How to use Chat in Core Practice

Overview

Chat lets you communicate with other team members directly in Core Practice. You can send a message to one person or create a group chat with multiple users.

This article explains how to:

• Open Chat
• Start a one-on-one or group chat
• Send and receive messages
• Find unread messages
• Manage your conversations
• Use a chat template
• Open Chat in a separate window

Note: Chat is for internal communication between Core Practice users. It does not send messages to patients.

Before you begin

Your user account must have permission to use Chat. If you cannot see the Chat icon, ask your Core Practice administrator to check your access.

To enable Chat access, click here: [How to give users access to Chat]

You can only start a conversation with active users who have access to Chat. Blocked, deleted, or inactive users will not appear when selecting participants.

Chat is available across your practice. If your practice has multiple locations, you can chat with users from any location.

Open Chat

1. Click the Chat icon in the upper-right corner of Core Practice.
   
   
    
2. Core Practice will take you to the Chat page.
   
   
    

Your conversations are organised into the following sections:

• Favourites - Coversations you have marked as favourites
• Chats - One-on-one conversations
• Group Chats - Conversations containing multiple users

Start a one-on-one chat

1. On the Chat page, click the green button  to start a new chat
   
   
    
2. Search for the user by name, if required
3. Select the user you want to contact
   
   
    
4. Click Create New Chat to start the chat.
   
   
    
5. Enter your message, then click the send icon to send it.
   
   

Core Practice keeps one conversation between the same two users. If you select someone you have previously messaged, your existing conversation and message history will open.

Start a group chat

1. On the Chat page, click the green button to start a new chat.
   
   
    
2. Select two or more users
3. Click Create New Chat to start the chat.
4. Enter your message, then send it.

Core Practice automatically gives the group chat a name based on its participants. You can rename the group by clicking the pencil icon, making it easier to identify

You can also add participants by clicking the New participants button on the right-hand side.


 

Note: Starting another group chat creates a separate conversation, even if you select the same participants. Consider giving each group a clear name so your team can tell the conversations apart.
 

Send and receive messages

New messages appear in the conversation automatically. You do not need to refresh the page.

When another participant is entering a message, a typing indicator appears in the conversation.

Check whether someone is online

In a one-on-one chat, a green circle beside the user's name indicates that they are currently online.

The indicator updates automatically when the user signs in or ends their Core Practice session. Online indicators are not shown in group chats.

Find unread messages

When you receive a new message:

• A red indicator appears on the Chat icon
• The conversation name appears in bold
• The number of unread messages appears beside the conversations.

The red indicator remains until you have opened all your unread conversations

If Core Practice is open in another browser tab, the tab will also alert you when a new message arrives.

Manage your conversations

Open a conversation and select its options to access the available actions.

Add a conversation as Favourites

Add conversations you use regularly to your favourites. The conversation will more to the Favourites section so you can find it quickly.

Mark a conversations as unread

Mark a conversation as unread if you need to return to it later. An unread indicator will appear beside the conversation as a reminder.

Use a chat template

Chat templates help you send frequently used messages without entering the same text each time.

1. Open the required conversation
2. Click the three lines icon beside the send icon to open the chat templates.
3. Select the template you want to use.
   
   

Note: Chat templates contain standard text only. User and patient information is not added automatically.

To create a Chat template, click here: [How to create a Chat template]

Open Chat in a separate window

You can open the Chat page in a separate browser window and keep it visible while completing other tasks in Core Practice.

1. Open the Chat page
2. Select the option to open Chat in a new window
   
   
    

Chat helps your team stay connected and keep internal communication in one convenient place. Use it to share updates, coordinate tasks and follow up with colleagues while working in Core Practice.

If you have any questions, please click the yellow Help button at the bottom left and chat with us. We are more than happy to help!