Setup guide · Addiction treatment

Set up BloomText for your addiction treatment program

Go from a new account to texting your first client. Start with one team and one client, check it works, then roll out to everyone.

  • 11 steps
  • 9 short videos
  • For program directors and office managers
01

Set up your team

Step 1

Invite your staff

In the left bar, click Directory, then + to invite counselors, case managers and front-desk staff with their work email.

Turn on Administrator only for the people who manage your plan, organization settings and members.

  • Everyone else is a regular user. BloomText has no other roles.
  • Test with one admin and one regular account before you invite everyone
Full walkthrough →
Step 2

Create a team for each program or role

A team is a shared inbox. A team with its own texting number also gets its own hours and after-hours reply. Make one per location, or one for the front desk and one for scheduling.

In Directory, open the Teams tab and click +. Name the team, then add its staff with Add members. Only admins can create teams.

  • Everyone on a team sees the chats on that team's number
  • To bring in one staff member for a single client, add them to that chat instead of the team
  • To give a team its own texting number, add a number to your plan, then email support@bloomtext.com to connect it
Full walkthrough →
Step 3

Keep treatment out of names

Give teams, numbers and chats neutral names, such as "Front Desk" rather than "Recovery Program". A secure-link text names the sender and your organization, for example "Jordan from Lakeside Health just sent you a secure message", so a neutral organization name keeps treatment off a client's lock screen.

Add a family member to a chat only after the client signs written consent that meets 42 CFR Part 2. The official Part 2 guidance explains the rules.

This guide is not legal advice.

Step 4

Hide client phone numbers from staff

Click Settings, then Organizations, your practice and the Details tab. Turn on Don't allow users to see patient phone numbers.

Staff who aren't admins then see only the last four digits of a client's number.

  • Only admins see this setting, and admins still see full numbers
Full walkthrough →
02

Connect with clients

Step 5

Turn on patient texting

Your practice needs patient texting before you can add clients. If you started the free trial with patient texting at signup, it's already on.

If you clicked Skip for now, an admin turns it on: click Settings, then Organizations, your practice and the Plan tab, and click Activate on SMS Messaging. Then click Select a phone number on the same tab to give your practice its own texting number.

Full walkthrough →
Step 6

Bring a client and their care team into one chat

In the Inbox, click +, add the client in To and click Message.

Then bring in the counselor or case manager who works with them: in the chat, click View participants, then Add participants. Pick each person and click Save. The video shows this part.

  • To start with several people at once, add them all in To, click Create group, name it and pick the Send from team
  • Each client gets their own secure link into the same chat
  • Everyone in the chat, clients included, sees its name, so keep clinical details out of it
Full walkthrough →
Step 7

Send photos and files

Open the chat, click + beside the message box, then Attach. Add a note so the client knows what the files are for, then press Send. The files and the note go out as one message.

  • Files stay in BloomText with the chat history
  • Before you share a file with a family member, check that the client's written consent covers it
Full walkthrough →
Step 8

Show clients how to reply

Clients read and reply on a secure page that opens in their phone's browser, with no app or account. Add a note like this to your first message:

Save this number in your contacts as [Clinic Name] so you know it's us when we text. Tap the link in the text to read and reply, and always reply on the page that opens.
  • For privacy, a secure link stops working after a while. The page offers Text me a new link.
Full walkthrough →
03

Everyday messages

Step 9

Set business hours and an after-hours reply

In Directory, open Teams, your team, then the Auto-Reply tab. Check Business Hours and the time zone (Edit hours to change them).

Switch on Out-Of-Office Reply, click Edit message, write your reply and click Save. Only admins can save.

For exampleMessages aren't monitored after hours. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.
  • Business hours don't mute staff notifications
Full walkthrough →
Step 10

Forward calls to the office

People call the number you text from. On the team's Call Forwarding tab, turn on Forward incoming calls to another number, type the Forwarding number and click Save forwarding number.

  • Texts keep arriving in BloomText
  • Each team number forwards to one phone, and only admins can change it
  • Call the number once to test it, and the voicemail
Full walkthrough →
Step 11

Send a broadcast

Use broadcasts for appointment reminders, closures and schedule changes, not marketing.

In the left bar, click Campaigns, then +. Name it, check the Team, and under Message Type choose Secure text with link if the message contains health information. Insecure text is for messages with none, such as an office closure. Add recipients, write the message and click Save campaign. Nothing goes out until you click Send…, then send it now or schedule it.

  • Each client gets their own copy, and replies come back as private one-to-one chats
Full walkthrough →

Before you roll out

Test with one admin, one regular staff account and one client before you roll out to everyone.

  • An admin and a regular staff account can both see the test client's chat
  • Texts come from the number you expect. If not, contact support before you ask clients to save it.
  • Calls to your BloomText number ring the office, and its voicemail works
  • One client opened the secure link, replied and sent a photo
  • Team and chat names don't mention treatment
  • Your after-hours reply points clients in crisis to 988
  • You have your signed BAA. Every plan includes one: you accepted it at signup and the signed copy was emailed to you. Ask support for another copy.

Need help? Click Feedback in the left bar and choose Support, or email support@bloomtext.com.

Want us to set it up with you?

Book a call and we'll walk your team through every step.

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