Purpose
You can send a one-off communication directly from a patient's record if required. This user guide will show you how to do this.
Navigating to the care record
There are two ways to navigate to the patient record within Medicus:
- Using the patient finder.
- By selecting a patient from the patient list, located in the Patient Administration module.
Once you select the patient you'd like to view through one of the methods outlined above, you'll be taken to the clinical care record.
Sending a communication
To send a communication from the care record, select the 'Actions' menu in the top right hand corner, and then 'Communication'.
This will open up the 'New Communication' form.
Enter your message that you'd like the patient to receive in the 'Message' box. As well as entering free text, there are some other things you can add into the communication:
- Use template - Selecting use templates will allow you to choose a communication template that you regularly use so you don't need to type this out every time.
- Insert questionnaire - Any questionnaires stored in Medicus can be sent via this method.
- Add booking link - If you are messaging a patient to book into an appointment then you can select 'Add booking link' where you'll be able to specify appointment service, type or a specific clinician that you'd like them to book into themselves.
- Add attachment - from computer or from patient record.
Patient messages by default will be sent as a sensitive message, meaning the message will only be viewable via a link and by entering their date of birth.
By unchecking this box, the message will be sent without privacy controls and will be sent as a simple message.
Once you're happy with the message, you can check the correct channel of communication is selected under the 'Recipients' section. This will default to select whatever communication preferences are recorded for the patient in their administrative record. You can modify the channel of communication if you need to by selecting 'Modify recipient details'.
Next, review the summary of the communication and add any SNOMED codes if required.
Scheduling the message to send later
You can also schedule the message to send at a later time.
You can then add linked problem or edit the confidentiality setting before pressing 'Send'.
Upcoming scheduled messages are visible on the patient's clinical summary page.
How a patient receives the message
How patients will receive the message will depend on whether it was sent as a sensitive message.
Sensitive message
If the message is sent as a sensitive message the recipient will need to complete a verification step before reading the message. The patient will receive a message with a link to the patient portal to view the message:
They will be required to enter their DOB to confirm their identity. This is to ensure it matches the DOB that is stored on their patient record.
Once verified, they'll be taken to the message on the patient portal.
They will be able to action any appointment booking links or questionnaires from the message by clicking on the associated links.
Non-sensitive message
If a message is sent as a non-sensitive message, the body of the text will be visible in the text/email.
If a booking link, questionnaire or document were attached to the message, the patient will need to click on the link in the message to access it by completing verification steps.