Using Messages in Provider

To use Provider, you must have a login, assigned roles and permissions, and the url for Provider. Tendo Customer Engagement can help you get the credentials you need.

Log into Atrium. If it doesn’t open directly to the Provider app, click on the dropdown menu at the top of the left main navigation bar, and choose Provider.

Viewing Messages

Click on Messages on the left navigation bar.

In the list view, you can see a list of patient messages, also called communication cases.

The columns, left to right, contain this information:

• Read - Tags indicate whether a message is read or unread. Unread tags are in rose color.
• Patient - Patients' names.
• Created Date - The date the message was created and sent.
• Sent to - The name of the provider to whom the message was sent.
• Last Correspondence
• Subject - The type of message that was sent, which in most cases is Non-Urgent Medical or Refill if a patient has requested a medication refill.
• Message - Links to patient message threads. Click on a link to see its thread.
• Priority - Indicates if a message is Urgent.
• Assigned To - The provider who a message has been assigned to.
• … dropdown menu - This menu contains quick actions that you can choose for each message. You can mark a message as closed, assign it to yourself, assign it to someone else, or mark it as urgent. This menu is important for communication team members who triage patient messages.

Once triage team members have assigned messages to someone or marked them as urgent, providers and team members can save time in their workflow by clicking on the filter tabs at the top of the screen to view messages in filtered views.

• All Open - All patient messages that are still open. If your responsibility is triaging messages, you will start in this view to assign each message to someone, mark messages as urgent, and close messages that don’t require a reply.
• My Open - All open patient messages that have been assigned to you. If you are a provider, you probably will work mostly in this view and message threads while responding to patient messages.
• Unassigned Open - Open messages that haven’t been assigned. This view filters out all assigned open messages so you can concentrate on triaging and assigning unassigned ones.
• Closed - All closed messages. This view contains an extra column that specifies that the case is closed.

Searching Messages

In the messages list view, search for a patient’s or provider’s messages in the top search bar.

Filtering Messages

Filter for particular types of messages by clicking on the filter icon on the top right of the list view.

The Filters view will display.

When you click in each input field, a dropdown menu of available options for Assignees, types of messages, priority (Routine or Urgent), and Open or Closed will appear. Select an option for the ones that you want to filter.

Click on the x in the right corner or in the list view on the left, and the filtered list will close. To clear a filter, click on the Clear Filter button at the top right of the Filter view.

Composing a Message

Click on the pencil icon on the top right of the list view.

A Select Team modal will appear. Click on the team you want to send the message from.

A second screen will appear on which you can select the type of message you want to send.

The following screen will appear, on which you can compose your message.

Search for the sending provider’s name, and select it from the dropdown menu.

Search for the patient’s name and select it from the dropdown menu.

Write your message.

Send an attachment if you want to by clicking the paper clip icon at the bottom, and selecting on your computer the attachment you want to send. It must be in a PDF or JPG format.

3. Click Send.

Responding to Patient Messages

To see a patient’s message thread, click on the blue link in the Message column to the right of the patient’s name. You will see this view:

The Patient tab at the top contains your messaging thread with the patient, and the Internal tab contains an internal thread with other providers and clinical team members about this patient’s message thread.

To respond to the patient, write your message in the box at the bottom where it says Write your message….

To send an attachment, click on the paper clip icon to the left of the Send button and browse your computer to select the attachment you want to send. You can send a PDF or JPG.

Click Send. Your message will appear in the message thread. When the patient replies, their message will appear in the same thread, and you can continue your text conversation to its conclusion.

Communicating with Other Providers or Team Members

Message threads, called Cases, are recorded in your organization’s EHR as encounters between the patient and clinicians. These encounters are visible to the patient via medical records requests and other services wherein they can view their medical record details. However, you may want to consult with other providers or members of your team about a patient’s care in a thread that isn’t visible to the patient. You can do this by clicking on the Internal tab in the patient’s message thread.

These messages persist in the Tendo Messaging Service, but they aren’t included in the integration and updating of the message thread care encounter in the EHR. They also aren’t included in encounter exports or other means of extraction from the EHR. Notifications can be inserted into the EHR encounter, but require additional integration services.

Click on the Internal tab at the top of the page.

Enter your message content in the box that says Write your message …, click Send, and see the newly entered message in the Internal message thread.

Clinicians on this thread are alerted to these messages in the same way that they are alerted to messages from the patient. These alerts display in your healthcare organization’s EHR.

Only providers who are in your provider’s messaging group can see these internal messaging threads.

The messages include the profile picture of the sender, and the date and time the messages were created. If there are no messages in the Internal tab, a message displays that notifies you that the thread is empty. If an internal message thread fails to load, an error will display.

Sharing Messages with Providers Not On Your Team

A provider can share a message with a provider who is not part of their message team in Provider to get additional insights into patients' care. The provider can do so by selecting the Share button at the top of the Internal message thread. The receiving provider will receive a notification of a new message in Tendo Messaging so that they can read and respond to the shared message.