In short: A Blast Campaign sends one or more messages to a targeted group of patients. Each message in the campaign is either a text or an email. You can add several messages in one campaign and send them on a schedule or delay (successively - not at the same instant). Use goals so later messages stop when a patient books or clicks a link. Typical uses: reactivation and recall, office announcements, special offers, newsletters, and birthday messages. Covers audience filters and date ranges, multi-message scheduling, bulk tagging, message credits, campaign reports, and troubleshooting. For front desk staff, practice managers, and administrators.
Introduction
Blast Campaigns in TrackStat let you send one message - or a short sequence of messages - to a specific group of patients. The campaign can include text messages, email messages, or both. Messages go out at the times you set (immediately, at a chosen date and time, or after a delay from the previous message).
They are used for reactivation/recall, office announcements, special offers, newsletters, birthday wishes, workshop invitations, and educational content.
Important: You must use filters and date ranges to select a targeted audience. Sending messages to your entire patient database is considered spamming and can result in your texting account and email address being shut down and/or emails going directly to spam or promotions folders.
Blast Campaigns also allow you to bulk-tag patients for easier tracking in reports.
Text and email in the same campaign
Use this section to answer “Does a blast send both text and email?”
Yes. One Blast Campaign can include multiple messages. Those messages can be text, email, or a mix of both.
Each individual message is one type. A single message is either a text or an email. TrackStat does not send a text and an email in the same send action.
Messages are not concurrent. TrackStat does not send a text and an email at the same instant. Additional messages send successively - after the previous message, on the schedule or delay you set.
Goals can stop later messages. Optional goals such as “Has Future Appointment” or “Clicked the link” remove patients from remaining messages in that campaign once the goal is met.
Example: Message 1 = email now. Message 2 = text 24 hours later, only if the patient has not booked. That is one campaign with two successive messages, not two separate campaigns.
Best Practices for Date Ranges (Visit Date Filters)
To maintain high engagement, minimize opt-outs, and reduce spam complaints:
Use narrow date ranges when setting Visit Date, Last Visit Date, First Visit Date, or Next Visit Date filters.
Recommended ranges: 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.
Avoid date ranges longer than 2 years. Long ranges often reach patients who no longer consider your practice relevant, leading to frustration, opt-outs, spam reports, and potential compliance issues.
Tip: Start with smaller, more targeted segments (e.g., patients seen in the last 6 months) and test performance before expanding. You can always create additional campaigns for other groups.
Who Can Create and Edit Blast Campaigns?
Users with User Plus, Manager, or Administrator permission roles can view, create, and edit Blast Campaigns. The basic User role cannot access campaigns.
Common Uses of Blast Campaigns
Reactivation/recall messages (inactive patients)
Office announcements (holiday hours, closures, new hours, events)
Special offers and promotions
Newsletters or educational content
Birthday reactivations
Workshop/seminar invitations
Multi-step outreach (email first, then a follow-up text if the patient has not booked)
Bulk tagging specific patient groups (except “np start”)
Best Practices
Always use date ranges and secondary filters for a targeted audience.
Review the Audience Preview carefully before sending.
Use merge fields for personalization (e.g., {{PatientFirstName}}).
Keep text messages concise (under 145 characters when possible) to avoid extra charges.
Add more than one message when you want a follow-up. Each added message can be text or email.
Set campaign goals (e.g., “Has Future Appointment” or “Clicked the link”) so patients who already responded are removed from later messages.
For reactivation campaigns, combine Last Visit Date primary filter with Has Future Appointment = No secondary filter.
Test formatting and merge fields before full send.
Use the “not qualified” tag to exclude patients from campaign audiences while still allowing appointment reminders.
Step-by-Step: How to Create a New Blast Campaign
To create a Blast Campaign, follow these steps:
Click the megaphone icon (Communication) in the left menu.
Select Blast Campaigns.
Click the yellow + Add Campaign button (in the upper right corner).
Give the campaign a clear name and click Next.
Choose your Primary Filter (date range):
Visit Date — best for announcements, newsletters, new services.
Last Visit Date — best for reactivation (pair with “Has Future Appointment = No”).
First Visit Date — best for new-patient follow-ups.
Next Visit Date — best for upcoming appointment reminders or closures.
