REDCap Success With Automated Text Messaging
The Plans: Direct, Basic, and Plus Explained
Direct Plan
- 4 REDCap Project text lines, 4 account logins
- Configured in REDCap
- Mostly one-way texting (except in SMS Surveys)
- Survey Invitations via text message
- Alerts and Notifications
- SMS Surveys aka “Conversations”
This is the best plan for researchers who do not or cannot engage in two-way text messaging.
Basic Plan
- 10 REDCap project text lines, 10 account logins
- Text lines can be used with/without REDCap
- REDCap survey invitations, alerts +
- Access to the Mosio dashboard for…
- Two-way “TextChat” text messaging
- Appointment reminders
- Automated message scheduling via Storylines
- Group text message alerts
- Autoresponders and contact lists
- Additional reporting and statistics
This is the best plan for a project or projects where two-way texting, appointment reminders or interactive communications benefit researchers.
Plus Plan
- 30 REDCap project text lines, 30 account logins
- Text lines can be used with/without REDCap
- Everything included with Basic, but more
- More Account Logins, Projects, Text Lines, and Messages
- More customization options
This is the best plan for REDCap admins, larger labs or any functions requiring centralized configuration and management of text messaging communications in studies using REDCap as a data collection tool.
ORDER / GET INSTANT QUOTE
Quick Set Up Video Guides
Everything shown in the videos below can be done with a Direct Plan.
Setting up REDCap Projects with Mosio
Creating REDCap Survey Invitations with Mosio
Schedule REDCap Alerts and Notifications
Survey Invitations, Alerts, and SMS Surveys
Send Survey Invitations, Alerts & Notifications, and SMS Surveys in REDCap
There are three ways REDCap currently works with the Mosio Direct Plan:
1. Survey Invitations – Sending REDCap Survey links via text message.
2. Alerts & Notifications – Schedule messages (no survey link required).
2. SMS Surveys – Sending questions and getting replies via text message.
If you are looking to add two-way text messaging, appointment reminders, group alerts, and automated messaging functions, simply upgrade to a Basic or Plus Plan.
Mosio specializes in research communications automation, helping researchers improve engagement, adherence, and data collection in studies. The service is both HIPAA** and 21 CFR Part 11 compliant and willing to sign Organizational BAAs (Business Associate Agreements) with REDCap partner organizations.
Survey Invitations (Send REDCap Links via SMS)
This is the most popular REDCap use case. With Mosio, you can send survey invitations as SMS text messages.
Selecting SMS will remove all settings specific to email (subject line, attachments, etc) and reveal a text box where you can enter the phone number(s) of the recipients. The alerts will still function as usual, but the invitation will be sent as an SMS message instead of an email. You can use the Mosio character counter in your dashboard to design your messages (brevity is important in SMS) and then paste your messages into REDCap when you schedule the invitations.
How to Create Survey Invitations in REDCap
Send Alerts and Notifications via Text Message
Setting up alerts and notifications in REDCap is a useful way to communicate with study subjects outside of sending survey links. You can send welcome messages to new study participants or create repeating messages as reminders for tasks, text-based interventions, etc.
How to Schedule REDCap Alerts and Notifications
SMS Text Message Surveys (Called “Conversations” in REDCap)
According to our conversations with REDCap Admins and users, this feature is used in less than 5% of projects. With SMS Surveys (aka “Conversations”), questions are presented individually as part of an SMS conversation thread. Respondents can answer using any type of alphanumeric text.
Most of REDCap’s survey features remain unchanged with SMS Surveys. These include enforcing required fields, validating fields, using branching logic, utilizing the Survey Queue for multiple surveys (only when Auto-Start is enabled), receiving email notifications and confirmations, accessing the Participant List, sending Automated Survey Invitations, implementing Stop Actions and using computer adaptive tests (CATs) downloaded from the REDCap Shared Library. However, the Survey Login feature is not compatible with SMS surveys.
NOTE: SMS Surveys are a sub-setting of the integration and need to be approved/added by your REDCap Admin. Depending on your organization’s usage policies, this function may not be available to you.
Benefits and Features
Benefits to REDCap Users and Admins
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Dedicated high volume texting number for each Account.
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Automatic texting number (A2P 10DLC) registration (free of charge).
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We will review/sign organization or university BAAs (Business Associate Agreements).*
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More than six years experience helping researchers leverage text messaging and REDCap.
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More features coming soon (Automated Messaging, Appointment Reminders, etc).
