home

Browse documentation

ezyVet Knowledge Center

Get access to documentation, training, and other high-quality resources.

Communication task settings

To configure a communication task correctly, it is important that a practice manager know about its settings.

Figure 1. Communication task settings

Communication task settings
This table gives each setting and function of a communication task:
SettingFunction
NameUse to enter the name of the communication task that ezyVet uses to make the messages.

Enter a name that makes it easy know the type of messages that ezyVet automatically sends. For example, enter Overdue vaccination or Annual blood test.

Automatically RunIf you set Automatically Run to YES:
  1. ezyVet continuously does checks of the messages that are necessary to send to clients

  2. ezyVet automatically starts the communication task that makes or sends the messages

If you set Automatically Run to NO, a practice manager must start the communication task. Unless a practice manager starts the communication task, ezyVet does not make and send the messages.

Run As UserUse to select the user account that ezyVet uses to start the communication task that sends the messages.

ezyVet shows the name of the user account in each communication task record.

If ezyVet cannot make a communication record while a communication task is in progress, ezyVet sends a memo to the selected user account. The memo tells the applicable person that the communication task has a problem.

Note: You usually set Run As User to System. But if necessary, you can use the setting to select a different user account. For example, if a staff member does dedicated messaging tasks for clients, you could select their user account.
Next RunUse the Next Run setting to set the next date and time that the communication task starts.
Tip: Select a time that is not during business hours. For example, a good time is one hour before your organization opens for work.
Repeat MethodUse to set the interval that ezyVet does a check of your site's records. ezyVet does the patient record check to calculate if it is necessary to make communication records for applicable messages.

If you set Repeat Method to Repeating, you can select intervals of days, weeks, months, or years.

If you set Repeat Method to Last Day of Month, ezyVet does the check on the last day of each month.

TagsUse to select tags that ezyVet uses as filters for the messages.

If you select Needs all, ezyVet sends the message only if the contact record has all the tags that you select.

If you select Needs any, ezyVet sends the message if the contact record has one of the tags that you select.

If you select Does not have any, ezyVet sends the message if the contact record does not have the tags that you select.

TypeIf you set Type to Create Pending Communication, ezyVet makes the messages but does not automatically send them. A staff member must manually send the messages.
If you set Type to Send Immediately, ezyVet:
  1. Makes the communication records of each message
  2. Uses the time range that you set in the Communication Hours system setting to automatically send the messages
Note: The Send Immediately setting does not cause the communication task to send the messages immediately. The Communication Hours system setting controls when ezyVet sends the messages.
Communication TypeUse the Communication Type setting to select the communication methods that ezyVet uses to make the messages.

You can add more than one communication method. If you add more than more than one communication method, ezyVet shows an And and Or setting. Use the And setting to tell ezyVet make a message for all communication methods that you add. Use the Or setting to tell ezyVet to make a message for only one of the communication methods.

Note: To help make sure that clients receive messages, add more than one communication method and use the And setting.
Note: The communication task makes a message only if the contact record has the necessary information for the communication methods that you add. For example, you could set Communication Type to Email. But if a client contact record does not have an email address, the communication task cannot make an email message for the client.
TemplateUse the Template box to select the template that ezyVet uses for the related communication methods. For example, if you set Communication Type to Email, use the Template box to select an email template for the email messages.
Communicate ForUse to select:
  • The appointment type that the communication task uses to make the messages
  • The SOC event group that the communication task uses to make the messages
Note: After you use the Communicate For box to select a appointment type, the box only shows other appointment types. And after you use the Communicate For box to select an SOC event group, the box only shows other SOC event groups.
If you use the Communicate For box to select a appointment type, ezyVet shows Time Period settings. Use the Time Period settings to select the time that the communication task uses to make the messages.
Note: If you want to send appointment reminders, select the in the future setting of the Time Period setting. If you want to send appointment follow-up messages, select the in the past setting of the Time Period setting.
If you select more than one appointment type, ezyVet sends the same message for the selected appointment types. As a result, it is not necessary to configure a dedicated communication task for each appointment type.
If you use the Communicate For box to select an SOC event group, ezyVet shows:
  • Time Period settings
  • Filters settings
Use the Time Period settings to select the time that the communication task uses to make the messages.
Note: If you want to send reminders for due SOC events or overdue SOC events, select the Scheduled setting of the Time Period setting. If you want to send SOC follow-up messages, select the Historical setting of the Time Period setting.
Use the Filters settings to help prevent SOC reminders for patients that also have applicable appointments.
Note: For example, it is not necessary to send a patient a reminder for a due blood test if the patient also has an appointment. When the patient is in the appointment, a veterinarian will see the due blood test in the patient's standard of care. Thus, the Filters settings help make sure that clients do not receive many messages that tell them the same information.
Exclude if, for the events you wish to communicate for, they have already been communicated byUse to control if the communication task makes message for clients who received messages from a different communication task.
Note: The Exclude if, for the events you wish to communicate for, they have already been communicated by setting is only applicable to vaccination reminders and treatment reminders. It is not applicable to appointment reminders.
Task Execution InstancesThe Task Execution Instances section shows:
  • Each date and time that the communication task started
  • The status of the communication records of each message
  • The user account of the person who started the communication task
Tip: You can use the Task Execution Instances section to monitor communication tasks and do troubleshooting.