ℹ️ Who this tutorial is for
Get more out of Peptalkr by using Cliniko Medical Alerts to your advantage and unlock a host of semi-manual capabilities that allow you to be in complete control of certain messages you send.
Cliniko has a built in feature called Medical Alerts (📚 read about them here on Cliniko) are primarily used to flag conditions or key information about a patient.
But they are essentially a tagging system and can be leveraged in many ways to get unique functionality out of Peptalkr:
🏷️ Tag and categorise patients for marketing segmentation (e.g. group together all patients with 'Neck Pain')
⚡ Trigger a specific transactional email/SMS when you add a particular medical alert to a patient (e.g. send a patient a 'Concussion Aftercare' email)
🧲 Filter to include or exclude patients from certain Transactional email or SMS automations based on a medical alert they have. (e.g. exclude 'Discharged' patients from receiving reactivations)
This article gives you an overview of each method, including examples and best practices.
The three ways to use Medical Alerts with Peptalkr
Method | Use case | Best for |
✅ As a Trigger | Adding a medical alert sends a specific email or SMS |
|
🧰 As a Filter | Email/SMS only sends if a patient has (or doesn’t have) a specific alert |
|
👥 For Marketing Segmentation | Create segments based on whether a patient has a particular medical alert |
|
⚡️ Method 1: as a trigger
Adding a specific Medical Alert to a patient file can automatically trigger a transactional email or SMS.
Popular examples:
Sending follow-up exercises to a patient with a specific condition
Sending a feedback/review request after a positive interaction in-appointment
Marking a patient for recall 1 or 2 weeks after an appointment
How to set this up:
Create your transactional email (or SMS)
Create your Medical Alert in Cliniko (follow our best practices below on how to do this)
Trigger type:
After a medical alert is addedTiming: Choose when to send (e.g. immediately, 1 day later)
Click Finish
✅ Add the alert to a patient at any time — Peptalkr does the rest!
For a specific step-by-step example of this method check out this article:
☕️ Method 2: as a filter condition
You can use Medical Alerts to include or exclude patients from a transactional email or SMS, based on whether they have a specific alert.
Popular examples:
Only send a reminder to patients with a specific condition
Send a follow-up unless a patient has opted out (via a medical alert)
Only send recalls to patients marked as
FollowUpRequired
How to set this up:
Create your transactional email (or SMS)
Create your Medical Alert in Cliniko (follow our best practices below on how to do this)
On the Filters step of your trigger, select your Medical Alert(s) and choose whether to send:
To patients with the alert
Or to exclude patients who have the alert
Click Finish
✅ Filter conditions work alongside your other filters like appointment type, practitioner, visit count etc.
For a specific step-by-step example of this method check out this article:
☕️ Method 3: to create marketing segments
Medical Alerts can be used to group patients into segments for marketing purposes.
Popular examples:
Emailing all patients with the
Pregnantalert about a new maternity serviceSending a tips newsletter to patients with a chronic condition
Informing all
dischargedof a new service
How to set this up:
Go to your patient marketing list in Peptalkr
Create a segment
Filter by the Medical Alert field (search for exact alert text)
Use this segment for one-off or scheduled Campaigns
✅ Combine Medical Alerts with other segmentation logic (e.g. gender, age, location)
For a specific step-by-step example of this method check out this article:
Best practices for managing Medical Alerts in Cliniko
1. Create a dummy patient to track any Medical Alerts you use
Add a fake patient to Cliniko with:
First name:
PeptalkrLast name:
Medical AlertsThen add the medical alerts you plan to use with Peptalkr to the dummy patient's file.
You can then use the Extra Information field to store details around what each medical alert does. That way, all Practitioner have an easy reference.
✅ This becomes your internal list/reference
2. Allow time for alerts to sync
Newly created alerts may take up to 1 hour to appear in Peptalkr. Once added to a patient file, triggers run on a 5-minute detection cycle.
3. Optionally add a prefix to any Peptalkr Medical Alerts
If you wan tto keep Peptalkr-enabled medical alerts entirely separate - add a prefix such as a * or *Peptalkr - to denote a medical alert is related to Peptalkr.
If you have several staff, this is a good way to ensure they can easily spot a Peptalkr medical alert (and avoid accidentally using one that does something they don't want to do!)
FAQs
Are medical alerts case sensitive?
Are medical alerts case sensitive?
No - But it is important you get the wording right.
What if I accidentally put an extra white space in?
What if I accidentally put an extra white space in?
If you accidentally add an extra space at the start or end of the alert it won't matter.
Can I resend an email to a patient using a medical alert?
Can I resend an email to a patient using a medical alert?
If you ever need to send a message triggered by a medical alert to the same patient a second time (rarely but potentially needed at times) - you must:
First remove the medical alert from their patient file
Then re-add it at least 5 minutes later. We suggest 10 minutes to be safe.
Can I delete the medical alert right after adding it?
Can I delete the medical alert right after adding it?
Peptalkr has a 5 minute buffer period to pick up changes to Medical Alerts. This prevents inadvertently triggering email/SMS instantly if you make a mistake. Plus, Cliniko takes about 5 minutes to notify us of changes to medical alerts anyway.
So you need to wait at least 5 minutes before removing it. But we recommend 10 - just in case!
Alternatively, just leave the medical alert there until their next visit - and remove it, then re-add it next time you need to trigger the email.