Personalizing Automated Text Templates with Merge Tags
When creating and customizing a text template to be used with YAPI's automated systems like appointment reminders, recall reminders, and new patient welcome messages, you can add Merge Tags to pull in personalized information like a patient's name and your practice name and contact information. Below, you'll find a description of how Merge Tags work and how to add them to a text template.
Note: YAPI does NOT support merge tags for texts sent manually to individual patients or in texts sent from the Practice Online Portal (POP).
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How Merge Tags Work
Merge tags within YAPI are codes with a capitalized word surrounded by double brackets. When added to a text template sent through YAPI's automated reminder and new patient welcome systems, a Merge Tag inputs the patient's or practice's information in its place when the text is sent.
For example, when YAPI sends a patient their appointment reminder, it can fill in their name and appointment information automatically:
Adding a Merge Tag
You can find a full list of the Merge Tags you can use in our Merge Tags for Text Messages article. To add a Merge Tag to a text template:
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From the YAPI Dashboard, click Setup & Manage
and select Manage Documents and Templates. -
When prompted, enter your YAPI password and click Ok.
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In the Manage Documents and Templates window, navigate to the Mobile Templates tab.
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Click the template you want to add your Merge Tag to and click Edit.
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In the Edit window, type in the Merge Tag you want to use (listed in Merge Tags for Text Messages.) Then click Save.
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If this is an appointment reminder template: Scroll through the list in the Mobile Templates tab and find the family and Spanish reminders that correspond to the text you edited. (They'll have the same name but have @Family, @Spa, and @Esp added to the end.)
Repeat steps 4-5 for the @Family reminder. Do the same for the @Spa and @Esp reminders if you use Spanish reminders with your patients.