AthenaHealth Patient Texting
Patients text the number they already call, and every reply lands in one shared inbox. Contacts are built from your AthenaHealth records, so there is no second address book to maintain and no portal login for the patient to remember.
Powering AthenaHealth practices of all sizesCutting down the phone queue
Most calls are short questions. Texting handles them without anyone being on hold.
Choose a number
Enable texting on the office number patients already recognize, or take a new one. Voice service on an existing line keeps working.
Start from the record
Message a patient from their AthenaHealth profile, with contacts created from the record rather than copied into a separate tool.
Work the shared inbox
Replies arrive in one practice-wide inbox, and threads can be assigned when a specific person needs to answer.
What practices say
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
I used to use Google Voice for texting patients, but switched to DashQuill for the added security. The built-in templates have been a really nice bonus!
Before DashQuill, we had to manually create a contact for every patient in our secure texting system. Now that contacts sync automatically from our EHR, we can reach out instantly without any setup. It's made patient communication far more convenient.
The EHR integration for messaging has been great. It's so convenient having all our patient texts connected directly to their charts. We had a few hiccups when hosting our phone number, but the DashQuill team was incredibly helpful and got everything sorted quickly.
One inbox for the whole practice
Patient messages that land on individual staff members go unanswered the moment someone takes a day off. A shared inbox with assignment keeps a thread visible to whoever is actually working.
- Auto-create contacts from AthenaHealth patient charts
- Message a patient from their AthenaHealth profile
- Threads stay visible to the whole team, not just one person
- Saved templates for the questions that repeat daily
Move the parts that matter into the chart
Not every text belongs in the record, and not every text should stay out of it. Exporting is deliberate: the conversation attaches to the AthenaHealth chart when you decide it is clinically relevant.
- Export a conversation and attach it to the AthenaHealth chart
- Import photos and files a patient sent into the chart
- Images stay off personal phones and shared workstations
- Routine scheduling messages can stay out of the record
Patient messaging in AthenaHealth
Messaging is the one product where every supported EHR has the same capability set. These five rows are identical on AthenaHealth and on our other three integrations.
| Number | Capability | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Text patients without leaving AthenaHealth | Included | |
| Message a patient directly from their AthenaHealth profile | Included | |
| Auto-create contacts from AthenaHealth patient charts | Included | |
| Export a conversation and attach it to the AthenaHealth chart | Included | |
| Import files from a conversation into the AthenaHealth chart | Included |
Questions we get asked first
The things AthenaHealth practices want settled before a demo.
Can patients text our main office number?
In most cases, yes. Texting can be enabled on the existing line without affecting calls. That matters because patients tend to ignore numbers they do not recognize, or report them as spam.
Do patients need the AthenaHealth portal?
No. Messages arrive in the standard SMS app on their phone. Where content needs protecting, they open a secure link that verifies their identity. There is still no account or password.
Does every message get saved to the chart?
Only the ones you export. A conversation can be attached to the AthenaHealth chart as a document, and attachments can be imported separately. Appointment logistics do not have to clutter the record.
Can we send reminders to a group of patients?
Yes. Messaging can run one-way for announcements and reminders, or two-way for conversations, configured per use.
Is text messaging HIPAA compliant?
Ordinary SMS is not a protected channel, which is exactly why clinical content is sent as an identity-verified secure message instead. We sign a Business Associate Agreement; our HIPAA compliance page covers the rest.
More on DashQuill and AthenaHealth
See texting alongside an AthenaHealth profile
The demo takes fifteen minutes and is built around how your front desk currently handles callbacks.