Text messages can fail to be received by the patient/client for a number of reasons. In ReferAll, the system will automatically generate a task on the dashboard against a referral "Text message send failed".
Click on the referral task on the dashboard, the related referral record will open and scroll down the page and click onto:
Below the yellow text message box you will see a list of information about all the text messages relating to the referral. Under the heading 'Delivery Status' a reason will be allocated. You will see Failed: (with one of the following reasons):
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Blocked
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Number Blacklisted
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No operator found
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Message barred by operator
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Failed
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Validity period expired
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Recipient device not capable
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Subscriber is out of credit
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Ported number
Most of the above is self-explanatory, however we would like to offer further information for the following:
Reason 1 - Blocked means the recipient has blocked a previous text message sent from the scheme/service. Be aware the patient/client may have two+ referrals in the scheme/service.
Reason 5 - Failed means if ReferAll's 3rd party mobile carrier tries to deliver the sms and they get a busy signal while calling, the service will try again later. But when the sms doesn’t get delivered on the first try, it is automatically re-sent in certain intervals. When the phone is available again, the message gets delivered.
If a certain amount of time passes without the sms being successfully delivered, our mobile carrier will stop trying if not delivered within, for example a number of hours or a maximum of 3 times of trying within the time period. If the message still won't go through, it is eventually marked as 'Failed.'
If you do get a 'Failed' warning on one of your task messages, then you know that the delivery has definitely not been successful. We do recommend checking the list in the referral record 'Text Messages' tab, if other sms's have been successfully delivered to the same mobile number this confirms the above.
We hope this helps explain why a text message may fail and enable you to follow up with the patient/client by another means, if desired.
If have any other concerns, just reach out to ReferAll support by submitting a ticket and we'll be happy to assist!
