What is RhinoBlast?

RhinoBlast gives a Member the ability to send out broadcast messages to a group of patients/contacts for things such as office closures or patients who have not confirmed their appointments, etc. Members with the correct Role are able to use both Appointment Manager and our Global Search to select a group of contacts and send a broadcast message.

What types of messages can a Member send through RhinoBlast?

Members can use a Template or create a custom message. Currently, only texting is supported for RhinoBlast messages. Members cannot send a RhinoBlast through RhinoSecure or Facebook. 

What role or permissions does a Member need to have in order to use RhinoBlast?

By default, once RhinoBlast is enabled in an organization any team member with the Admin Role will have the RhinoBlast permission automatically. The RhinoBlast permission can be added to other roles as needed.

Features that are enabled with this permission are:

  • Bulk Actions on Appointment Manager

  • Message Contacts button on Appointment Manager

  • Ability to select multiple contacts within your Contact List

  • Message Contacts button within your Contact List

  • Access to Saved Contact Lists from the Contacts screen
     

Where does a Member select contacts for a RhinoBlast?

A Member can create a RhinoBlast from 4 different locations in Rhinogram: 

  1. The Appointment Manager

  2. Contacts- Saved Lists

  3. Contacts- Individual

  4. Bulk Action

Using RhinoBlast from Appointment Manager Page


Go to Settings->Appointment Manager

What options does a Member have to sort and view the Appointment Manager?

1. If an organization has location mapping enabled then the Member will be able to see location data in the Appointment manager and profile summary for each appointment. A Member can sort and view the appointment Manager by Location, Appointment Type, Provider, Status (in Rhinogram), or PMS/EHR status.

2. A Member has the ability to select 'All' to message all appointments in the Appointment Manger. To unselect a current filter, choose None.  Further, a Member can choose just to message Confirmed, Unconfirmed, and/or Cancelled appointments. 

3. A Member can also manually check/uncheck individual appointments as needed.  If an option from the filter is selected, the filter selection will override what was manually selected.



Below are the following options in the filters:



As an example, if a Member filters by 'Unconfirmed in Office Location #1'  then all unconfirmed appointments on the current page would be checked for Office Location #1. 


Note: The filter only functions one page at a time. If a Member needs to also select the unconfirmed appointments on the next page, select the next page option,  select all for unconfirmed on this page and any pages after.


How to find how many appointments are selected: 

Once at least 1 checkbox/appointment has been selected, a blue bar will appear across the top with the Message Contacts button displaying the number of items selected.

What if a patient has more than one appointment within the manager?

The Appointment Manager selection is done by Patient Appointment. A patient could have more than one appointment and if both appointments are selected, then the patient will show up twice in the contacts list in the RhinoBlast modal (once for each appointment that was selected in the previous screen). As a result, they will receive 2 messages, one for each appointment that has been selected. 

 

How does the Appointment Date Time template variable function if used?

If a Template is used for sending a RhinoBlast message to patients from the Appointment Manager and it contains the "Appointment Date Time" variable, the patient appointment that was selected will be what populates this variable. If the patient has 2 appointments and both of them are selected, then the patient will get 2 messages, once for each appointment.

 

Using RhinoBlast from Contacts- Saved Lists


What is a Saved Contacts List?

Lists are groups of contacts a Member can create and store to help in sending a RhinoBlast. These are helpful to create when there are going to be multiple messages to be sent to the same group of contacts or when there is a large list of contacts and need to come back to the list to add to it. Saved Lists are stored in Contacts on the Navigation Panel. 


 

 


How to Create a List:

  1. Select Contacts, and choose Saved List




  2. Select the Green Plus Symbol

  3. Search for the Contacts by Name, DOB, Phone, ID, Email, or Tags


  4. To save the list for future use, select Save. Otherwise, continue to Message

If the list is Saved for future use, a text box will appear to enter a unique name for the list. Next are two options: 

  • Save → Saves the new list and it remains in the Saved List section of Contacts

  • Save and Message → Will take Member to the RhinoBlast message composition modal


Note: If a Member decides to not send a RhinoBlast at that moment, either cancel or select the Add more contacts option. The list is still saved and it returns the Member to the Contact List screen with the contacts still displaying in the search box.


 

How does a Member view any previously Saved Contact Lists?

A Member with RhinoBlast edit permission will be able to locate and select a previously saved contact list from the contacts page.

By selecting the “Saved List” tab you will be able to see the saved contact lists in alphabetical order. These lists will contain the contact’s information and the total number of contacts on the list. 

How can a Member Delete a Saved List?

A member with Delete contacts and conversations permissions will have the ability to delete a list from the saved contacts list view.

How can a Member Update a Saved Contact List?

