Contents
Before You Start
Open the Conversations
Read a Conversation
Send a Text
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Before You Start
You will need:
A patient (Accounts) record with at least one phone number on file.
Texting set up with CTM as the SMS provider.
Access requirements: CTM must be the active SMS gateway and enabled for the Accounts module. An administrator sets this once under Settings → VOIP Controls.
If you open a patient and don't see the chat icon behave as described below, texting isn't enabled for your instance yet — contact Dazos support. (Today this works with CTM; more texting providers are planned.)
2. Open the Conversations
Open a patient from the Accounts menu. At the top of the record, click the chat icon (it reads "Communication" on hover). In the Text Messages block, click Show Conversations.
3. Read a Conversation
A popup opens with a brief loading spinner, then displays a tab for each phone number with a text conversation. The number next to each tab is its message count. Numbers with no text are not shown as tabs.
The first number that has a conversation opens automatically (your primary number if it has texts, otherwise the next one).
Click any tab to switch to that number's conversation.
Scroll to the top of a conversation to load older messages. While they load you'll see a brief loading animation, and when you reach the beginning you'll see "No more history available."
Your practice's messages appear on the right (blue); the patient's replies appear on the left. Each message shows the time and the texting number it went through.
Tip: The count on a tab is an estimate until you open it — once you open a conversation and load it fully, the count settles to the exact number of messages.
4. Send a Text
The compose area is at the bottom of the popup and is the same no matter which tab you're viewing.
Field | Description | Example |
To | The number to send to. This lists all of the patient's phone numbers — even ones you've never texted. | (425) 532-3434 |
From | Which of your texting numbers to send from. Start typing to search. | (561) 287-6756 |
Message | The text to send. A character count shows below the box. | Hi, following up on your intake. |
Choose the To number, choose a From number, type your message.
Click Send SMS.
Tip: If you text a number that didn't have a conversation yet, a new tab is created for it automatically and opened — so your new message starts its own thread.
5. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why isn't there a tab for every phone number? Only numbers that actually have a text conversation get a tab. This is intentional — it tells you instantly which numbers to look at. To text a number that has no tab, select it in the To list and send; a tab will appear.
Q: Can I text a number we've never messaged before? Yes. The To list includes every phone number on the patient, even ones with no history. Sending starts a new conversation and creates its tab.
Q: Are these messages stored in the CRM? No. The conversation is fetched live from CTM each time you open it, so you always see the latest.
Q: A tab's count looks higher than the messages I see — why? The badge is a quick estimate when the popup first opens; once you open that conversation and scroll through it, the count updates to the exact total.
Q: Can I use this with a provider other than CTM? Not yet — the conversation view works with CTM today. Support for other texting providers is planned.
Need Help?
If you run into issues:
Confirm the patient has a valid phone number, and try selecting it in the To list.
Check with your administrator that CTM is the active SMS gateway and enabled for the Accounts module.
Contact Dazos support with the patient and number you were viewing, and reference CRM-3288.