Controlling Message Recipients in the Patient Portal
Akute now gives you full control over who your patients can message when they send a new secure message through the patient portal. This feature is optional. If you leave the toggle off, new messages will automatically route to the patient’s primary provider. If you turn the toggle on, you can customize which team members patients are allowed to message.
Where to Update Message Recipient Settings
- Go to Settings in the left navigation.
- Select Communications.
- Click Secure Messaging.
- Select "Require patient to select recipient for new conversations."
You will see a dropdown list of primary providers in your practice. Each provider can customize who patients are allowed to message on their care team.
Choosing Allowed Recipients for a Primary Provider
- Select a Primary Provider from the list.
- Under Allowed Recipients, you’ll see all team members who can receive messages.
- Check the team members who should be available for patients to message.
Example:
If Dr. Smith wants all incoming messages to go only to Nathan and Scott (her medical assistants), she can simply:
- Select Dr. Smith as the Provider
- Check Nathan under Allow Recipients
- Check Scott under Allowed Recipients
There is no Save button — your selections are remembered automatically.
What Patients Will See
When a patient opens the portal and selects New Message, the Select Recipient: dropdown will only show the recipients you allowed for that primary provider.
Using the example above, the patient will only see:
- Nathan
- Scott
This ensures messages go directly to the correct members of your care team.
How Messages Display in the Chart
All secure messages remain visible in the patient’s chart. Messages will display normally, and the provider filter allows you to view messages for the recipient selected by the patient.
If you’d like help configuring your message routing or understanding how these settings interact with provider assignments, reach out to support@akutehealth.com — we’re happy to help!