Your Cliniko account already holds the most valuable list your clinic owns: every patient you have treated, with a mobile number and a record of how they want to be contacted. The problem is getting that list into an SMS tool without exporting spreadsheets, copying numbers by hand, or texting people who never agreed to hear from you.
DataFlows solves this with the Patients Browser inside the Cliniko integration. It reads your patient list straight from Cliniko, shows only patients who have SMS turned on in their communication preferences, and lets you save them into a DataFlows contact group in a few clicks.
In this guide you will learn how the Patients Browser works, how to pick individual patients or import every consented patient at once, and why consent and the separate SMS marketing opt-in matter before you press send.
What Is Importing Cliniko Patients Into an SMS Contact Group?
Importing Cliniko patients into an SMS contact group is the process of taking patient records from your Cliniko practice management system and saving them as a reusable list of recipients in your SMS platform. In DataFlows, this happens through the Patients Browser, which is part of the native Cliniko integration. DataFlows checks the Cliniko API directly using your Cliniko API key, so there is no CSV export, no spreadsheet clean-up and no third-party automation tool in the middle. The browser covers your whole Cliniko account, across every business and location, but it only shows patients who have SMS enabled for appointment reminders or follow-up messages in their Cliniko communication preferences. You can search and tick individual patients, then save them to a new DataFlows contact group or send them straight into a campaign. Or you can import every consented patient into a new group in one background job. The result is a clean, consent-aware list ready for future messages.
Why It Matters for Australian Businesses
Australian clinics work under clear rules for electronic messages. The Spam Act 2003 requires consent before you send commercial messages, and every marketing SMS must identify the sender and include a working way to opt out. Health practices also handle sensitive personal information, so careless list handling is a real risk.
Exporting patients to a spreadsheet and uploading them to a separate SMS tool creates problems. Files get copied, numbers go out of date, and patients who changed their preferences in Cliniko are still on the list. A direct import that respects Cliniko's own preferences keeps your SMS list aligned with your source of truth.
It also saves front-desk time. Instead of building lists by hand before every practice notice, your team can build a group once and reuse it, or create a fresh import when needed.
Key Benefits
- No spreadsheets: Patients come directly from Cliniko through the integration, so there is nothing to export, reformat or upload.
- Consent-aware by design: Only patients with SMS enabled for reminders or follow-ups in Cliniko appear in the browser, so people who chose email or no messages are left out.
- Whole-account coverage: The browser covers every business and location on your Cliniko account, which suits multi-location practices.
- Hand-picked or all at once: Select specific patients with search, or use Import Every Consented Patient to bring in everyone who qualifies.
- Selections that stick: Ticked patients stay selected as you run new searches, so you can build a list across many names.
- Blacklist respected: The full import skips numbers on your DataFlows Blacklist, so patients who replied STOP are not added back.
- Reusable contact groups: Saved groups live in DataFlows Contact Lists and can be used again for future SMS campaigns.
Step-by-Step Guide: Building a Patient Contact Group
Step 1: Connect Cliniko to DataFlows
If you have not connected yet, you need one field: your Cliniko API key. In Cliniko, click your name in the bottom-left corner, open My Info, choose Manage API keys and add a new key. Paste it into the Cliniko integration in DataFlows.
DataFlows reads the region from the key, encrypts it, and pulls in every business and location on the account. Use a key from a Cliniko user who can view and edit patients and appointments. The integration requires an active, paid DataFlows account, and there are no monthly fees for it.
Step 2: Open the Patients Browser
Go to the Patients Browser in the Cliniko integration. You will see patients from across your whole Cliniko account. Remember the filter that is always applied: only patients with SMS enabled for appointment reminders or follow-up messages in their Cliniko communication preferences appear here.
If a patient you expect is missing, check their communication preferences in Cliniko first. That is usually the reason.
Step 3: Search and Select Patients
Type at least two letters to search. Tick the patients you want. Your selections are kept as you run new searches, so you can search for one surname, tick a few people, then search for another name and keep adding.
This works well for small, targeted groups, such as patients of a particular practitioner you want to tell about a schedule change, or a short list your team has agreed on.
Step 4: Choose Save to Group or Build Campaign
Once your selection is ready, you have two options:
- Save to Group: Creates a new DataFlows contact group with the selected patients. Use this when you want a list you can message now or later.
- Build Campaign: Takes you straight to the message step. Before the preview, DataFlows checks the SMS marketing opt-in with Cliniko for the selected patients.
