The assign and archive features have been designed to improve the messaging workflow for professionals. These features are most beneficial for teams where multiple team members are responsible for managing messages from patients & has been designed to work nicely with our automatic cc feature.
It is important that before your team starts using this feature, you discuss as a team how you will use it to ensure no one accidentally misses a message.
Assign
What is the assign feature?
The assign feature allows professionals to assign a message to themselves. This is to avoid multiple professionals within the same team duplicating their work.
How do I assign a message?
To assign a message, click ‘Assign to me’ at the top of a message thread.
How do I unassign a message?
To unassign a message, click ‘Assign to none’ at the top of a message thread.
What do I do if a message is assigned to someone else but should be assigned to me?
If someone in your team has assigned a message to themselves, but it should actually be assigned to you, you can click ‘Assign to none’ to unassign it.
Once unassigned, you can click ‘Assign to me’ and the message will be assigned to you.
Can I assign a message to someone else?
No, you can only assign a message to yourself.
Who can see a message is assigned?
When a professional assigns a message thread to themselves it will show as assigned for:
The professional
Any participants in the message who are in the same team as the professional
It will not show as assigned for the following participants:
Patients
Carers
Non-institutional professionals
Professionals who are in a different team to the professional who assigned the message.
What happens when the assigned professional leaves or hands over a message?
If the assigned professional leaves the message, the message will automatically be unassigned and will become ‘Active’.
Can I assign a message where I am the only participant?
Yes it is possible to assign any message, even ones when only you and the patient are the participants. Remember, the patient cannot see that it has been assigned, so if you want to tell them you are dealing with the message then send them a reply.
There are two separate teams involved in the message - can they both assign the message?
Yes. When a professional assigns a message to themselves, it only takes effect for their team. If a second team’s professionals are also participants in the message, the message remains active for them. If a professional from the second team then assigns a message, this only affects their team (and the message remains assigned for the first team until somebody manually assigns the message to none).
Archive
What is the archive feature?
The archive feature allows a team professional to archive a message for themselves and members of the same team who are also a participant of that message.
Archiving a message changes the status of the message. It removes the message from the ‘Active’ view of the professional’s inbox and instead displays the message under the ‘Archived’ filter.
This feature should be used with messages that professionals no longer need to respond to.
Can patients respond to archived messages?
Yes, all participants in an archived message can respond to the message, whether this be patients, carers or professionals. This will automatically unarchive the message for professionals in the team that archived it.
How do I archive a message?
To archive a message, click on the ‘Archive’ button at the top of the message thread.
How do I unarchive a message?
To unarchive a message, click the ‘Move to Active’ button at the top of the message thread.
Who can see that a message is archived?
When a professional archives a message thread it will archive the message for:
The professional
Any participants in the message who are in the same team as the professional
It will not archive it for the following participants:
Patients
Carers
Non-institutional professionals
Professionals who are in a different team to the professional who selected ‘Archive’
How can I see my archived messages?
Go to ‘Messages’ and then select ‘Archived’ on the filter at the top of the page.
Can I archive a message where I am the only participant?
Yes it is possible to archive any message, even ones when only yourself and the patient are the participants. If the patient adds a new message to the thread, the message will automatically unarchive itself.
There are two separate teams involved in the message, can they both archive the message?
Yes. When a professional archives a message, it only archives for their team.
If a second team’s professionals are also participants in the message, the message remains active for them. If a professional from the second team then archives the message, this only affects their team (and the message remains archived for the first team until somebody manually moves it to active or sends a reply).
Assign and archive
What happens when an assigned message is archived?
When an assigned message is archived, the message will display as both assigned and archived. If you then unarchive the message, it will remain as assigned.
How can I see my assigned and archived messages?
The filter at the top of the Messages page will allow you to switch between different message types. By default, you will see ‘Active’ messages - these are messages that have not been assigned or archived. You can switch to ‘Assigned’ and ‘Archived’. If a message has been both assigned and archived, it will appear in both the ‘Assigned’ and ‘Archived’ filters.