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A conversation about a patient keeps the discussion in one place that follows the same access rules as the record.

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Start a conversation about a patient

On a patient’s record, open the Team chat tab and select Message care team. The triage, consultation and inpatient charts have the same Team chat tab, so you can ask a colleague without leaving the chart. The care team is ticked; others are clinicians who saw this patient in the last 30 days. Select Start conversation. There is only ever one open conversation per patient. It appears under Patients in the list. Only people who are allowed to see the patient can join, and someone who isn’t sees nothing. Opening it is recorded in the patient’s access history. In these conversations a message can be edited for 15 minutes, and deleting one needs a reason. A closed conversation can be reopened from the patient’s tab. To keep part of a conversation in the record, open Message actions on a message and choose Save to record. It opens a new note with the text filled in for you to check and sign; chat files nothing by itself.

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Mention a group

Type @ and choose a group, such as a role, a department or a site. Choose on shift only to notify just the people on shift now. An owner can create custom groups.

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Mention a site

If your clinic has more than one site, @ also offers each site, and on shift only notifies just the people at that site who are on shift now. A small badge with the site’s name can appear beside a person’s name. An owner or manager links a channel to a site under Site in Channel details; people assigned to that site are added to the channel.

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Forward a message

Open Message actions, choose Forward, pick the conversation and add a comment if you like. A message about a patient can only go where everyone is allowed to see that patient; people who cannot see the original see Message from a private conversation.

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Create a task

Choose Create a task on a message, name it, pick who it is for and a due date. The task links back to the message, and finishing it leaves a small note in the thread.

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Acknowledging a critical result

Acknowledge on a critical result asks what was done: Patient contacted, Treatment changed, Will review at visit, Not my patient — forward to someone (you choose who), or Add a note. Your answer is kept with the result; your note never appears in a notification.

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Approvals and critical results

A request waiting in your Approvals inbox can appear in chat as a card. Select Approve or Reject (rejecting needs a reason), or Approve a lower amount to open the inbox. The card always shows the request as it stands now. A critical lab or radiology result is sent to the ordering clinician as an urgent card with an Acknowledge button.

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Arrival messages

When a patient checks in for your appointment you can get a quiet message about it. Turn it off with Tell me when my patient arrives in Team chat settings. It follows your status and Do not disturb.

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Shared emails

An email shared into chat shows its subject and sender only to people who can open that mailbox; everyone else sees An email you can’t open.

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Request a consult

In a patient conversation select +, then Request a consult. Choose a person or a role, how soon you need an answer (routine within 24 hours, soon within 4 hours, urgent within 1 hour) and write the question. The card shows a clock. The first person to select Accept owns it and sends an Answer; you can Close or Cancel request. Select Save outcome to record to start a note with the answer in it. Open consults also appear in Activity.

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Book a follow-up

In a patient conversation select +, then Book a follow-up. The normal appointment form opens with the patient filled in. When you save it, a Follow-up booked card appears in the conversation.

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If you can’t see the patient

If you aren’t allowed to see a patient, the conversation says so. If it is an emergency you can ask for time-limited access; it is recorded and the owner is told.