Understanding Assignees and Followers in Chats
Effective communication is critical in healthcare, and SigmaMD’s system enhances this by introducing the concepts of Assignee, Followers, and Internal Notes for each chat conversation. Understanding these roles can significantly improve workflow and patient care coordination within your team.
Assignee: The Primary Point of Contact
Each chat can have one assignee, who is the team member primarily responsible for managing that conversation. This ensures that patient queries are clearly assigned and no messages fall through the cracks. Assigning a responsible person avoids duplicated work and prevents confusion about who should respond.
When to assign: New chats started by patients don’t have an assignee. Assign the appropriate team member so they can take responsibility for the conversation.
Reassigning: If responsibility shifts, simply update the assignee so the new team member takes over the lead.
Followers: Staying Informed
Followers are team members who need visibility into a conversation but aren’t responsible for replying. This could include other clinicians involved in the case or admin staff helping with scheduling or documentation.
When to add followers: Add anyone who needs to stay informed but isn’t expected to reply. You can also remove followers as the case evolves.
Followers help ensure continuity of care, allowing off-shift clinicians or specialists to stay updated or weigh in when needed.
Internal Notes: Private Team Communication
Inside the chat, you can switch from “Message” to “Internal note” to write messages that are only visible to the care team. These appear in a different background color and are hidden from patients.
Use internal notes to:
Share context for teammates
Coordinate next steps
Document important decisions privately
This supports internal coordination without disrupting patient-facing communication.
Benefits
- Clarity of Responsibility: Having a clear assignee prevents multiple people from responding simultaneously, which could lead to mixed messages or duplicated work.
- Continuity of Care: Followers can include clinicians who are off-shift but want to stay updated on a patient's status, ensuring continuity of care.
- Collaboration: Enables collaborative care where necessary. Specialists, for instance, can follow conversations to provide insights without being the primary point of contact.
Information Sharing & Internal Coordination: Ensures that relevant information is accessible to all necessary care team members, while internal notes enable private documentation and discussion without disrupting patient communication
In conclusion, using assignees and followers in SigmaMD helps organize communication channels, distribute workload appropriately, and ensures everyone involved in patient care is informed and aligned. It's a simple yet effective way to enhance the quality and coordination of care provided to patients.