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When a patient starts a new message in Patient Passport, they choose a message type and then read a short note before they begin writing. That note is your chance to set expectations: when your practice replies, what belongs in a message, and what a patient should do instead when something is urgent. Elation shows default guidance for every message type. You can replace it with your own wording for any type, and leave the rest on the default.
For administrative staff and office managers · 4 min readYou need administrative privileges to change these settings. Patients see your wording the next time they start a message, so treat it as patient-facing content.

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Setup

Message guidance is part of your Patient Passport messaging settings, so patient-initiated messaging has to be turned on before you can edit it.
  1. Click Settings.
  2. Open Patient Passport Messages.
  3. Confirm that patient-initiated messaging is turned on. If it is off, the Message Guidance section does not appear.
The Message Guidance section of Patient Passport Messages settings, expanded to show the Appointments, Referrals, and Prescriptions & Refills message types, each holding Elation's default guidance and a 0 of 250 character count.

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Set guidance for a message type

Each message type has its own note, so you can answer the question a patient is most likely to have for that specific type.
  1. In the Message Guidance section, find the message type you want to change.
  2. Type your wording in the field below it.
  3. Wait for the field to confirm that it saved. Elation saves your wording automatically, so there is no separate save button.
Your wording replaces Elation’s default for that message type only. Every other type keeps its default. Press Enter to put a point on its own line. Patients see the line breaks you type. The Appointments message type with custom guidance typed in, a character count reading 155 of 250, and a "Saved. Live for patients." confirmation beside the message type name. Each note holds up to 250 characters. The field counts as you type and turns red if you go over, and guidance that is over the limit does not save until you shorten it.

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Return a message type to the default

Clear the field. An empty field means patients see Elation’s default guidance for that message type again.

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What patients see

Patients read your guidance in a dialog headed Before you send a message, after they pick a message type and before they start writing. They continue into the message from there, or cancel. The screenshots show the same appointment guidance twice: as a practice enters it in settings, and as a patient reads it in Passport. The "Before you send a message" dialog in Passport on a phone, showing the practice's custom appointment guidance as a short paragraph above Continue and Cancel buttons. The same dialog showing Elation's default guidance instead, as four separate bulleted lines. The default guidance appears as separate bulleted lines. Your own wording appears as you typed it, including any line breaks, without bullet points.

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Writing guidance patients can act on

  • Say when your practice replies, in terms a patient can plan around: “within two business days” rather than “as soon as possible.”
  • Name the alternative for anything urgent. Patients reach for messaging when they are worried, and guidance is the last thing they read before they do.
  • Keep emergency instructions in place. Elation’s default guidance tells patients to call 911 in an emergency. If you replace the default wording, carry that instruction into your own.
  • Write for the specific message type. Guidance on a prescription refill can set a different expectation than guidance on a billing question.
  • Put each point on its own line when you have more than one. Patients see the line breaks you type, and most read this on a phone.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Do patients see my wording right away?

Yes. Guidance is live the next time a patient starts a message of that type. There is no separate publishing step.

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What happens if I leave a message type blank?

Patients see Elation’s default guidance for that type.

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Can I set different guidance for different providers?

No. Guidance is set for each message type and applies to the whole practice.

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Can patients reply to the guidance?

No. Patients read it before they start writing, and it is not part of the message thread.

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Does guidance replace the emergency warning?

Your wording replaces the default text for that message type, so include your own emergency instruction if patients need one.