Glossary of terms

Plain-English definitions of the terms and on-screen labels you’ll see across Recall & Reminders. Where a term has a fixed set of values, they’re all listed.

Core concepts

Recall — One complete, automated outreach program. It has a goal, an audience (segments), and a sequence of messages. Once active, it enrolls matching patients and works through the sequence for each one. The unit you configure and switch on or off.

Segment — A defined patient group within a recall (for example, Standard patients vs. Implant patients). A recall can have several. Each segment has its own message sequence.

Sequence — The timed journey of messages that fires for the patients in one segment — the series of emails, texts, AI voice calls, and human calls, with waits in between.

Elva — ELVA’s AI assistant. In Recall & Reminders she helps you build a recall’s audience in the Audience builder and handles AI voice calls to patients.

Smart button — The “Book now” or “Confirm” button in a recall message that takes the patient to a patient landing page.

Smart tag — A placeholder you insert into a message (type {{ to pick one) that fills in a real value for each patient, like their name or your practice name.

Goal types

The goal a recall pursues. One of eight:

• Book appointment — get the patient to schedule a visit.
• Confirm appointment — confirm an already-booked visit.
• Collect payment — settle an outstanding balance.
• Schedule treatment — get an accepted treatment plan onto the calendar.
• Reactivate patient — win back a lapsed patient.
• Clinical safety — check on a patient after surgery or a complex procedure.
• Collect information — gather forms, history, or onboarding details.
• Engagement — a goodwill touch like a birthday message or referral ask.

Tiers

How recalls are grouped in the Library:

• Essential — core recalls every practice needs.
• Clinical — recalls that involve clinical judgment.
• Growth — revenue-focused outreach.

Trigger modes

When a recall starts for a patient:

• Scheduled — fires on a schedule against your patient data.
• Event-triggered — fires the moment a matching event occurs (an appointment booked, a balance appearing, a no-show).
• Hybrid — an event enrolls the patient, then scheduled steps run from there.

Channels

How a recall reaches patients:

• Email — a full message with subject and body.
• SMS — a short text.
• AI voice — an automated phone call handled by Elva.
• Human call — a call your team makes from the Human call queue, with a ready-made script.

Recall states

The state a recall is in, shown as a badge on the Recalls list:

• Active — running and sending.
• Paused — temporarily held; not enrolling new patients.
• Off — switched off (deactivated); history kept.
• Draft — started but not yet activated.

Build flow

Audience builder — The chat-based tool where you define a recall’s audience as segments by talking with Elva.

Sequence builder — The visual editor where you design the journey of messages for each segment.

Activate — The final review screen where you check the whole recall and switch it on.

Activation check — The panel on the Activate screen that tells you whether the recall is ready. Errors block activation; warnings don’t.

Trigger — The block that starts a sequence. Trigger types include scheduled, appointment booked, appointment completed, treatment-plan accepted, balance overdue, no-show, lab-case ready, pre-appointment, birthday, and new-patient.

Action — A step that does something: Send Email, Send SMS, AI Voice Call, or Human Call.

Condition — A step that branches on what the patient did — for example, email opened, link clicked, SMS replied, appointment booked, appointment confirmed, AI call answered, balance paid, or payment-plan accepted — sending the patient down a yes or no path.

Wait / Schedule — The timing you attach to a step. Wait holds for an amount of time (minutes, hours, days, or weeks); Schedule runs the step on a set date and time.

Template — A reusable message (email, SMS, voice, or human call) that a sequence step sends. Managed in the Templates page.

Message statuses

The result shown beside a message in the Message logs:

• Delivered — sent and confirmed delivered.
• Opened — an email was opened or a text was read.
• Clicked — a link in the message was tapped.
• Booked — the patient booked from the message.
• Confirmed — the patient confirmed their appointment.
• Paid — the patient settled a balance.
• Responded — the patient replied.
• Answered — an AI voice call was answered.
• Voicemail — the call reached voicemail.
• No answer — the call wasn’t answered.
• Bounced — an email couldn’t be delivered.
• Failed — the message couldn’t be sent.
• Flagged — the message needs attention (for example, an opt-out).

Patient statuses (Recall report)

Where a patient stands in a recall, on the report’s Patients tab — for example Booked, Confirmed, Paid, Payment plan, In progress, Unconfirmed, No response, or Flagged. The exact set depends on the recall’s goal.

Human call queue

Priority — How urgent a queued call is: Urgent, High, Medium, or Low. The queue is sorted with the most urgent first.

Script — The greeting, key talking points, closing, and “do-not” guidance your team uses on the call, tailored to the patient.

Outcome — What you record at the end of a call. It closes the call and updates the patient’s place in the recall. The buttons available depend on the recall’s goal.

Snooze — Setting a call aside to come back later (1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, or 1 week, or a custom time).

Patient landing page

Patient landing page — The page a patient sees after tapping a smart button. It comes in two variants:

• Booking — the patient picks an available time to book.
• Confirm — the patient confirms an existing appointment.

Brand & voice

Tone — How messages read: Warm, Professional, or Friendly.

Reading level — How plain the wording is: Simple, Plain, or Polished.

Sign-off — How messages close: Short, Medium, or None.

Prefer swap — A pair telling messages to avoid one word and use another instead.