Message your care team
How secure messaging works, what is appropriate to send, and when to call instead.
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Secure messaging is for non-urgent questions: medication side effects, lab questions, paperwork. Expect a one to two business-day reply.
How to send a message
You
9:42amReplied
Dr. Lin Yu · Provider
medication-instructions.pdf · 84 KB
10:01am
You
10:04amRead
Open Chat in your portal. Choose your provider or "Front desk." Attach photos or PDFs up to 25 MB — useful for sharing a wound photo, a paper letter from another doctor, or a screenshot of a side-effect warning on a medication label. Your message is encrypted in transit and at rest, and the entire thread is saved to your chart so any clinician seeing you in the future has full context.
When to expect a reply
Most clinics aim for one to two business days for non-urgent questions. You'll see your message status update from Sent to Read to Replied in real time. If your provider is on vacation, the message routes to a covering provider with a heads-up that they're stepping in. For administrative questions (forms, paperwork, scheduling) the front desk usually replies the same day during business hours.
When NOT to message
For chest pain, suicidal thoughts, severe allergic reactions, or anything you would normally call 911 about — call 911. For after-hours urgent concerns, call your clinic's on-call line, listed on the Chat page. Secure messaging is asynchronous; if it cannot wait until tomorrow, the phone is the right tool, not the chat.