You can send a secure message to a patient through the patient portal or TELUS Collaborative Health Record (CHR) Connect, depending on the app your clinic is using. The workflow is the same for both.
You must ensure that:
The patient portal is enabled for your clinic (see Enabling and customizing the patient portal).
The patient is allowed to access the patient portal (see Allowing patients to access the patient portal).
The patient has an email address or SMS number set in their demographics.
📌 Notes:
Only your clinic can send the first message. Patients can then reply if you allow them to. Patients cannot upload any attachments to the conversation. Also, when you close the conversation, patients can no longer respond to the conversation.
You can customize the default text that is sent to the patient with the link to open the message, go to, Customizing notification templates.
For more information, refer to Viewing messages within a patient chart.
Steps
1. From the patient's chart, click Start/Open > Message Patient. A New Message window appears.
📌 Note: If you see the Alert pop-up, make sure the patient has an email or cellphone number in their demographics and is allowed access to the patient portal. See Allowing patients to access the patient portal.
2. To include other CHR users in the message, click the To field and select the users. The patient will automatically be added as a recipient.
3. In the Title field, type a message subject.
4. Complete the message body in the text area.
💡 Tips:
To use a pre-configured message template, click Template at the top right-hand corner. See Creating a message template.
You can format your text with bold, italics, strikethrough, etc. or add tables and modify text alignment. Use the format options at the top of the text area.
To include a hyperlink, type the website address and press Enter.
5. To attach chart information or other files:
a. Click +Add Attachment.
b. Select Upload from your computer or Attach a file of <patient name>.
If choosing Attach a file of <patient name>, you can choose multiple attachments from a variety of places within the patient chart. Click Select.
💡 Tip: If you cannot find the Inbox item, confirm that you have the correct date range set in the top right-hand corner.
Or if you selected Upload from your computer, select a document from your computer.
6. Select the checkbox to Allow patient to respond in this conversation.
💡 Tips:
This checkbox will already be selected if you have enabled the patient conversation responses.
If your clinic uses the CHR Connect app, a parent or guardian can respond on behalf of their dependants. For more information, refer to Linking your CHR Connect account with your dependants (for patients). The response is appended at the bottom, clearly indicating who is sending the message on behalf of their dependant. This allows you to easily see who you are speaking with.
7. Click Submit. The message is sent to the patient, and the patient is notified through email or text message.
Updated February 6, 2024