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Message threads

Practitioners can use the 1:1 or group chats to connect with patients, fellow practitioners or both. Within a thread, they can initiate audio or video calls with the other participants, exchange messages, share files, send forms, request payment and more.

All thread options​

At the top of the message thread, practitioners have five options:

  1. Patient’s name (hyperlink)
  2. Audio call (“phone” icon)
  3. Video call (“camera” icon)
  4. Send medical advice or diagnosis (“plus” icon)
  5. Status (drop-down panel)

At the bottom of the chat screen, practitioners have five icons to choose from:

  1. Four-dots sub-menu (“four dots” icon):
  • Use a saved reply (“quotes” icon)
  • Send a medical form (“clipboard” icon)
  • Request a short video (“video player” icon)
  • Speech to text (“text bubble” icon)
  1. Upload from device (“cloud” icon)
  2. Upload from Images and documents (“folder” icon)
  3. Voice message (“microphone” icon)
  4. Request payment (“banknote” icon)

Patient’s name​

The practitioner can click the patient’s name at the top of the screen, which will navigate them to the patient’s profile. This area houses the practitioner’s notes, completed forms, patient demographic data, shared files, etc.

Note

To read more about this section, go to Practitioner Guide > Practitioner profile > Managing patient profiles & communication.

Audio/video calls​

Listed below are the properties of audio and video calls:

  • Only practitioners can initiate them.
  • If a patient tries to join before the practitioner, they will be placed in a waiting room.
  • Each participant needs to enable their microphone and camera (for video calls) prior to joining.
  • Both sides can exit the call but it is only terminated after the practitioner leaves.
  • All participants can turn off their microphone and turn it back on. In the case of video calls, each party can also turn/off their camera and share their screen.
  • Each participant can minimize their respective call window and switch to the chat thread or any other screen in the platform they need to access. They can also return to the call at any given moment.
  • Practitioners can invite other people to the call using the dedicated link to the room.
  • Group audio/video calls among multiple providers and multiple patients are also possible.
Note

In addition to its original telehealth technology, Healee is integrated with Daily.co, which can substitute Healee’s solution. For assistance, contact the Customer Success team.

Medical advice & diagnosis​

At any point, a practitioner can send out a diagnosis to the patient. This could also be timed to coincide with the completion of an appointment or online consultation.

Note

To learn more about how to use these options, go to Practitioner Guide > Practitioner profile > Medical advice & diagnoses.

Thread status​

Thread statuses are a useful tool for marking the progress of a patient’s treatment journey. They could be used for both 1:1 and group chats, and, in the latter case, will also be visible to other practitioners but not to patients. Any practitioner can change the current status of a thread.

An example list could look like this:

  • Intake form received
  • Onboarding in progress
  • Patient discharged
Note

The master list of thread statuses is created by the Customer Success team at Healee. In order to add/update these, please contact your dedicated CS person.

Saved replies​

Saved replies represent default message templates, which are unique to each practitioner. Rather than having to manually type out a message, the practitioner could simply select a saved template and send it to the patient.

Each saved reply has two fields:

  • An optional title
  • The actual message

Practitioners also have the ability - upon selection of a template - to actually edit the default message before forwarding it to the thread. This change will apply only to the singular message being sent out rather than the template itself.

When a practitioner sends a newly typed message, they can also click the three dots to the left of the row and add it to their “saved replies” list by clicking “Save reply” at the bottom of their screen.

An example list could look like this:

Saved reply #1

  • Title: Delay
  • Content: I will respond in a few minutes.

Saved reply #2

  • Title: Welcome
  • Content: Hi [PATIENT NAME], please share any relevant documentation prior to the consultation.

Intake forms​

Practitioners can send and review completed patient consent and/or intake forms within a dedicated message thread with the respective patient. Practitioners can send these forms before, during or after a consultation and the same template can be sent out multiple times to the patient to fill in. Each form will then be saved in the patient’s profile upon the patient’s submission. The completed form will also be visible in the thread.

The practitioner can only send patient-facing forms, which have been added by an admin.

Note

For further information, go to Practitioner Guide > Practitioner profile > Managing patient profiles & communication.

Request a short video​

When the practitioner clicks this option, the patient will see an upload prompt on their end. The patient can then upload a video no longer than 45 seconds (by default), which will be visible to and can be played by all participants in the thread. The video is also automatically saved in the patient’s “Images & Documents” folder, again visible to the patient and the practitioner.

Speech to text​

Rather than typing out a new message, practitioners can make use of the Google speech-to-text feature embedded in the platform. Currently, only the English language extension is supported.

Upload & share files​

Files (documents, images) can either be uploaded from the practitioner’s current device or forwarded from their existing folder in the platform. The default size limit is 200 MB.

If the practitioner uploads a file from their device, it will be automatically saved both in the thread and in the patient’s profile, and will be visible to both parties.

Voice message​

Voice messages can serve as an alternative to manual typing and the speech-to-text feature. The duration limit of an individual message is 2 minutes.

Request payment​

If there are pre-configured paid services (by an admin), a practitioner can pick one from the list and send it over to the patient in the thread. There is no deadline for this payment but the patient needs to decide whether to accept or reject the request before they can start sending messages to the practitioner again.

Note

For further information, go to Practitioner Guide > Payments.

Coordinator​

In some instances, a practitioner might have one or more coordinators assisting them in patient chats. In the practitioner profile, coordinators can only be added and removed by an admin.

All associated coordinators are automatically included in patient-practitioner chats. There is a default message visible to both parties that a coordinator (or coordinators) is included in the thread as well. Coordinators can:

  • Change a chat name
  • Mute a conversation
  • Leave and delete a thread
  • Invite more people to the thread
  • Start an audio/video call
  • Use saved replies
  • Use speech to text
  • Send intake forms
  • Share files & images
  • Send a payment request
  • View the patient’s profile (including referral, discharge, adding notes & forms, viewing shared documents & images, viewing the patient’s demographic & health data)

Group threads​

Any practitioner can create or take part in a group thread. A group chat can exist among:

  • Multiple practitioners
  • One practitioner and multiple patients
  • Multiple practitioners and one patient
  • Multiple practitioners and multiple patients

After a new group message thread has been created, the practitioner that initiated it is given an admin status of the chat. They can remove any participant and also invite other users in the platform. They can also copy a shareable and unique link to the group thread and forward it outside of the portal.

Other practitioners can also change the chat name and invite users whereas patients cannot do either. Any participant can mute the conversation on their end or leave and delete it for their reference. If the admin leaves, the group chat is erased for everyone.

Practitioners and patients have the same set of options as in 1:1 threads (see above).