> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Communications

> Turn on the text, voice, fax and email channels the hospital's AI agents use, and send email from your own mailbox.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['clinic']} plans="Starter and above" roles="Owner or manager" />

Agents can only reach a patient through a channel the hospital has actually provisioned. This tab is where you declare those channels and the numbers and addresses behind them.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Settings', 'Automation & AI', 'Communications']} />

<TaskHeader before="Provisioned numbers or a verified sending address for whichever channels you want" time="10 minutes" after="Agents able to reach patients by the channels you enabled" />

## What this tab controls

The page is headed **Communications** — "Channels your AI agents use to reach patients — text, voice, fax, and email."

| Control                                             | What it does                                                                                                                                                  | Default       |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- |
| **Enabled channels**                                | Five switches: **SMS**, **WhatsApp**, **Fax**, **Voice**, **Email**. "Turn on only the channels you've provisioned. Outbound is disabled outside production." | All off       |
| **SMS from (E.164)** · **SMS messaging profile ID** | The number texts are sent from, in `+15551234567` form, and its profile                                                                                       | Blank         |
| **WhatsApp from**                                   | The WhatsApp number                                                                                                                                           | Blank         |
| **Fax from (E.164)** · **Fax connection ID**        | The fax number and its connection                                                                                                                             | Blank         |
| **Voice number (E.164)** · **Voice connection ID**  | The number calls are placed from, and its connection                                                                                                          | Blank         |
| **Send from (verified address)**                    | The address agents send email from, e.g. `clinic@yourdomain.com`                                                                                              | Blank         |
| **Reply-to (optional)**                             | Where replies should go instead, e.g. `frontdesk@yourdomain.com`                                                                                              | Blank         |
| **Send from your own mailbox**                      | Connect **Google** or **Outlook** so replies land in your inbox and messages send from your own address. Marked **Rolling out**                               | Not connected |
| **Save changes**                                    | Writes everything on the page                                                                                                                                 | —             |

The messaging and voice fields sit under **Messaging & voice (Telnyx)**: "The clinic's Telnyx numbers and connections for SMS, WhatsApp, fax, and voice."

## Set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Provision the numbers first">
    A switch here does not buy you a number. Get the numbers and connections in place with your telephony provider before you turn anything on — a channel enabled without its details simply fails to send.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the numbers">
    Enter each number in full international form, starting with `+` and the country code. The connection and profile identifiers come from the same provider account as the number.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the email addresses">
    Put a verified hospital address in **Send from**. Use **Reply-to** when replies should reach a monitored inbox rather than the sending address — a front-desk mailbox rather than a no-reply.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on only what you have">
    Switch on each channel you have actually provisioned, and leave the rest off. An enabled channel with no number is a silent failure waiting to happen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Select **Save changes**. It confirms with "Communication settings saved".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect a mailbox, when it reaches you">
    Under **Send from your own mailbox**, connect **Google** or **Outlook** so agent email sends from your own address and replies land in your inbox. The **Connect** buttons are inactive until the feature reaches your workspace — the card is badged **Rolling out**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What changes once you save

* **Agents can use the channels you enabled**, and only those. A published agent whose step sends a text simply cannot when SMS is off.
* **Messages carry the numbers and addresses on this page.** Patients see the number you entered — so put the hospital's public number here, not a personal mobile.
* **Replies follow Reply-to** when you set one; otherwise they go to the sending address.
* **Until mailbox sending is enabled, agents send from the verified address above**, whatever mailbox you connect later.

Two things worth knowing. This tab governs **agent** communication, not the hospital's ordinary notification emails — appointment reminders, invoice notices and staff alerts follow their own preference switches, not these switches. And patient contact preferences still apply on top: a channel being enabled here never overrides a patient who has opted out.

Turning a channel off stops future sends immediately; nothing already delivered is recalled.

## Check it worked

Save, then reload the tab — your numbers and addresses should still be there and the channel switches should be as you left them. Run one agent that sends on a channel you enabled, to a colleague rather than a patient, and confirm it arrives from the number or address you entered.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="An upgrade panel covers the whole tab">
    "Connect SMS, WhatsApp, fax, voice and email so your AI agents can reach patients. Available on any paid plan." See [Change your plan](/platform/plans/change-plan).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Only clinic owners and managers can configure communications">
    Accountants can open settings but not this tab's controls.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A channel is on but nothing sends">
    The number or connection for that channel is missing or wrong. Check the value is in full international form, starting `+`, and that the connection identifier matches the same provider account.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Replies are going to a mailbox nobody reads">
    Set **Reply-to** to a monitored address. It overrides the sending address for replies only.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The Connect buttons for Google and Outlook do nothing">
    That card is badged **Rolling out** and is not active for every workspace yet. Until then agents send from the verified address above.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Reminders still go out after I turned Email off">
    Ordinary hospital notifications are governed by the notification preferences, not by these agent channels. Change them there.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<StillStuck />