How to Send a Chat Message

Team chat allows you to communicate in real-time with other members of your team. Use chat to coordinate patient care, share updates, and collaborate on clinical decisions. You can mention specific team members or patients to notify them directly.

Requirements:

• You must be a member of the team
• Chat must be enabled for your team (by Team Owner or Administrator)
• Chat must be enabled at organisation level (by Administrator)

Note: If you don't see the Chat tab on a team page, chat has not been enabled for that team or organisation.

1. From the sidebar, select Teams
2. Click the name of the team you want to message
3. Click the Chat tab (appears between the Patients and Actions tabs)
4. Click into the message input field at the bottom of the screen (you'll see the placeholder text "Start typing. Search with @‌user or !Patient")
5. Type your message

To mention a team member:

• Type the @ symbol
• Start typing the person's name
• Select the correct person from the dropdown that appears
• Press Enter or click to insert the mention

To mention a patient:

• Type the ! symbol (exclamation mark)
• Start typing the patient's name
• Select the correct patient from the dropdown that appears
• Press Enter or click to insert the mention

6. Send your message using one of these methods:
   • Press Enter (desktop only)
   • Press Ctrl+Enter (desktop and mobile)
   • Click the Send button (the green button with a compass icon on the right)

Your message appears immediately in the chat with a "sending" status indicator. Once the server confirms delivery, the indicator disappears and your message is marked as read.

Typing indicators: When you start typing, other team members see "Your Name is typing..." after 300 milliseconds. This stops when you send the message or clear the input field.

URL links: Any web addresses you include (starting with http:// or https://) are automatically converted to clickable links that open in a new tab.

Empty messages: If you try to send an empty message or one containing only spaces, nothing happens -- the send button simply won't submit it.

Mentions notify users: When you mention someone with @, they receive a notification. When you mention a patient with !, the message is linked to that patient's record for audit purposes.

Desktop keyboard shortcut: On desktop, pressing Enter (without Shift) sends your message. If you want to add a line break within your message, hold Shift while pressing Enter.

Message failed: If a message fails to send (for example, due to network issues), you'll see an error icon. If your session has expired, you'll be prompted to sign in again.