My Messages [Patient Portal]

The Kipu Portal My Messages feature allows bidirectional secure messaging between assigned care team members and portal users to facilitate communication, increase engagement, and improve outcomes.

To enable My Messages, a Super Admin can follow these instructions. 

Message a Patient

EMR users who are set up to message portal users can message patient, guardian, or guarantor portal users. Note: Portal user messaging is limited to a single recipient per message. Let's review the messaging process.

1. Open the patient chart and click New Message. 

• Note: The patient or guardian/guarantor must already be registered for a portal account to receive the message.

Use the New Message window to create the message.

Select Portal from the Type radio button.  Use the Recipients drop-down to select the desired contact. Only users with active portal accounts (meaning they have accepted the portal invitation and created a password) will appear in this list.  Create an optional Subject line for the message. Write the message. Today, no attachments can be added.  Click Send.

The patient will receive an email informing them they have a message in their portal account from your company name.

If the patient responds, you'll receive a new message notification in the EMR header.

Click on the notification to open your Messages inbox. From here, you can review any unread messages (indicated by a blue dot).

From the thread view, you can: (1) View the patient chart, (2) Archive the conversation, (3) Reply to the patient, guardian, or guarantor.

Important: Changes to portal user connections, the EMR user’s location access or permissions, and/or care team member assignment may disable the ability to reply to a patient message.

Message EMR Users

EMR users can message other EMR users about a specific patient directly from the patient chart, automatically including a View Patient link. Staff-to-staff messaging allows for multiple recipients.

1. Open the patient chart and click New Message.  
2. Use the New Message window to create the message.

   Select Staff from the Type radio buttons. Note: Only users with the Available for portal messages role enabled will have message type options; other users will not be able to send messages. Select one or more recipient(s). Enter an optional Subject. Enter Message. Click Send.

3. The user messaged will receive a notification badge in their EMR header.
4. If they respond to you, you'll receive a notification with a number displaying the number of responses received. 
5. Click on the notification to open the message inbox, where you can review any unread messages (indicated by a blue dot).
6. From the thread view, you can: (1) View the patient chart, (2) Archive the conversation, (3) Reply to the EMR user(s).

Message Inbox

The Message Inbox allows you to manage your messages from patients under your care, their guardians/guarantors, and other Kipu EMR users. You can also message EMR users directly from this view. 

Message EMR Users from Messages Inbox

You can also message other EMR users without linking to a specific patient record directly from the Messages inbox. 

1. Click on the Message icon in the header.
2. Message threads will display the oldest message first and the newest message last.
3. To create a new message, click Compose.
4. Select one or more recipients (limited to other EMR users), and enter your subject (optional) and message. Click Send.

Archive Conversations

To archive a conversation, click on the Archive icon in any message thread. 

Unarchive Conversations

You can unarchive conversations if desired. Note that a new message in an archived conversation will automatically move the conversation to the Active section of the inbox. 

• From the Archived section, click the Unarchive button within the conversation.
• Alternatively, reply to an archived conversation to move it to the Active section.

Searching Conversations

In the Search field, enter a name or keyword criteria. Note you must enter at least 3 characters. To clear the search, click X on the right of the field.

FAQs

Q: Can a portal user message any EMR user?

A: At this time, portal users can only message users with the Available for Portal Messages role or if the user is assigned to their care team, depending on how the system has been configured.

Q: Can I use this feature to communicate urgent issues?

A: Messaging is intended only for non-urgent messages. Response times may vary.

Q: Can I attach files or images to a message?

A: Not at this time. Based on research and client feedback, this could be considered as a future enhancement.