In order to utilise Hero Health for sending messages via SMS, you will need to set up an account with Firetext. This will enable you to pay for SMS sent from your Hero account.
SMS can be sent from Hero in various scenarios, including messaging an individual patient, messaging a cohort of patients (batch messaging), messaging a practitioner when a booking is made, and messaging a patient an appointment confirmation and reminder. Practices are responsible for the cost of SMS, either through your own Firetext account, or invoiced directly from Hero on a monthly basis.
Learn more about our SMS fees in our SMS fees article.
What is Firetext?
Firetext is an SMS provider. They compete with the likes of BT - you can think of them as similar to Vodafone or EE providing your mobile telephone contract.
Firetext is one of the main brokers of SMS in the UK. They serve the government, and NHS providers across the country.
We prefer to partner with Firetext, as we find their support for smaller businesses to be reliable and friendly. However, should you wish, we can also connect your account to gateways with Twilio or BT - please contact our Support team to set these up.
How do I setup a Firetext account?
Visit the Firetext website and sign up for an account. The process is straightforward and requires some basic information about your practice.
Once your account is active, log into Firetext and navigate to Settings > API. Here, you can view your existing API key or generate a new one.
In Hero, navigate to Settings > Integrations > Firetext. Paste the copied API key into the designated field and select "Connect your account". This action links your Hero account with Firetext, enabling SMS functionality.
Following these steps, your Hero Health account will be successfully connected to Firetext and ready for SMS messaging.