A new patient, from first text to ongoing thread

When a new family joins your practice, you can save them as a contact and text them in the same few clicks. Everything after that, from their replies to the intake form, stays in one thread your whole team can see.

Before you start

• You need to be on a team that has a business phone number.
• Your plan needs SMS Messaging.
• Have the mobile number the family gave you at intake.

Save the family and send the first text

1. From the Inbox, click the + button at the top of the chat list. New chat opens.
2. In To, type the parent's name.
3. A family who isn't saved yet doesn't show in the results, so click Add a patient under More.
4. Their name is filled in. Enter the mobile number the family gave you.
5. Click Add. The family is saved as a patient and added to To.
6. Click Message at the top right of New chat.
7. Check Send as. Secure text is encrypted and OK for health details, like the intake form. SMS text is a regular text from your team's number, with no health details. If more than one team could send it, check Send from too. Then click Open chat.
8. Type your first text in the message box.
9. Press Send, the paper-plane button. That creates the chat and sends the text.

Answer when they reply

1. When the family texts back, their thread jumps to the top of the Inbox. Click it.
2. Type your answer in the message box.
3. Press Send. Everyone on the team can see the reply.

Keep the conversation going

• Send the intake form or other documents in the same thread. See Send, open and download files and photos.
• Keep anything with health details in a secure text. See Secure vs. insecure texting.
• When there's nothing left to do, archive the thread. See Find, filter and archive conversations.

Good to know

• If the family's name shows in the results when you type it in To, they're already saved. Click their name instead of adding them again, so you don't save the same number twice.
• For a second caregiver, start a group conversation. See Group conversations.

Related

• SMS messaging with patients
• Add or import patients and contacts
• See new texts and reply
• Send, open and download files and photos
• Find, filter and archive conversations