Patient Chat is part of the Engagement Module. If you're interested in learning more, CLICK HERE to request a demo!
From sending quick message to responding to questions, addressing and monitoring patient messages has never been easier with Patient Chat.
Before you get started, watch this short video on the Patient Chat feature:
If you are unable to access this feature or make changes, you have not been granted permission in your user profile. Contact an admin team member in your practice to enable access or work with them to complete the steps outlined in the instructions below. Click here to learn how to update user permissions.
How to Send Individual Text / Email Messages to Patients
You can message patients in Engagement from the Patient Chat dashboard or directly in their patient card.
Message patients from the Patient Chat dashboard
Message patients from the Patient Chat dashboard
Click on the Patients dropdown in the left side menu, then choose Patient Chat
Search for a patient using the search bar. Click on the filter icon to show all unread messages, assigned/unassigned messages, or sort messages by location (multi-location users only)
Tip: Look for the robot icon next to messages that haven't received a reply in 5+ minutes. The robot icon indicates when a message likely needs a response from a team member. This helps teammates identify needs quickly and without extra effort.
To view chats, select a patient chat by clicking on the message
To respond to a message, start by typing a message manually or click the + Quick message button to select a template
Add any desired placeholders, images, or emojis
Choose to send the message via text or email, then click Send (if any of these options are not available, it means the patient does not have contact information attached to their profile)
Chat patients from the patient card
Chat patients from the patient card
Click on a patient's name to open their patient card, then click on the Chat section
Messaging with patients in the patient card allows for the same functionality that you would find in the Patient Chat dashboard:
Tag patients by clicking on the [+] icon
Click on the 3-dot menu at the top of the chat window to assign the conversation to a teammate or show the entire conversation history
Type your message in the messaging window
Load a quick message, insert placeholders, or add images/emojis
When finished, click Send to send your message to the patient
Important notes:
There is a 560 character limit when sending manual text messages from within Patient Chat. The character counter will show as you type your message.
Automated text messages created from Settings > Verbiage have a 320 character limit to allow for the office contact information and patient details that may need to be included in the message.
Do not use URL shorteners (ie, bit.ly, tinyurl.com) in your messages. Bad actors often use URL shorteners to disguise spam campaigns, and there's a high likelihood that your messages could be rejected as spam (error codes 470 or 770).
How to Assign Patient Chats to Team Members
Click on the Patients dropdown in the left side menu, then choose Patient Chat
Click into the patient chat that you would like to assign
Tip: Look for the robot icon next to messages that haven't received a reply in 5+ minutes. The robot icon indicates when a message likely needs a response from a team member. This helps teammates identify needs quickly and without extra effort.
Use the 3-dot menu in the chat window to assign the conversation to a team member or show/hide the patient's conversation history
Select the team member that you would like to assign, as well as the length of time the chat will be assigned to the selected team member. Click Assign to complete
Patient chats that have been assigned to team members will show the name of the assigned team member in the message preview window on the left bar navigation.
Patient chat messages cannot be assigned/unassigned in bulk.
A note about Conversation Team Tasks
If your office uses Team Tasks, you can configure the Task system to automatically create Conversation Tasks for Patient Chat messages that don't get a response from a teammate after a set period of time.
Learn more about Team Tasks (Team Tasks are available for full bundle users).
Mark Patient Messages as Read or Unread
Use the Read/Unread options in Patient Chat to stay organized and on top of your responses.
Messages will not appear as opened until you manually mark them as read. This is a feature in place to ensure unseen messages don't slip through the cracks.
Click on the Patients dropdown in the left side menu, then choose Patient Chat
Unread messages are marked with a numbered bubble in the upper right corner of the message block
Click on the patient message to open it
Hover over the new message(s) and then click the Read button to mark them as opened
Once marked as Read, the button will change to show as Unread. Click Unread to un-open the message
You can also select the Mark All as Read button found above the chat to mark all new messages from the currently selected patient as opened
How to Tag Patients in Patient Chat
Within Patient Chat, click the tag [ + ] icon or tag block to the right of the patient's name. Here you can create/customize up to 7 different labels (Learn how to update tag labels)
From the tag list, click on the checkbox to select the desired tag
You'll notice that once a patient has been tagged, a color-coded tag will be added to their profile
How to Filter Patient Chats
Access the Patient Chat feature and click on the Filter button
Hover over Assignment to filter conversations by who they are assigned to you (Unassigned, Assigned to Me, or team member name)
Select as many options as you'd like, then click Apply
If you're part of a DSO or a multi-location user, hover over Practices to filter messages from patients by location. Select one location/region or multiple locations at a time
Tip: The practice name will show beneath the patient name in the chat window so that you know which location that the patient visits.
Select Show unread only to only see conversations that have unread messages from patients
Note: Patient chat threads and messages cannot be deleted.
Show or Hide Message History
When viewing a conversation in the Patient Chat, you may choose to Show All Communication. This will show all automated and manually sent messages from the beginning of time with this patient.
Show All Communications is saved per user, per device.
Enabling it on one device won't carry over to other devices — each device saves the setting independently.
Different users on the same device each maintain their own setting.
If the setting isn't sticking, check that it's still active after browser updates or system changes, and confirm it's enabled across all patient conversations.
When you receive an email in Patient Chat, Dental Intelligence autodetects signature fields on emails and prevents them from loading. This helps ensure that your dashboard stays clean and uncluttered, allowing your office to practice smarter!
Appointment Confirmations in Patient Chat
Patient confirmation responses to automated appointment reminders will not show up as new unread messages at the top of of the messaging window in Patient Chat. This functionality reduces clogging up your message feed and helps ensure that your practice stays on top of the active messages from patients that needs responses.
Show all communications in patient message thread
If you would like to have confirmation responses to automated appointment reminders show up in each individual thread so that you can see it in the chat history, make sure you click to select the checkbox to show all communications. Selecting this checkbox will include automated responses in the patient chat history.
Click on the Patients dropdown in the Engagement left side menu, then choose Patient Chat
Use the search bar to locate the patient by name
Click on the patient message thread to open it
Click on the three-dot menu in the up right corner and select Show all communications
Troubleshooting Common Issues with Patient Chat
Missing Messages or Limited Visibility
Enable 'Show All Communication': Open a patient conversation, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, and select "Show All Communication." This ensures visibility of all messages in the patient thread, including automated and manual communications.
Verify Permissions: Ensure that your user profile has access to Patient Chat set to "Full" in Settings > Users.
Patient Chat Not Opening
Confirm whether the issue is isolated to your machine by checking if other computers can access Patient Chat.
Log out of Dental Intelligence and log back in.
Clear your browser cache, then fully close and reopen the browser.
Access the Engagement/Patient Chat feature again.