Chatting with a patient
Chat is for staff only. Reach a patient through Patient Support requests or Communications instead.
Overview
You cannot chat with a patient. Chat is for messages between staff of your clinic only. Patients cannot be added to a conversation, and the patient portal has no chat or inbox.
To exchange messages with a patient, use one of these:
- Patient Support. The patient sends a request from the Support page of their portal. You reply to it in Patient Support.
- Communications. You send the patient an SMS or an email through your clinic's provider. You can also record a phone call.
Prerequisites
- Any clinical or front-desk role
- For Communications: your clinic's SMS or email provider is set up, and the patient has a phone number or email address on their record
Steps
Reply to a request from the patient. In the top menu, go to Patients, then Patient Support. Open the request. Type your reply in Add Comment and click Send Comment. The patient reads the reply when they open the request in their portal. If the patient has an email address on their record, they also get an email about the reply.
Send the patient a message yourself. Go to Patients, then Communications, and click New Message. Search for the patient. Choose SMS or Email, write the message and click Send Message.
Record a phone call. In New Message, choose Phone call, write a short note about the call and click Record Call. The call is added to the communication history.
Discuss the patient with colleagues. Use Chat to talk with other staff about a patient. The patient never sees these messages.
Expected outcome
- The patient gets your reply in the portal, or your SMS or email on their phone or in their mailbox
- The message is kept on the support request or in the communication history
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Patient does not appear in the Chat search | Chat lists staff only | Use Patient Support or Communications |
| Patient says they cannot find the reply | They are looking for an inbox | Tell them to open Support in the portal and click the request |
| Send Message is not available | Your clinic's SMS or email provider is not set up, or the patient has no phone or email on record | Set up the provider in Settings, then Integrations, then Communications, or add the contact detail to the patient record |