Send and Receive Messages

DPC Pro messaging gives your team a secure channel to communicate with patients, for clinical questions, follow-ups, and administrative coordination.

Messaging is a core part of the DPC care model. Patients expect to reach their provider without navigating a phone tree, and clinicians need a record of every conversation. DPC Pro’s messaging system supports threaded conversations between your team and patients, with all messages stored in the patient’s record.

This page covers how to send and receive messages, manage your inbox, and keep conversations organized. Messages can include text, attached files, and links to related records. All message content is encrypted at rest and in transit, meeting HIPAA requirements.

Staff and clinicians share access to the practice inbox, so messages can be routed to the right person based on topic and patient assignment.

The Practice Inbox

The inbox is your team’s central view for all messaging activity. Navigate to Messages to open the unified inbox.

Inbox Layout

The inbox displays conversations sorted by the most recent message. Each conversation shows:

• Subject line and a preview of the latest message
• Patient name (for patient conversations)
• Sender of the last message
• Unread indicator: a badge showing how many unread messages you have in that conversation
• Star icon: for conversations you have starred for follow-up

Inbox Tabs

Use the tabs at the top of the inbox to filter conversations by type:

• All: every conversation you have access to
• Patient: conversations with patients (clinical questions, follow-ups, care coordination)
• Team: internal staff conversations (not visible to patients)
• Broadcasts: replies from patients to broadcast messages your practice has sent
• Starred: conversations you have starred for follow-up
• Archived: conversations you have moved out of your active inbox

Searching the Inbox

Use the search field at the top of the inbox to find conversations. Search matches against:

• Conversation subjects
• Patient first and last names
• Message preview text

Results update as you type, filtered to conversations you have access to.

Who Sees What

Not every team member sees every conversation. Visibility depends on your role:

• Administrators and practice managers see all conversations across the practice.
• Physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants see all patient conversations at practices where they have a clinical role, plus any conversations they participate in or are assigned to.
• Other staff see only conversations for patients assigned to them, plus conversations where they are a direct participant or assignee.

Practice Scope

If your organization has multiple practices, the inbox shows conversations for the practice you currently have selected. Switch practices using the practice selector to see a different inbox.

Send a New Message

Message to a Patient

1. Navigate to Messages and select Compose.
2. Set the Message Type to Patient.
3. In the Patient field, search for and select the patient.
4. Enter a Subject line that describes the topic.
5. Write the message content in the body field.
6. Optionally, set the Priority to Low, Normal, or Urgent.
7. Select Send.

The message creates a new patient conversation. If the patient has portal access, they receive the message in their patient portal and are notified according to their notification preferences.

Message to Your Team

1. Navigate to Messages and select Compose.
2. Set the Message Type to Team.
3. Select one or more Recipients from the staff list.
4. Enter a Subject line.
5. Write the message content.
6. Select Send.

Team messages are internal. Patients cannot see them. Use team messages for clinical consultations, handoffs, or administrative coordination.

Message from a Patient Record

You can start a message directly from a patient’s record:

1. Open the patient’s record in Patients.
2. Look for the messaging option to compose a new message.
3. The patient is pre-selected. Enter a subject and message body.
4. Select Send.

Message from Context (Visit, Invoice, or Document)

You can also start a conversation linked to a specific record:

1. From a visit note, invoice, or document, look for the option to send a message.
2. The subject line is pre-filled with a reference to the record (for example, “Re: Follow Up - Jane Smith (03/15/2026)”).
3. Select staff recipients, write your message, and send.

The conversation retains a link to the original record, giving recipients context about what prompted the message.

Context-Linked Messages

When you start a message from a visit, invoice, or document, the link to that record is preserved in the conversation. This makes it faster for your team to pull up the relevant details without searching.

Reply to a Patient Message

When a patient sends a message, it appears in your inbox as an unread conversation.

1. Select the conversation from the inbox to open it.
2. Read the full message thread, including any previous messages.
3. Type your reply in the compose area at the bottom of the conversation. If your practice has AI features enabled, you may see an AI-drafted reply suggested for the conversation that you can review, edit, or discard.
4. Optionally, set the priority to Urgent if the matter requires immediate attention from other team members.
5. Select Send.

Your reply is added to the conversation thread and the patient is notified according to their preferences.

Attachments

You can attach files to any message. Supported attachment types include uploaded files, linked documents from the patient’s record, and files suggested by the system based on the message content.

Each attachment shows the file name, size, and a download link that expires after a set time for security.

Forwarding Conversations

To share a conversation with another team member who is not a participant:

1. Open the conversation.
2. Select Forward.
3. Choose which messages to include.
4. Select the staff members to forward to.
5. Optionally, add a comment explaining why you are forwarding.
6. Select Send.

Forwarding creates a new internal team conversation with copies of the selected messages. The original conversation is not affected. Attachments from the original messages are included in the forwarded thread.

Forwarding and Patient Privacy

Forwarding copies message content into a new conversation visible to the recipients you select. Only forward patient messages to staff who need access for care purposes. All forwards are recorded in the audit log.

Message Routing and Assignment

Assigning Conversations

Conversations can be assigned to specific staff members to clarify ownership and follow-up responsibility.

1. Open the conversation.
2. Select Assign.
3. Choose one or more staff members from the list.
4. Select Save.

Assigned staff are added as participants and see the conversation in their inbox. Only administrators and providers can assign conversations.

How Inbound Messages Are Routed

When a patient sends a message, DPC Pro determines who should see it:

• If the patient has a primary provider, that provider’s user account is added as a participant.
• If the patient does not have a primary provider, all active providers and administrators at the practice are notified.
• For SMS conversations, replies from patients are automatically routed to the existing conversation thread based on phone number matching.

SMS Reply Routing

When a patient replies to an SMS your practice sent, DPC Pro:

1. Matches the patient’s phone number to the most recent outbound SMS.
2. Finds or creates a conversation for that patient.
3. Adds the message to the conversation and notifies staff participants.

Staff can reply to SMS conversations directly from the inbox. Replies are sent as outbound SMS to the patient’s phone.

Message Status and Read Receipts

Each message in a conversation has a status that tracks its lifecycle:

Status	Meaning
Draft	The message has been started but not sent.
Sent	The message has been sent from your practice.
Delivered	The message has reached the recipient’s inbox.
Read	The recipient has opened the conversation containing the message.
Archived	The conversation has been moved to the archive.

Unread Counts

Each conversation in your inbox shows an unread count badge indicating how many new messages you have not opened. Opening the conversation automatically marks all messages as read for your account.

Unread counts are personal. Marking a conversation as read for yourself does not affect the unread count for other team members.

Starring and Archiving

• Star a conversation to mark it for follow-up. Starred conversations appear in the Starred tab.
• Archive a conversation to remove it from your active inbox without deleting it. Archived conversations can be found in the Archived tab and restored at any time.

Both starring and archiving are personal actions. They affect only your view, not other team members’.

Priority Levels

Messages can be marked with one of three priority levels:

• Low: informational, no urgency
• Normal: standard clinical or administrative communication (default)
• Urgent: requires prompt attention from the care team

Urgent messages are visually highlighted in the inbox and may trigger additional notifications depending on your practice’s notification settings.

Message Encryption

All message content is encrypted at rest using AES encryption. Message bodies are stored in encrypted fields and decrypted only when displayed to authorized users. This protects patient health information even in the event of a database breach.

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Related Pages

• AI-Drafted Replies
• SMS and Email Notifications
• Broadcast Messages
• After-Hours Communication
• Communication Preferences

Need Help?

If you run into messaging issues, reach out to the DPC Pro support team at [email protected] or visit the troubleshooting guide.