Click Audience Filter to add Secondary Filters. You can combine multiple filters for precision. Common options include:
Active/Inactive (note: "Inactive" means patients who have been discharged, archived, or marked as deceased)
Age
Has Future Appointment (Yes/No)
Tags (use + to include, – to exclude)
Appointment Purpose / Provider
CPT code / Diagnosis / Case Type
Insurance Company / Fee Schedule / Total Paid
Sex, Birthday Month, City, State, Zip Code, etc.
Click Load to generate the patient list or audience.
8. Click Audience Preview (or scroll down) to review:
If this campaign will send only text, uncheck Address and Email in the Audience Preview column header.
If this campaign will send only email, uncheck Address and CellPhone.
If this campaign will send both text and email (separate messages in the same campaign), leave CellPhone and Email checked so each message type has a destination.
The trash can icon can remove individual patients from the list, but a better option is to assign a tag to unwanted patients and then exclude that tag in the secondary filter section using the red minus sign. If patients are manually removed with the delete (trash can) icon and the audience is reloaded or modified, those deleted patients are added back and must be removed again.
9. Create or select message(s) - one message or several:
Click Message/Schedule (or Next).
Click the blue + Add Message button.
Click the yellow + New Message button to create a new message (choose email or text) or select an existing message from a folder or the search box.
Choose Now or At designated date/time for when that message should send.
Repeat + Add Message to add more messages. Additional messages can be the other channel (for example, email first, then text) or the same channel again.
Set delay timing if desired. Delays are based on the previous message, not the first message.
10. Set Goal (optional, recommended for multi-message campaigns).
Choose a goal that automatically removes patients from later messages (e.g., “Has Future Appointment” or “Clicked the link”). Patients who meet the goal do not receive the remaining messages in this campaign.
11. Enable and send:
Slide the campaign toggle to ON.
Click Exit, then Save and Exit.
After enabling, allow 10–15 minutes for messages to generate and send. Outgoing messages appear in the Inbox once sent (click the All Messages filter). The green bell icon next to the message name in Blast Campaigns changes to an airplane icon when that message has sent.
Step-by-Step: How to Copy a Blast Campaign (Sent or Not Enabled)
Click the megaphone icon (Communication) in the left menu.
Click Blast Campaigns and find the campaign you want to copy.
Click the copy (paper) icon (located between the Status column and the Delete icon).
Rename the campaign with a new name.
The copied blast appears at the bottom of the Blast Campaign page - scroll down to find it.
Click the name of the new blast to edit it.
The campaign filters from the original campaign are copied over.
Update the filters as needed. Then click Load to load the audience; otherwise the campaign will not send to any patients.
Messages from the original campaign are copied, but all schedule times default to “Now.”
If the campaign has more than one message, update the schedule time for each message in Message/Schedule.
If the campaign has only one message, it is also set to “Now.” Change it if you want a different time.
You can set delay times. Delays are relative to the previous message, not the first one. Example: if Message 2 has a 24-hour delay, it sends 24 hours after Message 1 is sent.
Save:
Click Exit and select Save and Exit if you want to come back later, or
Turn the campaign on by toggling Campaign OFF to Campaign ON, then save.
How to Tag Patients Using a Blast Campaign
Blast Campaigns are one of the easiest ways to bulk-tag a specific group of patients:
Follow steps 1–8 above → In Audience Preview → Click Tags → Apply an existing tag or create a new one → Done → Save.
Patients can now be located quickly in any report using the tag filter.
Viewing Campaign Results
Open the campaign → click the Report section.
Results are shown for the messages in that campaign:
Text messages: Total Recipients, Delivered, Delivered %, Errors, Unsubscribed.
Email messages: Total Recipients, Delivered, Delivered %, Opened, Errors, Bounced, Unsubscribed.
A campaign that includes both text and email will show metrics for each message type. Reporting is per message, not “one type per campaign.”
Message Credits and Charges
You may incur extra charges if you exceed your monthly message credits (visible by hovering over the Inbox or looking in Account Settings). Credits reset monthly per your contract.
An estimated charge appears during campaign creation. Each text message in a multi-message campaign uses credits when it sends.
Preview and Test Limitations
Merge fields such as {{PatientFirstName}}, review links, etc., will not populate correctly in previews or test messages. Merge fields populate correctly when the campaign is enabled and custom messages are created and sent for each patient.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Campaign not sending: Make sure the campaign toggle is ON, an audience is loaded (greater than 0), and (if scheduled) the time is still in the future.
No messages delivered: Verify contact fields match the message types in the campaign and that patients have a valid phone number and/or email address for those messages.
