Links your patients receive
NixDent sends patients links by text and email: to fill in a form, pay a bill, sign a plan or read a message. This page lists every link and what to say when a patient calls about one.
Who can do this: Everyone on your team can read this page.
All the links at a glance
Section titled “All the links at a glance”| Link | What the patient does | How they confirm who they are |
|---|---|---|
| Form | Fills in and submits a form, or a bundle of forms | Date of birth (last name if NixDent has no date of birth). A bundle asks for the last name |
| Payment request | Pays a balance by card | Nothing. The link is the key |
| Card on file | Saves a card and signs | Nothing. The link is the key |
| Payment plan | Adds a card and signs a plan | Nothing. The link is the key |
| Treatment plan | Reviews and signs a plan | Date of birth (last name if NixDent has no date of birth). Not asked at the kiosk |
| After visit summary | Reads a recap of the visit | Date of birth (last name if NixDent has no date of birth) |
| Secure message | Reads and replies to a clinical message | Date of birth, then sometimes a second question |
| Review | Rates their visit | Nothing. The link is the key |
| Membership signup | Joins a membership plan | Nothing. It’s a public page |
| Member page | Sees benefits, updates a card, cancels | Date of birth |
Links sent by text are shortened. Links sent by email show the full address.
Links expire. When a patient says a link doesn’t work, send a new one.
Confirming who they are
Section titled “Confirming who they are”Forms, treatment plans, after visit summaries, secure messages and the member page ask the patient to confirm who they are before showing anything.
- If the patient gets it wrong too many times, the link locks for a short while and the page says so.
- Forms and visit summaries also lock themselves after a period with no activity. A form the patient was filling in is cleared at that point, and can’t be resumed later.
- If a patient is locked out, ask them to wait a few minutes and try again. For a secure message, Resend link unlocks it.
- Add each patient’s date of birth in Open Dental. NixDent uses it to confirm who is opening a link.
What to say when a patient calls
Section titled “What to say when a patient calls”- “Check your text messages for a link from {your office}. Tap it, and enter your date of birth when asked.”
- “The link doesn’t ask for a password. Your date of birth is the password.”
- “If it says the link has expired, we can send you a new one now.”
- “Please open it on your own phone, and don’t forward the link.”
Common problems
Section titled “Common problems”“This link is no longer valid” or “Link Expired”. Send a new one. For forms, use Send Form again from the patient’s row in Patients. For payments, send a new request from Payments → Requests. Resend repeats the same link, so for an old one send a new request instead.
The patient didn’t get the text. See Texting rules and patient opt-outs. A patient who replied STOP to your office won’t get any texts.
The patient doesn’t have a smartphone. Use the kiosk or hand them a tablet at the desk. A treatment plan can be sent to the kiosk. See Send a treatment plan to the kiosk.
A page isn’t working for a patient. Tell NixDent support which page and what happened.