Messages
One inbox for patients and your network team: filters rather than tabs, what really marks a thread read, and how a patient reply moves a visit back into your queue.
Messages is one inbox holding every conversation you have — patients, the clients your network serves, and your own team.
Questions people ask about this page
Where are the Patients and Provider Network tabs?
There are no tabs. There is a search box and two rows of filter pills. The first row is Inbox · Unread · Archived. The second is All types · Patients · Staff conversations · Client chat · Direct staff. Older guides describing two tabs are describing a screen that no longer exists.
Why is a thread still bold after I read it?
A thread is only marked read when three things are true at once: the thread is open, the browser tab is visible, and the window has focus. Leaving it open in a background tab does nothing. Bring the window to the front with the thread open and the bold clears.
My colleague read it. Why is it still unread for me?
Read state is per person, never per organisation. Everyone on the thread carries their own unread marker.
Can I unsend a message?
Not really. You can Edit your own message for 30 minutes after sending, at most 5 times — the menu shows how many edits are left. Remove replaces the bubble with a Message removed marker that everyone can still see, and it cannot retract an SMS that already went out.
How does a message move a visit out of Pending Patient Response?
When the provider used Need Clarification, the visit parks in the Pending Patient Response table on ASYNC Visits. A patient reply moves it back to In Progress on its own; the row stays with the same provider. You can also pull it back by hand with Move to In Progress.
Why is Direct staff greyed out?
Your network's messaging policy switched it off. The disabled row says so: Direct staff messaging is disabled by your provider network. That is a Settings → Messaging decision, not a support issue.
What is the button in the bottom-right corner of every page?
The messaging dock, accessible name Start a new message. It opens a small conversation card over whatever page you are on, so you can answer a patient without losing your place in a queue.
Why can I not call this patient?
The phone button appears only when the patient's own clinic has live phone messaging and the patient has a number on file. If either is missing, the button is not rendered at all.
Where to find it
Left menu → Messages. Direct link: /messages. Visible to Provider Network Admin, Provider and Provider Delegate; all three can compose. Subtitle: Messages with patients and your network team. The badge on the menu item counts unread conversations and stops at 9+.
What is on this page
| What you see | What it does |
|---|---|
| New message | Icon-only button at the top of the conversation list — a pencil, with the accessible name New message. Starts a conversation. The chevron beside it (More new message options) adds Client chat and Direct staff message. |
Search Search conversations | Finds a thread by person or content. |
| Inbox / Unread / Archived | Read-state filter. Unread is the one to work from. |
| All types / Patients / Staff conversations / Client chat / Direct staff | Conversation-type filter. |
| Filter conversations by client | Icon-only button beside the search box, with its own search, Search clients. |
| Conversation row | Bold title plus a dot labelled Unread messages when it is unread for you. An archived row appends · Archived. |
Thread composer Type your message... | With Attach files, Add emoji, dictation, and Send message. |
| Templates icon in the composer | Opens Composer shortcuts — Insert editable text; nothing sends automatically. |
| Conversation actions | Thread menu: Pin / Unpin, Show conversation details / Hide conversation details, and Join conversation / Leave conversation. |
| A New divider inside a thread | Marks where your unread messages start. It is frozen when the thread opens so new arrivals do not shove it. |
The five kinds of conversation
| Type | Who is in it | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | You and the patient | Anything the patient should read. External. |
| Client chat | Your network and one linked client, one shared thread | Coordination with the clinic's staff. Internal. |
| Direct staff | You and one named person at the client | A one-to-one that does not belong in the shared thread. Policy-gated. |
| Network admin | A provider and a network admin | Private questions to your own network. Providers only. |
| The chart Chat panel | The same patient conversation | The same thread, opened inside a visit so you keep the chart. |
Patient threads are external. Staff threads are internal. Move the conversation to the right thread before you write anything the patient should not read — removing a message afterwards leaves a visible Message removed marker, and it cannot recall an SMS.
How to start a conversation with a patient
Open the inbox
In the left menu, click Messages.
Click New message
The dialog New message opens: Choose who you want to message.
Choose Patient
The row reads Start or reopen a secure conversation with a patient. Then pick the person from the picker.
Write the message
Click into Type your message.... Name the task, the owner and a realistic time frame.
Or start from a template
Click the templates icon in the composer. Composer shortcuts offers Message templates (written by your network), Quick replies (your own snippets), and AI draft. Nothing sends automatically — text is inserted for you to edit.
Attach anything they need
Click Attach files. Files sit in a Pending attachments strip until you send. Clicking the same button during an upload cancels it.
Send
Click Send message. Your own bubble then reports Sending, Sent, Delivered and finally Seen once their app registers the read.
Follow through on the record
If the message changes an order, prescription, lab or visit, go and update that record. A conversation is not a work queue.
What each unread badge counts, and what clears it
| Badge | Counts | Cleared by |
|---|---|---|
| Messages | Unread conversations for you, capped at 9+ | Opening each thread with the window visible and focused. |
| ASYNC Visits | Pending async visits plus ones assigned to you needing action | Completing or reassigning the visit. |
| SYNC Visits | Pending sync visits | Completing the visit. |
| Notifications (network admins only) | Unread, undismissed notifications | Mark all read, or marking each item read. |
Message actions
| Action | Where | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Reply to message | Hover a bubble | Quotes it above your reply; the quote jumps back to the original. |
| React to message | Hover a bubble | Five reactions. Click yours again to remove it. |
| Edit | More message actions, your own messages | 30 minutes, 5 edits. The menu shows N left. |
| View history | Same menu | Only appears once a message has been edited. |
| Remove | Same menu | Confirm Remove this message? A Message removed marker stays in the thread. |
| Retry failed message | On a bubble marked Failed | Resends. |
Statuses you will see here
| State | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Bold row with a dot | Conversation list | Unread for you. The dot's tooltip is Unread messages. |
· Archived | Conversation list | Filed away. Only visible under the Archived pill. |
· Muted | Conversation list | Will not raise your badge. |
| Sending → Sent → Delivered → Seen | Your own bubbles | Seen means their app registered the read, not that they understood it. |
| Failed | Your own bubble | The send did not land. Use Retry failed message. |
| Message removed | Anywhere in a thread | Somebody removed a message. The marker is permanent. |
| Internal badge | Conversation details rail | A staff thread. Visibility reads Authorized staff only. |
What can go wrong
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
No conversations match these filters. | A filter is on. | Click Inbox and All types, then clear the client filter. |
No conversations yet. | Nothing has ever been started with you. | Use New message. |
Direct staff messaging is disabled by your provider network. | Network messaging policy. | Ask your Provider Network Admin about Settings → Messaging. |
Unable to send message. Please try again. | The send failed. | Retry. If it keeps failing, check the thread still exists. |
Conversation unavailable | The thread was removed or you lost access to it. | Go back to the list; do not bookmark thread URLs. |
| The badge will not go down | Threads are open in background tabs. | Focus the window on each thread. Read state needs a visible, focused window. |
| No phone icon on a patient | No number on file, or the patient's clinic has no live phone messaging. | Message them instead. |
| A patient replied but the visit did not move | The reply was on a thread not linked to that visit, or the visit was never in Pending Patient Response. | Open ASYNC Visits → In Progress and use Move to In Progress. |
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