What is a channel?
A channel is your means of communication between your organization and its Contacts (Patients & Others). Channels can include a phone number, Facebook Messenger, and RhinoSecure. Rhinogram routes channels so that messages reach the appropriate Group or individual Member within an organization in a quick, automated manner, increasing efficiency and facilitating patient care in a timely, coordinated fashion.
Can you add or delete a channel?
Even though all channels are visible to all members, only those with Administrative permissions can add, edit or delete a channel.
What types of channels does Rhinogram offer?
Rhinogram offers four distinct channels. They are:
Existing landline - this is a landline phone number that the organization already own. It can easily be made into a textable phone number through Rhinogram.
- These channels can have Web Forms added to them
New phone number - this is a textable phone number that the organization can add if they want a new phone number for a channel.
Facebook - this is a FB messenger page that the organization owns and wants to connect to Rhinogram.
RhinoSecure - This is a Channel that enables you to completely encrypt your communication with a patient. It will only appear in the app for end-users or via a link sent to them through text.
Who can setup channels?
Only a Customer Success Representative can add an existing landline or a new phone number. If you'd like to add one of those, submit a request to our team. Once the Customer Service Representative adds these channels, they will activate them and route the new channel to your desired destination. Neither of these channels will appear for members until created and activated by Customer Service Representatives.
Members with administrative permissions can add Facebook and RhinoSecure Channels. As an administrator you can login and navigate to Settings then click on Channels. By clicking the plus sign in the upper right corner, you'll be able select what kind of channel you like. Follow the prompts on the screen to configure your channel, add in business hours, and route the Channel to your desired destination.
Where can a channel be routed to?
A channel can be routed to an individual member or a group. Once a channel is routed, all inbound messages for that channel will by default go to the destination you selected. A channel must always have a route so that means member can’t remove a route, but only switch it to another member or group.
Can you create a channel and not set a route?
No. A member will create a channel and choose the route during creation. They will need to create groups and/or add members first before creating and routing a channel. To edit the route of a channel you should navigate to Channels under Settings then select the channel you'd like to edit. Once on the Channel's page, simply select the new destination for the route and press update to save your changes.
Can you change/edit a route once it’s been set?
Yes. You can permanently change a channel’s route by going into the individual member or group and choose the channel route that you’d like to set. If it’s already routed to another member or group, you will override that route once it’s saved.
If you change a route to another Member or Group, what happens to the message threads remaining in that Group?
The message threads stay where they are, but are marked as “Assigned” in the original routed group until the conversation thread is marked “Assignment Complete.”
How do you delete a channel?
Currently, only a Rhinogram Success Representative can delete a phone Channel. As for RhinoSecure and Facebook channels, a member of your organization with administrative permissions can delete those channels. In order to delete a Channel, you'll navigate to Settings by pressing the gear icon in the upper right corner of the page, then clicking on Channels. Next, select the channel you'd like to delete and press Edit. Once you've opened up the editing section, scroll to the bottom and click on the Trashcan icon. And that’s it! Also, the route and forwarded messages associated with the channel you just deleted will be removed as well.
It's important to note that if your organization is integrated, then the Channel used as the default phone number for appointment reminders cannot be deleted. Before deleting the channel the Customer Success Representative will need to assign a different phone line for appointment reminders to be sent from first.
What happens to active conversations that were routed to the deleted channel?
The conversations will remain in the same Patient Message Group that it’s routed to until that conversation is replied to from a new channel or marked “Conversation Complete.” You'll also see a thread event in every conversation where that channel was used indicating that the channel was deleted, by whom and when.
Can you still filter a conversation by a channel that has been deleted?
Yes. That channel will remain in the Filters area.
How do you setup a channel’s availability hours?
A channel will inherit the availability hours from the Group or individual Member it’s routed to. But, you can also set up hours directly from within the Channel by going to Settings, then Edit Channel, and then Turn on Channel Availability and set your hours. When you setup availability hours, you'll also be able to write an auto-response message that goes out to the patient any time they message the practice outside of business hours. The automated response will only go out to a patient once in any given off hours period even if they text in multiple times. The practice will always see all inbound patient messages in Rhinogram even if they have an auto-response setup.
What happens to messages in a Group if a channel is routed to a new Group or Member?
All messages remain in the original routed Message Group and marked as “Assigned” until the thread is marked “Conversation Complete,” which then is archived until a new message comes in to or out of the newly routed Message Group.