Patient Communications

Junction can send patients email and SMS notifications as a lab order progresses. The available channels and events depend on the order’s testing modality. Patient communications are separate from webhook events. Patient communications contact the patient, while webhooks notify your integration about order and appointment changes.

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Configure patient communications

You can enable or disable patient email and SMS in the Junction Dashboard under Team Settings → Branding & Communication. The settings apply to all orders placed by the Team. The order must also contain the patient’s contact information:

• SMS messages require a valid phone number.
• Emails require a valid email address.

Provide these values in patient_details when creating an order.

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Communications support by modality

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At-home test kits

At-home test kit communications use SMS only. Junction does not send patient emails for this modality. The following communications correspond to events in the test kit order lifecycle:

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Collection reminders

When order SMS reminders and the Junction User Portal are enabled for your Team, Junction may remind the patient to return a kit that remains in with_customer status: Reminders stop once the sample moves to the return-shipping or laboratory-processing stages.

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Mobile phlebotomy

The following communications correspond to events in the mobile phlebotomy order and appointment lifecycle. When email and SMS are both enabled, requisition creation produces both communications. Appointment status updates are delivered by email; SMS is the fallback when email is disabled and SMS is enabled. If scheduling before requisition creation is enabled, appointment messages are triggered by the appointment status. Non-appointment messages remain tied to the order status.

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Walk-in

Junction sends communications for selected events—not every status in the walk-in order lifecycle. Statuses not listed in this table do not produce a default patient communication. For example, Junction does not send a default patient message for partial_results, sample_error, or requisition_bypassed.

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Requisition-ready communication

The requisition-ready communication occurs when the order moves from ordered to requisition_created. This transition means the partner laboratory accepted the order and generated the requisition. If SMS is enabled, Junction tells the patient that they can visit the partner laboratory. If email is enabled, Junction sends an email containing:

• The partner laboratory.
• Instructions for completing the collection.
• An appointment-booking link.
• The requisition PDF, when available.

When the Junction User Portal is enabled, the SMS and email actions open the patient’s order in the portal. Otherwise, the email action opens the partner laboratory’s appointment-booking page.

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User Portal links

For supported Teams and laboratory partners, Junction creates a time-limited, pre-authorized User Portal link when the requisition is created. The patient can use the link to find a Patient Service Center, book an appointment where supported, and review their order and appointment details. Because the link is pre-authorized, anyone with access to it may be able to open the patient’s portal. Treat it as sensitive patient information and do not place it in logs or share it with anyone other than the patient.

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Appointment communications

Appointments booked through Junction have a lifecycle separate from the order itself. See PSC appointment scheduling and the appointment lifecycle. Junction sends SMS—but not email—when an appointment is confirmed or cancelled. At this time, Junction’s PSC appointment-scheduling API is available only for supported Quest locations. Patients can still book directly with other laboratory partners using the link in the requisition-ready communication.

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Appointment reminders

When order SMS reminders are enabled for your Team, Junction may send SMS reminders containing a User Portal link. No reminder emails are sent. Before an appointment is booked, Junction schedules the following reminders after requisition creation: Booking reminders stop after Junction receives a scheduled appointment event. For appointments scheduled through Junction, reminders may be sent: If an appointment is booked less than 24 hours before its start time, Junction skips the elapsed 24-hour reminder. Rescheduling recalculates the reminder times, and cancelling clears pending appointment reminders.

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Scheduling before requisition creation

Some Teams can schedule an appointment before the requisition has been created. In this workflow:

• Appointment confirmation and cancellation SMS messages are triggered by the appointment status.
• The requisition-ready SMS and email remain tied to the order’s later requisition_created status.
• Junction does not send appointment confirmation or cancellation emails.

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Redraw communications

If an order becomes eligible for a redraw, Junction can send an SMS telling the patient that another collection is recommended and a redraw notification email. The email includes a new requisition PDF when one is available.

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On-site collection

The following communications correspond to events in the on-site collection order lifecycle:

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Customize or replace Junction communications

Junction can customize SMS templates by event. Email templates can be branded and sent from your own domain. Work with your Customer Success Manager to configure these options. To prevent Junction from contacting patients, disable both patient email and SMS. You can then subscribe to the modality’s webhook events and send communications from your own system:

• Walk-in webhooks
• Mobile phlebotomy webhooks
• At-home test kit webhooks
• On-site collection webhooks

Your integration is responsible for deciding which events should contact the patient and for preventing duplicate messages.

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Test communications in sandbox

Use the Junction Dashboard or the Simulate Order endpoint to move an order through supported statuses and test the corresponding communications. See Testing in Sandbox for the complete simulation workflow.