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Message Overage Protection – by default your account will not send over your monthly allotment amount unless you opt-in to overages and specify a max.
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Documentation and training guides specific to research.
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Letter of Support (LOS) templates.
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Documentation for grant or IRB submissions.
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Guidance on adding language to informed consent forms (ICFs).
* May incur additional costs, commitments, or licenses with your organization.
Benefits to Universities and Organizations
We developed REDCap Direct with the REDCap Dev team at the suggestion of research clients who wanted a simple, reliable way to add text messaging capabilities to REDCap with their privacy, data security, and administrative needs in mind.
What We Offer:
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Organization level Master Service Agreements (MSA) and licenses available.*
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Organizational BAAs (Business Associate Agreements) accepted.*
(Mosio will review and sign yours with no minimum monthly spend.) -
Management and controls by REDCap Administrators.
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HIPAA** and 21 CFR Part 11 Compliant.
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Bulk pricing discounts on organizational licenses.*
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Single Sign On (SSO) configuration for organizations.*
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Static IP Available (for whitelisting or VPN setups).*
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Encrypted VPN tunnel configuration.*
* May incur additional costs, commitments, or licenses with your organization.
** Sending secure REDCap survey links via SMS is HIPAA compliant, using SMS text messaging for other communication that may contain or request PHI should be reviewed and approved by your compliance staff.
RCD License – Organizational Agreement
The video below explains more about the RCD License.
If you are a manager or director at your organization looking to make it easy for your REDCap users to add text messaging capabilities to their projects, contact us for more information or to set up a meeting.
RCD License – Organizational Agreement
For organizations requiring a more formal relationship with Mosio, including a BAA (Business Associate Agreement), MSA (Master Services Agreement), Security Reviews, being added as Additional Insured on COIs, etc.
The RCD License gives your legal, IT, and Compliance departments everything they need to approve Mosio as a vendor on your terms.
The license covers all staff at your organization, including using Mosio as a standalone service or with third party systems like REDCap.
Three Ways Mosio Works with REDCap Teams
1) REDCap Direct: Ready to Go (Researchers)
Once Mosio is enabled in your organization’s instance of REDCap, you can generate Mosio API Keys and begin configuring your projects. This option is self-service. Get started now.
2) RCD License (Departments and Organizations)
If your organization requires a more formal relationship with Mosio, including a BAA (Business Associate Agreement), MSA (Master Services Agreement), Security Review, etc, the RCD License offers this and more.
The RCD License gives your IT and Compliance Departments everything they need to approve Mosio as a vendor on your terms at a fraction of the cost of an enterprise license with other providers.
Contact us for documentation or to set up a call to discuss details.
3) Custom Integration Solutions (Project by Project, Proposal Based)
More integrated functionality between Mosio and REDCap. These are project by project with the research team, REDCap admin and Mosio’s Development team working to integrate more complex automated texting programs into research beyond data collection.
Text messaging functions beyond sending REDCap survey links may include:
– Text-Based Interventions
– Adherence/Compliance Confirmation
– Appointment Reminders
– Two-Way TextChat Communications
Get a quote for custom REDCap Integration for your next project.
Our Goal
Our goal is to enable REDCap admins and managers to create all of the text messaging solutions we currently provide in our custom integration solutions, on their own.
Self-managed and cost effective
Usable by small and large research teams.
Custom-fit to your research project needs.
Providing automated text messaging solutions for all study types and sizes.
Ready to Go
(Get Started)
RCD License
(BAA, MSA, Security, etc)
Order or Get a Quote
(Get an Instant Quote)
Setting Up REDCap Direct is Easy
Here’s a short video on how to set up REDCap Direct in your REDCap dashboard. There are more instructions and guides in REDCap, but also in our REDCap Direct User Guide.
How Mosio and REDCap Direct Interact
The diagram below shows how Mosio and REDCap interact in REDCap Direct. More information about REDCap Integration Services can be found here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do I buy REDCap Direct?
Get an Instant Quote via Email or receive an Invoice for payment. If you choose Quote Only you will get an instant quote with PDF attached.
When ready, you can use the link in your email where you can revise the form to receive an invoice.
Accounts will not be set up until an order has been invoiced and paid.
How do I handle billing and account management?
Payments are made monthly via credit card or via invoice/PO. After you create your Mosio Account and get an API Key, you’ll get access to a dashboard showing you details about your API Key, Texting Number and Usage. Your billing information and account settings can be managed from there, including canceling your service.
Why is it one text line/texting number per project?
