to internally message yourself and immediately resolving the Internal Mention. This creates the requisite initial message, allowing you to set the toggle to No.
• Unverified Patients: You cannot set the Texting Allowed toggle to No for Unverified Patients that are Verified in another Practice within your Enterprise. 

Messaging Impact

Patients will not be able to receive any text messages across any of the message options (Automations, Broadcasts, Campaigns, or Manual Messaging), and cannot receive Emails through Manual Messaging. However, patients are still eligible to receive phone calls and emails for messages set up to include Call or Email as an option through Automations, Broadcasts, and Campaigns.

To prevent a patient from receiving all Automations, set the patient to Do Not Contact in the Patient Facesheet if Contact Preferences are not being synced directly from your EMR/system of record.