Healthcare SMS Notifications

Effective Date: April 22, 2026

Tallis AI ("Tallis," "we," or "our") powers healthcare treatment communications over SMS on behalf of licensed healthcare practices that use our platform. The messages described on this page are informational, care-related communications between a patient and their Practice — appointment confirmations, reminders, rescheduling, post-visit follow-up, and recall. Tallis does not send marketing or promotional SMS.

When Tallis sends an SMS, we do so on behalf of a specific healthcare practice (the "Practice"). The Practice is the Covered Entity under HIPAA and the sender of record. Tallis operates the messaging infrastructure as a Business Associate.

1. Regulatory Context: Healthcare Treatment Communications

The SMS described on this page are healthcare treatment communications. They fall under the Federal Communications Commission's healthcare treatment exemption to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for messages related to a patient's care, including appointment reminders, rescheduling, and similar care-coordination. See In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 30 FCC Rcd 7961 (2015) (the "Healthcare Treatment Exemption").

This means patients are not receiving marketing text messages — they are receiving care-related notifications tied to an active patient–Practice relationship. However, industry carrier rules (CTIA, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) still require every business SMS, including healthcare notifications, to include opt-out (STOP) and help (HELP) mechanisms. Those are described below and are included in every message we send.

2. How Patients Opt In

A patient opts in to SMS by providing their mobile phone number during patient intake on the Practice's website. Intake is delivered through a Tallis-powered chat widget embedded on that website. Before a patient submits their phone number, the widget presents the following disclosure:

By providing your mobile number and completing intake, you agree to receive appointment and care-related text messages from {Practice Name}, including appointment confirmations, reminders, rescheduling, and recall. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies based on your care. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. See our SMS Notifications and Privacy Policy.

A patient must actively provide their phone number to opt in — phone collection is never pre-filled or pre-checked. Opting in to SMS is not a condition of receiving healthcare services. A patient may decline SMS and continue to receive care by contacting the Practice directly.

The Practice retains a record of each patient's consent, including the date and time of intake submission, as part of the patient's intake record.

3. What Messages a Patient May Receive

Every message sent through the Tallis platform is a treatment communication tied to the patient's active care relationship with the Practice. A patient may receive:

Appointment confirmations after scheduling
Appointment reminders (typically 24 to 48 hours before a visit)
Rescheduling notices when an appointment time changes
Post-visit follow-up specific to that visit
Recall reminders when the patient (or the patient's child) is due for a routine check-up or hygiene visit
Scheduling offers when the Practice has an earlier opening available after a cancellation

Tallis does not send marketing, promotional, solicitation, advertising, fundraising, or survey SMS on behalf of any Practice. Every message category above is tied directly to the patient's care with the Practice. The Tallis platform has no capability to send marketing SMS, and our Practice agreements prohibit it.

4. Sample Messages

Representative templates a patient may receive. Specific wording varies by Practice.

{Practice Name}: Hi {Parent First Name}, this is a reminder that {Child First Name}'s visit is tomorrow, {Date}, at {Time}. Reply Y to confirm or call {Practice Phone} to reschedule. Reply STOP to opt out.

{Practice Name}: We received your intake for {Child First Name}. Thanks! Bring your insurance card and photo ID to the visit. Questions? Call {Practice Phone}.

{Practice Name}: An earlier time just opened for {Child First Name} on {Weekday} at {Time}. Reply YES to take it, NO to keep your current time. Reply STOP to opt out.

5. Message Frequency

Frequency varies based on the patient's care with the Practice. A typical family receives 2 to 6 messages per month. Frequency is higher during the week of an appointment (confirmation + reminder) and lower between visits.

6. Message and Data Rates

Message and data rates may apply based on the patient's mobile carrier and plan. Neither Tallis nor the Practice charges a fee to send or receive these messages.

7. How to Opt Out (Carrier-Required STOP / HELP)

Although healthcare treatment communications are regulated differently from marketing SMS under TCPA, wireless carrier rules require STOP and HELP keywords on every business SMS regardless of content. Tallis honors these on every message sent on a Practice's behalf.

A patient may stop SMS at any time using any of the following methods:

Reply STOP to any text message from the Practice. One confirmation message will be sent, after which no further SMS will be delivered from that Practice's number.
Reply HELP to any text message to receive help information and Practice contact details.
Contact the Practice directly by phone or email and request to be removed from SMS.

After opting out, a patient can reinstate SMS by contacting the Practice directly. Opting out of SMS does not affect the patient's ability to receive care — the Practice will continue to reach the patient by phone, email, or other means the patient prefers.

8. Supported Carriers

Tallis SMS is delivered through major U.S. wireless carriers including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, and other major carriers. Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

9. Privacy and Data Handling

A patient's phone number and SMS content are processed by Tallis as a Business Associate of the Practice, which is the HIPAA Covered Entity. Phone numbers and message content are never sold, rented, shared with third parties for marketing, or used for any purpose beyond the care-related communications described on this page.

For the complete description of how Tallis and the Practice handle patient information, see the Tallis Privacy Policy and the Practice's own Notice of Privacy Practices.

10. The Practice is the HIPAA Covered Entity

The Practice is responsible for the care relationship with each patient and acts as the HIPAA Covered Entity. Tallis operates the SMS platform on the Practice's behalf under a HIPAA-compliant Business Associate Agreement. For questions about SMS from a specific Practice, a patient should contact that Practice directly.

11. Contact Tallis

For questions about how Tallis handles SMS on behalf of Practices:

Tallis AI

SMS inquiries: [email protected]

Privacy inquiries: [email protected]

General support: [email protected]

For questions about SMS from a specific healthcare Practice, please contact that Practice directly using the phone number or email listed in the message.