Patient Portal

The Athelas Patient Portal lets patients sign in securely to view appointments, exchange messages with the practice, manage payments and saved cards, complete forms, and access home exercise content. Patients can register for the portal after receiving patient-specific registration links (email and/or text). Patients must use a valid invitation link to create a portal account. Visiting the generic portal URL without a link will block patient registration.

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Sending portal invitations

You can invite patients to the portal from two places: Outreach Flows and the Patient Responsibility page.

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From Outreach Flows

In Outreach Flows, insert the message variant patient_portal_link (labeled Patient Portal Link in the variant picker) into an email or SMS. Use it any time you want to send patients to the practice’s portal entry — for example, reminders to book, pay, or message the clinic.

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From the Patient Responsibility page

To send a registration link to a specific patient from the billing / responsibility workflow:

1. Open the patient’s profile from the Patient Responsibility work area (the patient detail view where demographics and actions are shown).
2. In the row of patient actions, click the control whose tooltip reads Patient Portal / Send a registration link to the patient to onboard them to the new patient portal (send-to-mobile style icon).
3. Confirm in the dialog.

The patient receives:

• An email at their address on file with a link to the portal (when an email is present).
• A text at their phone on file with the link, or the same link as email when both exist (when a phone number is present).

Note: There is a short cooldown between sends. If you try again too soon, the button explains how long to wait.

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Patient registration and sign-in

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Registration process

Once patients have received an invite link, they complete the portal registration steps:

1. Create account and password
2. Email verification
3. Phone verification
4. Complete registration

Note: If the patient leaves and returns with the same link, they resume at the first incomplete step.

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Signing in

Once registered, patients can access the portal from portal.athelas.com directly, or from portal links sent by the practice through Patient Workflows or Outreach Flows. From the landing page, patients enter their email, then continue to log in with a password when an account already exists. Patients can also click Forgot password to reset their password. They are directed to check their email, follow the link, and reset their password.

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Portal functionality

Once in the portal, patients can access several areas:

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Home

The landing page. Patients see what the portal offers and can navigate to sub-pages from here.

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Messages

Secure messaging between the patient and users from the practice. Users can attach files or send messages.

• Message threads can currently only be started from the practice. Patients cannot initiate a conversation with a user.

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Payments

Patients can view their balance, pay any charges, and see past transaction history.

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Appointments

Patients can see upcoming and past visits, schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments, and see waitlist status if enabled.

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Forms

Patients can view completed or pending forms, complete pending forms, and update insurance information in their patient profile.

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Home Exercises

Patients can view their prescribed home exercise program by case.

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Profile

Patients can edit their payment methods by clicking their name in the bottom left.

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Configurations and settings

To access settings for the Patient Portal, navigate to EHR Preferences then the Portal Configs tab. From here, sites can configure several settings.

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Schedule Notice

Controls how far in advance patients can book through scheduling tied to the portal:

• Minimum Notice (in hours) — required. Defines the booking window floor.
• Maximum Notice (in hours) — optional. Enter 0 for unlimited. Cannot be less than the minimum.

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Appointment Requests

• Require approval on appointment requests — When on, requests from the portal appear as Requested on the calendar and can be approved from the Requests tab. When off, requests from the portal book directly to the calendar.

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Online Patient Scheduling

See Online Scheduling for full configuration details.

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General Permissions

Configure what patients can change in the portal:

• Add payment methods
• Delete payment methods
• Cancel appointments
• Reschedule appointments

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FAQ

Can patients register for the portal without an invite link?

No. Patients must use a valid invitation link to create a portal account. Visiting the generic portal URL without a link will block patient registration — this protects PHI by preventing anonymous sign-up.

What happens if a patient loses their registration link before finishing signup?

Resend the link from either Outreach Flows (using the patient_portal_link variant) or the Patient Responsibility page. If the patient returns with the same link, they resume at the first incomplete step. Note: A short cooldown applies between sends from the Patient Responsibility page.

Can patients start a new conversation with the practice from the portal?

Not at this time. Message threads must be initiated by the practice. Once a thread exists, patients can reply freely and attach files.

How do I stop patients from canceling or rescheduling on their own?

Under EHR Preferences → Portal Configs → General Permissions, toggle off Cancel appointments and Reschedule appointments. Patients will still see their upcoming visits, but without cancel/reschedule controls.

What's the difference between portal invitations and the Online Scheduling link?

A portal invitation creates a long-term authenticated account for an existing patient. The Online Scheduling link lets new or existing patients book a single appointment without a portal account (they verify via 2FA). See Online Scheduling for details.