> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Message your care team

> Send a private, encrypted message to your clinic from the portal, attach a photo or a file, and read their replies.

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['portal']} />

**Messages** is a private conversation between you and the people who look after you at the clinic. It is not email and it is not a text message — it stays inside the portal, and only you and your care team can read it.

Select **Messages** in the list on the left of the portal.

## How private it is

Every message is encrypted, which means it is scrambled so that it can only be read by you and your care team. The page shows an **Encrypted & secure** badge, and the first thing you see in a new conversation is:

> **Secure Connection Established** — Your messages are encrypted and shared only with your care team. You can safely share sensitive medical information here.

So it is a suitable place to describe a symptom, mention a side effect, or send a photo of something you are worried about. Read more about how your information is protected in [HIPAA and your data](/platform/security/hipaa).

<Warning>
  Messages are not watched around the clock. Never use the portal for an emergency — if you are seriously unwell, call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department.
</Warning>

## Send a message

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Messages">
    The conversation is headed with your clinic's name followed by **Team**. Everything you have exchanged is in one thread, oldest at the top.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type your message">
    Select the box at the bottom that says "Type a secure message…" and write what you need to say.

    Select **Enter** to send. To start a new line inside a message instead, hold **Shift** and select **Enter**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach a photo or file, if it helps">
    Select the paperclip to add a picture or a document — a rash, a home blood pressure reading, a letter from another clinic.

    Files have a size limit, usually 10 MB. Anything bigger is refused with "File too large". Take the photo at a normal quality setting rather than the highest, or send it in two parts.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Check it worked

Your message appears at the bottom of the conversation straight away. Replies from the clinic arrive in the same thread, and the bell at the top of the portal tells you when something new is waiting. When there is nothing outstanding, the bell says "You're all caught up".

## Replies you might get automatically

Clinics can set up a short automatic reply that arrives the moment you send something, and a separate message outside opening hours. An automatic reply confirms your message arrived — it is not from a person, so wait for the real answer that follows.

## If you cannot start a conversation

Some clinics prefer to open the conversation themselves. If yours does, and nobody has messaged you yet, you will see:

> You cannot initiate a conversation. The clinic must message you first.

That is intended, not a fault. Ring the clinic or use another section of the portal — booking an appointment, for example — and they can message you from their side.

If **Messages** is missing from the list on the left altogether, your clinic does not offer secure messaging through the portal.

## Good to know

* **Give it a working day.** Clinics answer during their opening hours, and messages are not a substitute for an appointment.
* **One thread, one clinic.** If you attend more than one practice, each has its own portal and its own conversation.
* **Messages are kept for a set period** — often a year — and then removed. If something matters to you, keep your own copy of it.
* **Say who it is about** if you manage the portal for a child or a relative, so the team knows straight away.

Trouble sending? See [Portal problems and how to fix them](/portal/patients/troubleshooting).