Under Contacts, there is an option for “Saved Lists”. When this is selected, all previously created Saved Lists are displayed. To edit an existing list, select the desired list and then “Update List.” Here you can add/delete contacts then select “Update” to save the changes.


Things to remember:

  • Member profiles will not appear from the search results list

  • As contacts are added to the selection box, the list will wrap to the next line or a scroll bar will display

  • To remove contacts select the X next to the contact name

  • Upon completion of the list, either save the Contact Selection as a list for current and future use or continue to Message Contacts

Note: If a RhinoBlast message is used from a Saved Lists and a template that contains the "Appointment Date Time" variable  is used  and if the contact selected DOES NOT have an upcoming appointment,  the message WILL NOT get sent to them. Templates that include the Appointment Date Time variable should only be used for RhinoBlast messages that are being sent from the Appointment Manager as this will guarantee they have an upcoming appointment. 

  

Using RhinoBlast from Contacts- Individual

A member with the correct permissions can filter the individual contact list by contact type, Tag, name, DOB, and/or patient ID, and can select the patients they wish to include in the RhinoBlast. Once the desired patients have been selected, click "Select an Action" > "Message Contacts".


Using RhinoBlast from Bulk Action

A Member with the correct permissions can use bulk action to select multiple contacts from any group or inbox. This allows a Member to Blast contacts based on group or even contacts that are assigned directly to you.  

 

RhinoBlast can be done from the following places:

  • Assigned to Me

  • Direct

  • Patient Message Groups

  • Following

 

Composing a RhinoBlast Message through Bulk Actions:

  1. Click “Message” to  bring up the modal to compose a message.



The contacts that you have selected from either the Appointment Manager OR the Global User Search will display.

2. Select the phone number channel to send the message from. This will be the channel that any replies will come to.

3. Compose the Message, or use a Template (emojis can also be added using the emoji picker)

4. Select “Confirm Message.” A notification will appear letting the Member know a RhinoBlast message was sent.


How to use a Template when creating a RhinoBlast:

When creating the message it works similar to when messaging an individual contact. Select the conversation bubble icon to select a template, or the paperclip icon to add an attachment.


How to preview a RhinoBlast message: 

Select a template that has variables, and there is an option to display a preview of the message by selecting the eyeball icon


This preview will display fake variables to give a Member an idea of what a Patient or Contact can expect to receive. 


What is the maximum number of Contacts per RhinoBlast?

RhinoBlast is limited to sending to 50 contacts. Once a Member reaches 50 contacts, a message will display indicating that "Maximum selection reached. No more than 50 Contacts can be selected at a time."


New Feature-Beta


RhinoBlast Max

RhinoBlast is limited to sending to 50 contacts. We are currently Beta testing RhinoBlast Max, which will give organizations the ability to send RhinoBlast messages to 250 contacts at a time. Please contact Customer Success to inquire about being part of this Beta program at success@rhinogram.com


When RhinoBlast Max is enabled for your organization, pages that you can send RhinoBlasts from

will increase from lists of 50 patients per page to 250 patients per page, with the select all on page 

button available at the top of the page.





Does phone ownership impact who receives the RhinoBlast?

No, the RhinoBlast will go to all numbers listed on the contact's profile summary that is selected, regardless of Phone Ownership or Connected Parties


Which phone numbers will the RhinoBlast message be sent to if a contact has more than one on their profile?

The message will be sent to all numbers listed on the contact's profile summary that is selected, regardless of Phone Ownership or Connected Parties


If the contact has a landline (home) and textable (cell phone) number, then the message will attempt to send to both - resulting in 2 separate messages showing up in the conversation thread. The landline message will not be delivered. The message will be visible on the thread of the owner of the phone number. If the contact who has been selected for the RhinoBlast does not own the phone number, to view the message go to the owner of the phone number(s). 


If a Contact has a duplicate phone number i.e. identical textable numbers (one may be listed as Cell, the other as Home), only one RhinoBlast message will be sent to that number. If multiple contacts are associated with one phone number, the RhinoBlast message will only send one message and it will display on the phone owner's thread.

 

Is additional consent needed for a RhinoBlast message?

Because more than one message is being sent at a time, an organization should review the TCPA Guidelines. The type of consent needed will depend on the message content which might be different to the consent already given for regular text messaging. 


Error messages when attempting to send out a RhinoBlast message:
If a Member is prompted with the message below, "No Channels," this means the Member does not have access to a Channel. To correct this, have a Super User the Member's profile and select Add to More Groups at the very bottom of the page. Select the group that the phone number is routed to and Save. After this has been corrected, simply refresh the page. 



Blast Manager


The Campaign View has been moved from the Conversation Activity page in Analytics to the Manager tab. 


We have also enhanced the Blast Manager to include the ability to create a saved list after sending the message Blast (if the Blast was not sent from a saved list-such as a Blast sent from the Appointment Manager).