Away Messages, AutoReplies, Out of Office Controls

Product update: MESSAGING

Your inbox, your rules: three new ways to take control of messaging

A new Message Settings panel puts availability, forwarding, and auto-replies in your hands — for vacations, busy clinic days, and everything in between.


Messaging is one of the most-used functions in BodySite — and one that makes the platform feel so much like a social experience for you and patients, rather than just a clinical EMR. Patients expect quick replies. Providers and staff need real boundaries. And practices need to know that messages never fall through the cracks, even when life happens.
Building on the ability to view and get notified about all messages for any team member, this release gives every team member three new tools to manage exactly how, when, and through whom they’re reachable. You’ll find everything below in Settings → Message Settings of your account.

Feature 1

Set yourself unavailable — for a day, a week, or always

Turn on the new You’re Unavailable toggle and patients can’t send you new messages, full stop. Anyone with an existing thread sees a friendly note explaining you’re not reachable.

OFF
You’re Unavailable
Existing conversations will see this message
Jane Doe is not available for messages right now. Please contact another provider on the messages page.
Or rewrite this to whatever you like: “I’m on a remote island 🌴” or “I only respond to messages on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”


ON
Message forwarding
Auto-forward a copy to:



Feature 2

Forward messages to your team automatically

Sometimes you don’t want to disappear — you just want backup.

The new Message forwarding setting automatically sends any message sent to you, to teammates you select. They can jump in to respond, collaborate, or just keep an eye on things. Great for PTO coverage, care team collaboration, or onboarding new staff.


Feature 3

Auto-replies so patients know you got their message

Nothing makes a patient anxious like sending a message into the void.

Turn on Auto reply and every inbound message is acknowledged instantly. The default is calibrated for clinical safety, and you can replace it with any tone or timeline that fits your practice.

ON
Auto reply
Sent an auto-reply immediately to anyone who messages you
Thanks for your message.
During normal business hours, you can expect a reply no later than the end of the business day. If you have a medical emergency, do not wait for our reply but instead call 911.

One more thing

Team notifications, now under your control

You may remember the Get All Team Notifications option from a recent release — the setting that alerts you to every message sent to anyone on the care team.

Until now, that switch lived on the team page and was managed by an administrator. As of this release, it’s also right inside your new personal Message Settings — and it works as a personal override.

Your admin can still set a practice default. But you decide whether to follow it. Want full visibility even though the practice default is off? Flip it on. Want to mute the firehose during a heads-down week? Flip it off. Every messaging preference that affects your day is now in one place.

ON
Get All Team Notifications
Alert me when messages are sent to anyone on the care team
Personal override — your setting wins, regardless of the practice default.

Coming soon

Scheduled auto-reply hours

We’re working on the ability to set a recurring schedule for when auto-reply turns on — every weekday after 5pm, all weekend, or your specific lunch hour. Set it once and stop thinking about it. No ship date yet, but it’s actively in development.

How to get started

Everything in this release is live in your account today. Each team member configures their own settings independently — there’s no practice-wide switch required.

  1. Click Settings → Message Settings from your dashboard.
  2. Configure the toggles and messages that fit how you work.
  3. Hit Save Settings.

Your patients see the change immediately.

Questions, ideas, or stories about how you’re using the new settings? Drop a comment below or reach out — we love hearing from you.