Introduction
Team Chat is a real-time messaging feature that enables healthcare teams to communicate instantly within CAREFUL. It provides a dedicated space for informal discussions, quick questions, and care coordination without cluttering patient records.
Before You Start
- Your organisation administrator must have enabled chat at the organisation level
- The team owner must have enabled chat for your specific team
- You must be a member of the team to access its chat
If chat is not enabled, the Chat tab will not appear in the team view.
Understanding Team Chat
Team Chat creates a dedicated messaging room for each team in your organisation. All team members can participate in the conversation, share updates, and coordinate care activities in real time.
Key Features
User Mentions
Type @ followed by a colleague's name to notify them directly. Team members using the CAREFUL mobile app (iOS or Android) will receive push notifications when mentioned, even when they're not actively viewing the chat.
You can also type @room to notify all team members at once.
Patient References
Type ! followed by a patient's name to create a clickable link to their profile. This makes it easy to reference specific patients in discussions. Only patients currently assigned to your team will appear in the suggestion list.
Action Creation
When a message mentions both a user (with @) and a patient (with !), a + button appears next to the message. Click this to quickly create an action pre-filled with:
- Title: The message text
- Assignee: The mentioned user
- Patient: The mentioned patient
- Due date: Today (you can change this)
Read Receipts
Messages show delivery status with checkmarks:
- Single checkmark: Message queued
- Double checkmark: Message sent successfully
- Blue double checkmarks: Message read by team members
Hover over the read receipt indicator to see exactly who has read the message and when.
Typing Indicators
When colleagues are composing a message, you'll see "name is typing..." at the bottom of the chat.
Automatic Links
Web addresses (starting with http:// or https://) automatically become clickable links that open in a new tab.
How Team Chat Differs from Patient Notes
Team Chat is designed for informal, real-time communication between team members. Patient Notes are formal clinical documentation that becomes part of the patient's permanent record.
| Team Chat | Patient Notes |
|---|---|
| Informal team discussions | Formal clinical documentation |
| Visible to team members only | Visible to patient's care team and external providers |
| Quick coordination and questions | Clinical summaries and care plans |
| Mentions and typing indicators | Structured clinical information |
| Push notifications on mobile | Part of clinical workflow |
When to use Team Chat:
- Quick questions to colleagues
- Shift coordination
- Non-clinical discussions about workflow
- Informal care planning
When to use Patient Notes:
- Clinical assessments and observations
- Care plans and summaries
- Information that should be part of the medical record
- Communication with external organisations
Sending Messages
Desktop:
Type your message in the input box at the bottom of the chat. Press Enter to send. Use Shift+Enter to add a new line without sending.
Mobile:
Type your message and tap the green send button (compass icon). Alternatively, use Ctrl+Enter on tablets.
Empty messages or messages containing only whitespace cannot be sent.
Who Can See Team Chat Messages
All members of the team can see all messages in the team's chat room. Organisation administrators can also view team chats.
There are no private or direct messages in Team Chat—all communication is visible to the entire team.
Enabling or Disabling Team Chat
Organisation Administrators:
Control chat at the organisation level through organisation settings. When you disable chat organisation-wide, no teams can use it.
Team Owners:
Enable or disable chat for your specific team:
- Navigate to your team view from the sidebar
- Click the kebab menu (⋮) at the top of the screen
- Select Update Team Chat Settings
- Toggle chat on or off
- Click Save
Note: When you change chat settings, you will be logged out and must sign in again.
Getting Help with Team Chat
If this is your first time using Team Chat, click the kebab menu (⋮) in the team view and select Show Chat Tour to launch an interactive guide that walks you through the main features.
Tips
- Use
@roomsparingly—it notifies everyone on the team - Mention specific colleagues with
@when you need a direct response - Reference patients with
!to keep discussions clear and organised - The action creation feature (
+button) is fastest when you mention both a user and a patient in the same message - Install the CAREFUL mobile app (iOS or Android) to receive push notifications when mentioned
- Team chat is ideal for quick coordination; use Patient Notes for clinical documentation