# Communication Templates

## Overview

Communication templates in Welkin allow care teams to send consistent, pre-written messages to patients without composing each message from scratch. Templates support dynamic variables to personalize messages with patient-specific information.

## Accessing Templates

From the Communication Center, click the **Templates** icon when composing a message. You can also manage templates from the Care Portal settings or via Designer.

## Using a Template

1. Start composing a new message (email, SMS, or other channel)
2. Click the **Templates** or **Insert Template** button
3. Browse or search for the template you want
4. Click the template to insert it into your message
5. Review the populated message, modify if needed, and send

## Template Variables

Templates can include variables that are automatically replaced with patient-specific data, such as:

* `{{patient.first_name}}` – replaced with the patient's first name
* `{{patient.appointment_date}}` – replaced with their next scheduled appointment
* `{{care_team.name}}` – replaced with the sending clinician's name

Available variables depend on your organization's configuration.

## Creating Templates

Templates are created and managed in the Welkin Designer. To create a new template:

1. Log in to **Designer**
2. Navigate to **Communication Templates**
3. Click **+ New Template**
4. Select the channel (Email, SMS, etc.)
5. Write the template content using variables as needed
6. Save and publish the template

For Designer configuration, see the Designer documentation.


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