Messages

The Messages feature lets you send and receive text messages with the doctors and administrative staff at your clinic, directly inside Virtual Clinic. Messages are organized into threaded conversations so you can keep track of every exchange.

Starting a conversation

Open Messages in the navigation. In the left sidebar you will see a list of your existing conversations. To start a new one, click the + button in the sidebar header — this opens the new-message form.

In the form:

  • Select a recipient. Use the recipient selector to choose who you want to contact. You can filter by All or Doctors. You can message doctors and admins in your clinic. You cannot message other patients — the patient option is not available in the recipient list.
  • Write your message. Type your message body in the text field. The maximum length is 5,000 characters.

Send the message when you are ready. The conversation will appear in your sidebar immediately. If you need to continue the same conversation later, just open it from the sidebar and type a reply — there is no need to start a new message thread each time.

How messaging works

Each conversation appears as a row in the left sidebar. Click a row to open the full thread in the main area, where you can read previous messages and send a reply.

When a new message arrives, a notification appears inside the app to alert you. You do not need to keep the Messages page open.

All messages stay within the workspace of the clinic or doctor you are messaging. A message you send to one provider is never visible to any other provider — this is a structural boundary, not just a privacy setting. See Getting started for more on how provider workspaces are isolated.

What messaging is not

  • Not for emergencies. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact emergency services (for example, call 911 or your local equivalent). Do not use Messages for urgent medical situations.
  • Not guaranteed to be available. The Messages feature must be enabled by your provider. If you do not see Messages in the navigation, your clinic has not enabled it — contact them by phone or in person.
  • Not a real-time chat channel. Response times depend entirely on your care team's availability. There is no guaranteed response time.
Messages — Virtual Clinic Docs