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Patient Messages FAQ

Common questions related to Patient Messages.

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What are some examples of commonly used Patient Messaging templates?

For resources on how to craft your patient messaging templates, refer to our blog post: Ocean Tips: Best Practices For Effective Messages & Reminders.

To bold, underline or italicize text in the email body, use HTML tags. To include a hyperlink in the email body, use the following HTML tag: 

<a href="https://www.cognisantmd.com/">CognisantMD</a>

and replace the URL and text inside the <a> </a> tags with the words you would like to appear hyperlinked.

Click each heading below for examples of patient messaging templates. 

Email template with instructions to view secure message and complete forms

Subject: A message from [clinic name]

Email body:

This is a message from [clinic name]. Your physician would like you to complete a secure online questionnaire related to your health. Please follow the steps below:
- Click on “View Secure Message and Complete Questionnaire” below.
- You will be asked to enter your date of birth to validate you are the intended recipient on the message. Rest assured this information is being collected safely and securely.
- View your secure message. Click the checkbox "I have received this message" before clicking the "Next" button to complete all forms.

[weblink]

If you have any questions, please call the clinic at [your phone number]. 

Note: This is an outgoing email only. Please do not reply to this email. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office in the usual manner.

Email template with instructions for downloading an attachment

Subject: A message from [clinic name]

Email body:

This is a message from [clinic name]. Your physician would like you to download a document(s) related to your health. Please follow the steps below:

- Click on “View Secure Message” below.
- You will be asked to enter your date of birth to validate you are the intended recipient on the message. Rest assured this information is being collected safely and securely.
- View your secure message. You will see a button with a paperclip icon next to the title. Click on this button to download your file(s). If you are using a mobile device, consider opening this email when you are on a computer instead. 

[weblink]

If you have any questions, please call the clinic at [your phone number]. 

Note: This is an outgoing email only. Please do not reply to this email. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office in the usual manner.

Email template with instructions for providing a one-time text response back to the clinic

Subject: A message from [clinic name]

Email body:

This is a message from [clinic name]. Your physician would like to send you a message related to your health. Please follow the steps below:

- Click on “View Secure Message” below.
- You will be asked to enter your date of birth to validate you are the intended recipient on the message. Rest assured this information is being collected safely and securely.
- View your secure message. Click the "Reply" button. An area will appear for you to enter your response to your provider. Click the "Next" button to submit your response. 

[weblink]

If you have any questions, please call the clinic at [your phone number]. 

Note: This is an outgoing email only. Please do not reply to this email. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office in the usual manner.

Secure Messages

A few notes about the secure message portion of the email:

  • The secure message will be copied into your patients chart, along with a date and time stamp. The email body will not be copied into your patient's chart.
  • You may want to include instructions to check off the "I have received this message" in the secure message and the email body to help improve compliance.

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Can I run a report listing the secure messages I have sent and whether the patient has responded?

Ocean offers several 'canned' reports that can give you insight into how your providers and patients are utilizing Patient Messages and Reminders.  They provide record level data that can be exported for analysis.  You can access them by logging into the Ocean Portal, clicking on the "Menu" button in the top left corner and selecting "Admin". In the left side bar, click "Reports"

The reports below provide insights into Patient Messages activity. 

  • Secure message sent - Patient Messages that did not include any eForm attachments
  • Form sent via a secure email link - Patient Messages containing an eForm. If there are multiple forms attached to the Patient Message, the report will include a row for each attachment. 
  • *New email invitation link created for patient - All Patient Messages and/or Reminders sent (whether or not they contained an eForm attachment)
  • Secure message confirmed - Patient Messages that the patient has confirmed receiving (whether or not they contained an eForm attachment). Patients confirm the receipt of their secure message by clicking on the "I have received this message" checkbox and/or by sending a reply (when the setting "Allow reply" is enabled).   
  • *Form completed - Patient Messages with an eForm attachment in which the eForm has been submitted and/or forms completed via a tablet or kiosk.  (this is sub-set of the "Form sent via a secure email link" records). 

NOTE: Reports marked with '*' will also return records related to other Ocean products.  These are included in the report description.  

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How do I send a form to a patient to complete at home (or smartphone)?

Ocean web questionnaires allow you to send forms to patients at home, where they can complete questionnaires on their home computer or mobile device (iPad, iPhone, Android phone, BlackBerry, etc.).

Below is a summary of how to send a web questionnaire depending on which EMR you're using. For more detailed instructions on how to send online messages, please refer to this article. To learn about all the possible secure messages settings, please refer to Patient Messages Settings.

