Message a therapist
The patient portal includes messages so patients can reach the clinic without a phone call for every question. Replies stay on the same thread, attached to the patient, so the next person who opens the chart can see what was already said.
When to use a message
Use messages for scheduling questions, home-program follow-up, and document requests. A patient can ask which exercises to continue, whether a form was received, or which day has an opening. Staff can answer between visits instead of returning a stack of phone calls at the end of the day.
Urgent medical issues should be handled by phone, not left in a portal thread. Tell patients that a message may not be read after hours, and that chest pain, a fall, or trouble breathing needs a call to the clinic or to emergency services.
Send a message
- Sign in and open Messages.
- Choose the therapist or the front desk.
- Write the question. Include the date of the visit if the question is about a specific appointment.
- Send it. Replies stay in the same thread.
Short messages are easier to answer. If the patient needs to send an insurance card or a signed form, use the document upload instead of pasting a photo into the thread.
How staff reply
New messages appear for the clinic on the patient record. Open the thread, read the earlier notes, and reply from the same screen so the patient sees one conversation. If the question belongs to billing or the front desk, forward it instead of leaving it on a therapist who is in treatment.
- Reply during clinic hours so patients are not waiting overnight for a routine question.
- Do not put passwords, full card numbers, or another patient’s information in the thread.
- If the request changes the schedule, update the appointment after you reply.
If nobody answers
Ask the patient to check that the message was sent to the clinic, not saved as a draft. Then confirm the clinic notification is turned on for portal messages. A missed message is usually a routing issue: it went to a therapist who is out, or the front desk filter is hiding completed threads.
When a thread is finished, staff can mark it done so it leaves the worklist. The conversation remains on the chart if someone needs to read it later.
If you are stuck, contact the Planetrehab support team.