This article is for providers using the Oasys iOS application.
Secure 1:1 messaging is fully available on iOS — one of the most complete features on the phone. It's HIPAA-compliant, real-time, with read receipts and typing indicators.
In this article:
1. Sending a message
Go to the Messages tab, pick a client (or start a new conversation with the compose button), type, and tap send. You can also start a conversation from a client's chart header (Message button). You can message your own primary-care clients who are approved (non-demo). If you belong to a practice, the compose button opens a chooser first, Message a {client} or Message a practice member, and the list gains All / {Clients} / Practice chips.
2. Conversation list
Each row shows: avatar; client name (for minors, the child's name); last-message preview (your own prefixed “You:”, a parent’s prefixed “Sent by guardian:”); timestamp; unread badge; and a red “Disabled” pill if messaging is off. The list is searchable, pull-to-refresh, and hides empty threads and clients who've left your caseload.
For a therapist in a practice, threads with practice members sit in the same list, ordered by latest activity alongside client threads, with the colleague's name, avatar, preview and unread count. The Practice chip narrows the list to those, and the tab badge counts both kinds. Opening a colleague's thread shows their role in the header. Nothing arrives as a push notification for these threads unless your account has that turned on.
⛔ Not in the iOS app: an online indicator on the row (presence appears only inside the thread header — §3), and an archived-conversations view.
3. Message features
Text messaging — plain-text composer.
Markdown rendering — bubbles render markdown, so text typed as markdown displays formatted.
Read receipts — “Delivered” / “Read” under your last message.
Typing indicators — both directions.
Online / last seen — in the thread header only, and derived (“Online” if the client messaged in the last 5 minutes, else “Last seen …”). On a minor’s conversation the header shows Messages go to: in its place, with each reader marked (guardian) or (own login).
Auto-scroll — opens at the latest, with a jump-to-latest button.
Optimistic send with retry — “Sending…” / “Not delivered · Tap to retry.”
⛔ Not in the iOS app: rich-text composing / a formatting toolbar; attachments (no photo/file picker in messaging); draft persistence (an unsent draft isn't saved across leaving the thread); message search within a thread, reactions, edit/delete.
4. Enabling or disabling messaging per client
Open the conversation → … menu in the header → Disable Messaging (needs confirmation) or Enable Messaging. When disabled, the composer is replaced by a Messaging disabled pill with an inline Enable button, and the thread is read-only. You can also enable-and-open in one step from the new-message picker or the chart's Message button.
⚠️ Difference from web: the web toggles messaging from the client's chart Preferences. On iOS the toggle lives in the thread's … menu (and the enable-first flows).
5. Clients who haven't signed up yet
For a client without an account, a note above the message box says they haven’t signed up and will receive your messages once they create their account. You can still send, and messages wait for them until they sign in.
6. Minor / guardian conversations
Minor conversations are child-primary in the list and thread. In the new-message picker, a minor’s row shows the child’s name with Minor · Guardian: {name} under it, and search matches the guardian’s name too. Inside the conversation, Messages go to: names who can read it, and a message a parent wrote has Sent by guardian under it. When nobody on a minor’s account can read messages, a note above the message box says to set access on the Permissions tab on the web.
Frequently asked questions
Is messaging HIPAA-compliant?
Yes — encrypted, delivered in real time over WebSocket with a polling fallback.Can I send a photo or file?
No — the iOS messaging composer is text-only.Can I format my messages?
You can type markdown and it renders formatted, but there's no formatting toolbar.Will my draft be saved if I leave the thread?
No — unsent text isn't saved on iOS.How do I turn messaging off for a client?
Open the conversation → … menu → Disable Messaging.