Part 6: Integrating Appointment Notifications and In-App Messaging 📅📱

Github Repo: DentalArt

Aws Amplify Hashnode

Welcome back to our blog series! In this part, we'll explore how to enhance our Dental Clinic Management System by integrating appointment notifications and in-app messaging functionalities. This will provide a seamless communication experience between the clinic staff and patients. Let's dive in! 🚀🏥📱

Step 1: Setting Up AWS Amplify Functions

To add appointment notifications, we'll use AWS Amplify Functions. Functions allow us to execute custom server-side logic, enabling us to send notifications through various channels like SMS, email, or push notifications. First, ensure that you have set up the Amplify Functions environment. If not, run the following command:

amplify init
amplify add function
amplify push

Step 2: Sending Appointment Notifications

In this example, we'll demonstrate how to send an appointment confirmation notification to the patient via email. For simplicity, we'll use the AWS SES (Simple Email Service) as our email provider. Ensure you have set up AWS SES and have the necessary permissions to send emails.

Create a new function named sendAppointmentConfirmation and implement the logic to send an email notification:

// amplify/backend/function/sendAppointmentConfirmation/src/index.js
const AWS = require('aws-sdk');
const ses = new AWS.SES({ region: 'us-west-2' });

exports.handler = async (event) => {
  const { patientEmail, appointmentDate } = event.arguments;

  const params = {
    Destination: {
      ToAddresses: [patientEmail],
    },
    Message: {
      Body: {
        Text: { Data: `Your appointment on ${appointmentDate} has been confirmed. See you soon!` },
      },
      Subject: { Data: 'Appointment Confirmation' },
    },
    Source: 'clinic@example.com', // Your verified SES email address
  };

  try {
    await ses.sendEmail(params).promise();
    return 'Notification sent successfully';
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error sending notification:', error);
    throw new Error('Notification could not be sent.');
  }
};

Step 3: In-App Messaging with AWS Amplify Storage

In addition to email notifications, we can implement in-app messaging using AWS Amplify Storage. For this, we'll use AWS S3 (Simple Storage Service) to store and retrieve messages between clinic staff and patients.

Create a new function named sendMessage to handle the logic of sending and storing messages:

// amplify/backend/function/sendMessage/src/index.js
exports.handler = async (event) => {
  const { sender, recipient, message } = event.arguments;

  // Save the message to AWS S3 bucket
  // Logic to store the message in S3

  return 'Message sent successfully';
};

Step 4: Implementing the Frontend

In our frontend, we can create forms or buttons to trigger the appointment confirmation notification and in-app messaging features. For example:

import { API, graphqlOperation } from 'aws-amplify';
import { sendAppointmentConfirmation, sendMessage } from './graphql/mutations';

const confirmAppointment = async () => {
  try {
    // Logic to get patient email and appointment date
    const patientEmail = 'patient@example.com';
    const appointmentDate = '2023-08-15';

    await API.graphql(
      graphqlOperation(sendAppointmentConfirmation, {
        patientEmail,
        appointmentDate,
      })
    );

    alert('Appointment confirmation sent!');
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle error
    console.log('Error sending appointment confirmation:', error);
  }
};

const sendMessageToPatient = async () => {
  try {
    // Logic to get sender, recipient, and message
    const sender = 'staff@example.com';
    const recipient = 'patient@example.com';
    const message = 'Hello! We are looking forward to your visit on August 15th.';

    await API.graphql(
      graphqlOperation(sendMessage, {
        sender,
        recipient,
        message,
      })
    );

    alert('Message sent successfully!');
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle error
    console.log('Error sending message:', error);
  }
};

Step 5: Additional Considerations

• For real-time updates on messages, consider implementing GraphQL subscriptions to update the message inbox in real-time.

• For in-app messaging, you can create a separate "Messages" section within the app, allowing staff and patients to communicate easily.

By following these steps, we have successfully integrated appointment notifications and in-app messaging functionalities into our Dental Clinic Management System. This enhances the overall experience for both clinic staff and patients, ensuring smooth communication and seamless appointment management. 📅📱🚀

In the next part of our series, we'll focus on user interface enhancements, adding features like patient profiles, appointment lists, and staff rosters using AWS Amplify UI components. Stay tuned for more exciting updates! 😄💻🎉

Feel free to share your thoughts and questions in the comments below. Happy coding!