PS Suite or OscarAccuroOther
  • Simply add the Ocean eForm/custom form to the patient chart as you normally do for tablet use. Click the "Email Patient" link, which will open a browser window with an email template containing pre-populated patient information.

Once you're in the Patient Messages Editor:

  • Within the email dialogue box, select the forms you want the patient to complete. You may also choose to include a secure message at this step.
  • Hint: You can use the "Templates" menu in the top right corner to save default email messages and/or settings for later use. Refer to Patient Messages Templates for more information.

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Why is it prompting me to sign in when I send a message from my EMR?

As of the Ocean release on Feb 15, 2017:

  • Users who are sending Patient Messages directly from the EMR, without using an Ocean account, may see this message when they click "Send".
  • Signing in with an Ocean Account will enable the "notifications" are triggered by the following options in the "Send Email" dialog: (1) Notify me when viewed, (2) Notify me when complete, and (3) Notify me if no response after: __.
  • For security reasons, Ocean forces the email sender to have an Ocean account to remove any ambiguity as to who the email is sent from and where it was sent.
  • If any EMR users are sending Ocean emails right now without an Ocean account (a.k.a. "anonymous EMR users"), they will be prompted with the following message:
  • "To continue using notifications for all users, please ensure that all your Ocean message senders proceed to sign up for an Ocean account in the usual manner. Your Ocean site administrator will need to either invite them or add them to your site."
  • Once the user's account is created, he or she can proceed to email the patient from the EMR and "link" the user's EMR account to their Ocean account by clicking on the button at the top of the email dialog.

Alternatively, you can change your email templates to avoid using the notification options above.

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Can I edit and save the text that will appear in the body of an email when emailing out a form to a patient?
  • Yes, you can do this with templates.
  • Templates allow you to save the subject, email body, secure message, and eForms that you have previously sent to a patient, making the standard message available for you to select when you email another similar patient.
  • You can edit and configure your templates by clicking on a patient in the Patients view of the Ocean Portal and selecting "Email Patient". From there, use the Templates menu at the top right to manage your templates.
  • For more details on how to configure your templates, please refer to "Patient Messages Templates".

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Will it cause problems to use web questionnaires if two patients share an email address?

No, this will not be a problem.

Each patient will get a personalized and individual link in the email, each with different access keys and encryption keys. However, the emails will end up in the same inbox (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), which may trigger privacy concerns that would apply for any sort of clinical email to the shared email address.

It's generally a good idea to warn patients about the privacy implications of sharing email addresses in a email consent form that a patient must review prior to receiving clinical web questionnaires. There are some very well-thought out email consent forms in the eForms view of your Ocean Portal if you don't already have one.

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How do I change the "From" address to my clinic name on emails sent to my patients?

By default, emails sent to patients through Ocean will be sent from "no-reply@cognisantmd.com". You can change this setting so that your patients know that the email is coming from your clinic.

  • Login to the Ocean Portal. Click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Admin".
  • Type in your clinic name in the "Email Friendly Name" field and save your changes.
  • Note: You may also need to update your clinic name in your email templates as well.

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Are there limits to the number of files I can attach to a patient message?

Ocean does not limit the number of individual files that are attached to a patient messages. However, each individual attachments can not exceed 10 MB in size.

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My clinic uses a VPN to remotely access our EMR. How can we review and create Ocean Patient Messages when accessing the EMR remotely?

Unfortunately, accessing Ocean through a remote VPN is out of scope for our support as it may involve VPN settings established by a clinic's IT staff. Ocean servers are monitored 24/7 for errors, issues and speed and our staff respond to changes quickly as they arise. Clinics can troubleshoot this kind of issue by attempting to access Ocean via the clinic VPN, then attempting to access Ocean using a different connection. If the issue persists while using the VPN only, it's likely related to the clinic's VPN. 

If you are experiencing issues with Ocean when accessing your EMR through a VPN remotely, we encourage you to send patient messages directly through the Ocean Portal. 

  1. In your EMR, ensure your patient has an email address and has provided email consent.
  2. Login to the Ocean Portal. If you aren't already in the Patients view, click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Patients".
  3. Use the search bar on the left under "Find Patients". You can double click the contents of the search bar and search by the patients surname.
    1. If the patient isn't in Ocean, search for the patient's health card number in your EMR. Copy this number and paste it in the field under Upload From EMR (located in the Patients view side bar, under Walk-In Patients).
  4. Once you've found your patient in Ocean, click on their name. A window will appear where you can click Email Patient. This will open the secure messaging feature of Ocean.
  5. Compose your email or select from your templates list and click "Send" to send your secure message to your patient.

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