For a number of reasons, including 10DLC registration restrictions to experience observing how clients have used Mosio in the past, our Dev team has configured the system so each Project in your Mosio Account has a dedicated texting number.
This is to ensure the best service and maximum deliverability for messages in your projects, something we can’t guarantee when multiple projects are sharing a single texting number.
Do you offer text messaging services outside the USA and Canada?
Not currently. We have global messaging capabilities with some clinical trials currently using them, but the recent changes and challenges implemented by US mobile carriers are also happening in various ways, internationally. In some cases even more hoops to jump through.
Client confidence in message deliverability is extremely important to us. These recent changes, along with ongoing changes in the global mobile landscape, unfortunately, have us moving away from international messaging for the time being.
Do you offer a free trial of the REDCap Direct Service?
While we don’t offer a free trial of this service, we are offering the following for a limited time: If you cancel before the end of your first month and have not used all of your plan message credits, we’ll refund your credit card.
Do you offer voice services as well?
Mosio focuses specifically on two-way text messaging, but we offer voice forwarding as part of the service. If someone calls one of your text lines, we can forward the call to one of your phone numbers. 1 minute = 1 message credit.
How do I get support?
You first need to make sure REDCap at your organization has enabled Mosio. Only a REDCap Administrator can enable Mosio services.
Mosio’s REDCap Direct is self-service with good information and guides at mosio.com/support.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for on that page, you can submit a support ticket.
Do I need a different Mosio API Key for each REDCap Project?
To keep clear continuity in text messaging communications, a Mosio API Key is required for each REDCap Project. as long as those projects are only sending outbound messages.
Are there other Mosio features going to be added as part of REDCap Direct?
Yes. You can upgrade from Direct to a Basic or Plus Plan and have access to the rest of Mosio’s functionality. Furthermore, you can keep your current Direct setup inside of REDCap while using the other modules inside the Mosio dashboard, like Storylines (automated messaging), two-way TextChat, Appointment Reminders, and Alerts.
Are inbound messages included?
Yes! Only outbound messages/segments count against your credits.
What is the difference between a message and a segment?
** Important – Keep Your Texts Short! **
When you are setting up text message alerts, REDCap will still display an email entry interface. Remember texts need to be much shorter than emails. You can have up to 160 characters per text.
Long texts are automatically combined to display as one message on the phone, but they are billed by the carriers per segment (each segment = 1 text). Check the character counter in your Mosio dashboard to see how many segments your messages use.
In the Mosio dashboard you’ll see a character counter. It will help you plan your content to maximize your message and minimize costs.
More Info about Messages and Segments
SMS Messages and Segments – What are they?
In this guide, we will cover SMS messages and segments to help you understand how they work and how to avoid additional charges from mobile carriers. Further, we’ll explore how the length and character type of your message impact the segmentation. Mosio has been designed to help clients maximize their messaging content and includes counters to help you. More on that below.
What is an SMS Segment?
- SMS messages are made up of character batches called segments. Each segment is limited to 160 simple characters in order to fit network limitations. So what might seem like a single message to you could, in fact, be made up of several segments.
- The number of characters included in a text message can be more or less depending on two things:
- The length of your message, and
- The type of characters you use to create your message
- Here’s how SMS segments are broken down:
- 1-160 character(s) = 1 SMS segment
- 161-306 characters = 2 SMS segments
- After you’ve reached 306 characters, every 153 characters would count as an additional SMS segment (ie 307-460 characters = 3 SMS segments)
How to avoid additional charges by mobile carriers?
- Carriers bill 160 regular characters (letters, numbers and symbols above numbers on your keyboard) as 1 message segment. Any messages that extend 160 characters will be charged for additional SMS segments.
- In general, avoid special characters like emojis as the message will be encoded as UCS-2 message, which has a maximum of 70 characters per segment.
- Use standard GSM-7 characters (regular characters) in your messages.
- Shorten your word counts by using “4” instead of “for”, or “2” instead of “to”.
- If your message exceeds 160 basic text characters, your recipients may either receive the message as 1 single long message, or multiple messages splitted in multiple segments. The delivery order of the split segments can’t be guaranteed.
- Limiting your message segment to a maximum of 160 basic characters is highly recommended.
How Mosio Helps
Mosio has a built-in character, message and segment counter to help you better create and maximize the effectiveness of your messaging content.
What happens when a participant replies to a message in the Direct Plan?
When a participant responds to a message on the Direct Plan their message will show up in your Text History reports. Autoresponders and TextChat functions are available in Basic and Plus plans.