Expected both text and email, only one sent: Check Message/Schedule. Confirm a second message was added, that its type is the other channel, that its schedule or delay is set, and that the goal did not already remove the patient.
Wrong message sent: You cannot edit a blast campaign that was sent previously. Copy the previously sent campaign, edit the copy, reload the audience, and enable it.
New appointment purposes missing: They appear in TrackStat only after first use in your EMR/EHR.
Opted-out patients: For ChiroTouch Classic (Server) users, click Billing Statements & Reports > Labels/Lists > select Patient List > Options > “Patient Marketing = FALSE” > Add > Preview. Export the list, then tag those patients in TrackStat with the “not qualified” tag. Exclude the “not qualified” tag in the secondary filter section and load the audience.
Long delays: Allow 10–15 minutes after enabling. If still not sent, check filters and toggle again.
Some patients not included in Audience: By default, blast campaign audiences only include patients who have both a cell phone number and an email address on file. Uncheck Address and Email or CellPhone in Audience Preview as appropriate. For mixed text-and-email campaigns, leave both CellPhone and Email checked. Click Show All Selected Filter on the lower left to view all selected filters. Patients must meet all selected criteria to be included.
Audience not loaded: After selecting filters, click Load. This is a common mistake and is required to generate the list.
Changes not saved: Click the red Exit button in the top right and select Save and Exit.
Audience too large or zero results: Narrow your date range (3–12 months) and verify filter combinations.
High opt-out/spam rates: Review date ranges - reduce to recent patients only - and ensure message content is relevant and valuable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Blast Campaign send to both text and email?
Yes. One Blast Campaign can include multiple messages. Each message is either a text or an email. You can mix channels in the same campaign (for example, an email followed by a text). TrackStat does not send a text and an email at the same instant. Additional messages send one after another on the schedule or delay you set. Optional goals can skip later messages after a patient books or clicks a link.
Can I send a text and an email at the exact same time?
No. Messages in a campaign send successively, not concurrently. To reach both inboxes and phones, add two messages and schedule the second with “Now” after the first, a specific time, or a short delay after the previous message.
Can I send blast campaigns to non-patients or marketing leads?
No. Recipients must be patients in your EMR/EHR software. Spreadsheets or lists of leads cannot be uploaded into TrackStat. This is intentional to prevent users from spamming lists of leads through TrackStat. TrackStat does not offer any webhooks to connect with apps such as Zapier or other application integration platforms.
How do I stop marketing emails but keep reminders for specific patients?
Assign the “not qualified” tag to specific patients and exclude the “not qualified” tag in your campaign filters.
Can I reuse an old campaign?
Yes. Copy the original blast campaign first and give it a new name. Then edit the filters as needed, Load the audience, update each message schedule (copied messages reset to “Now”), and enable the new blast campaign.
How do I find all patients with a specific tag using a blast campaign?
Create a new Blast Campaign → leave the primary date filter blank → filter by the tag (green plus “+” sign) → Load → Audience Preview (uncheck Address, Email, and CellPhone boxes in the column header to view everyone).
How can I manage duplicate messages when patients share the same phone number or email address?
Blast campaigns send messages based on patients, not unique phone numbers or email addresses. If multiple patients (for example, a parent and their children) share the same phone number or email, each patient can receive the message separately. To avoid duplicate messages:
Manually remove patients from the audience list before sending (trash can icon).
Use tags to exclude patients (e.g., “Shared Phone – Exclude from Blasts”), then exclude that tag from the audience.
Use the Age filter to exclude minors when the parent is also a patient.
Can patients respond to emails sent through blast campaigns?
Yes. Recipients can reply to the email, and the sent blast email and their response will be visible in their conversation thread in the TrackStat Inbox.
Can I copy campaigns between different TrackStat accounts?
No. If you own or manage multiple clinics and have access to multiple TrackStat accounts, each account is a separate environment. Appointment reminders, Blasts, Drips, and Automated Message templates cannot be copied or transferred between accounts. Recreate the campaigns in the other account.
Will messages be sent to patients who have opted out?
No. Look at the Consents column in Audience Preview. The column contains an icon for text (SMS) and email. Green means the patient has not opted out and that channel can send. Red means the patient has opted out and a message will not be generated for that channel. In a mixed campaign, a patient can still receive the other channel if that consent is green.
Keywords: blast campaign, mass email, bulk text message, email and text blast, multi-message campaign, patient reactivation, office announcement, special offer, tagging patients, SMS credits, TrackStat marketing
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