Step 5: Or Import Every Consented Patient
If you want your full consented patient list in DataFlows, use Import Every Consented Patient. It imports every consented patient into a new contact group as a background job. Because this can be thousands of records, you do not need to wait on the page. DataFlows emails you when the import is finished.
The import skips any numbers on your DataFlows Blacklist. That means patients who previously replied STOP stay excluded.
Step 6: Send Your Message
With the group saved, you can send to it as an SMS campaign from DataFlows. Write a short, clear message, include your clinic name, and add opt-out wording for anything promotional. Keep an eye on length: messages over 160 characters split into more parts and are billed accordingly.
Why Consent and the SMS Marketing Opt-In Matter
There are two different kinds of permission in Cliniko, and it helps to keep them separate.
The first is the patient's communication preference for appointment reminders and follow-up messages. This is what decides whether a patient appears in the Patients Browser at all. A patient who is happy to receive reminders has agreed to service messages about their care.
The second is the SMS marketing opt-in. This is a separate setting in Cliniko. A patient can accept appointment reminders and still decline promotional messages. Under the Spam Act 2003, commercial messages such as a new service launch, a special offer or a "we miss you" reactivation message need consent. That is why Build Campaign checks the marketing opt-in with Cliniko before the preview.
In practice:
- Practice notices such as a holiday closure, a change of address or a practitioner leaving are service messages to existing patients.
- Promotional messages such as offers, new treatments or reactivation pushes should only go to patients who have opted in to SMS marketing.
Opt-outs are handled for you. When a patient replies STOP, their number goes on the DataFlows account Blacklist, so no further SMS is sent from any location or feature. Their SMS marketing opt-in is turned off in Cliniko and the STOP is recorded in their Cliniko file. This keeps both systems in agreement. For a deeper look, read our guide to Cliniko SMS consent workflows.
How DataFlows Helps
DataFlows is an Australian SMS platform built for businesses that need reliable messaging without lock-in contracts. For Cliniko clinics, the native integration, which DataFlows calls the AI SMS Receptionist, brings reminders, two-way replies, waitlist offers, recalls and campaigns into one place. The Patients Browser is the bridge between your Cliniko records and DataFlows Contact Lists and SMS campaigns.
Here is what that means for a clinic building patient groups:
- Native connection: DataFlows checks Cliniko's API directly. There is no Zapier step and no webhook to configure.
- Sending options: Send from a Virtual Number so patients can reply, or from a registered Sender ID showing your clinic name for one-way messages.
- Campaign Builder: For filtered broadcasts, such as patients who attended in a date range or patients whose last visit was a number of months ago, the Campaign Builder works alongside the Patients Browser. See our Campaign Builder guide.
- Activity and records: Every message sent is logged in the patient's Communications in Cliniko.
- Pay-as-you-go pricing: No monthly or annual fees. Buy SMS credits, top up when needed, and your credits never expire.
- Local hosting: Hosted in Sydney, with encrypted (HTTPS) connections. Data can be deleted on request.
Best Practices
- Clean preferences in Cliniko first: Because the browser follows Cliniko's communication preferences, update those preferences at the front desk and the right patients will appear.
- Separate service and marketing groups: Name groups clearly, such as "Closure notice – all consented" and "Marketing opt-in – reactivation", so staff do not mix them up.
- Import fresh before big sends: Patient preferences change over time. Running a new import before a large campaign means your list reflects current consent.
- Always identify your clinic: Put your clinic name in the message or use a registered Sender ID so patients know who is texting.
- Include opt-out wording on promotions: A simple "Reply STOP to opt out" keeps marketing messages compliant and gives patients control.
- Use a Virtual Number where replies matter: Sender ID messages are one-way, so patients cannot reply STOP or ask a question. A Virtual Number allows two-way conversations in the Patient Inbox.
- Keep messages short: Stay within 160 characters where you can to avoid multi-part billing.
- Respect the Blacklist: Do not try to re-add patients who opted out. To resume messaging someone, they need to ask, and the number must be removed from the Blacklist.
Conclusion
Your Cliniko patient list does not need to be exported, cleaned and re-uploaded every time you want to send a message. With the DataFlows Patients Browser, you can search and select patients, save them to a contact group or go straight to a campaign, or import every consented patient in one background job, with Blacklisted numbers skipped automatically.
Just as importantly, the process follows the consent your patients have already given in Cliniko, and campaigns check the separate SMS marketing opt-in before you send. That keeps your messages welcome and your clinic on the right side of the Spam Act.
Ready to put your patient list to work? Sign up at dataflows.com.au, connect your Cliniko API key, and build your first patient contact group today. Pay-as-you-go, no monthly fees, and credits that never expire.