Texting a whole stack of patients

[aussiedentist]

Am thinking of setting up a recall system where we send a text message prior to recall, saying something like

"This is 7to7dentist, and it is nearly time for you and your family to have a dental checkup. We will call you in the next week or so to schedule an appointment at a convenient time. Alternatively, if you would like us to ring you at a certain time (ie a wednesday morning or monday evening), just reply to this text and we will call you then.

Is there an easy way to do this?
I am using the australian version of od, and i get charged 25c via the providers.
Is there a way i can do this over the net, via od, and hopefully avoid exporting a whole stack of numbers and names?

[mopensoft]

Over the Net, you can register with SMS gateway provider ie directSMS, BurstSMS, AussieSMS, SMS Tech, etc and send SMS via their web portal. However, you may need to manually add or convert patient contact info into their database. A better way is to create a SMS plug-in for OD with the provider you want. In this case, you can exchange patient data and other information with OD.

25c/sms seem a bit too high. There're many SMS gateways with price from 7c to 15c.

[ultimosoftware]

The SMS plug-in for the Australian version allows for two way SMS communication ie patient confirms their attendance in response to the practice SMS. It also includes multiple SMS templates such as primary provider appointment confirmation SMS and Hygiene recall SMS etc. It is tightly integrated into all modules including appointments, recalls and appointment lists which results in far greater functionality and automation.

The cost per SMS is significantly less then 25c which includes the two way functionality.