Why can't I see the option to respond to a request via 'message to a patient'?

If you are trying to reply to a patient request and are only able to add an 'internal note', there are a few possible reasons for this:

1.) The patient does not have access to an online account 
If the patient does not have an online account for askmyGP, you will not be presented the option to reply to their request via messaging. A member of the reception team will have taken the patient's request over the phone, or face-to-face on the front desk and these requests will need to be managed via the telephone.

2.) The request has been submitted by a receptionist on the patient’s behalf as an ‘Internal note’
If the request is relatively straight forward, such as a prescription request, a member of the reception/admin team may have simply submitted the request as an 'Internal note' as there was no need to capture any additional information. You will not be able to respond to the patient via the internal note as these request types are intended for internal communication between practice staff regarding a patient's request.

3.) The practice have pre-registered the patient for their online askmyGP account, but the patient has not yet logged in
Ideally, patients with online access should be registering themselves and submitting their own requests online. However, if the receptionist did this for them, they will first need to register the patient with their email address, then select the option to 'send the welcome email'. This will generate an email link to the patient for them to create the password for their account. Once the patient does this and logs in for the first time the receptionist will then have the option to 'start QA' as well as 'internal note' and allow responses via messaging.*

*The system will not permit you the option to message the patient until they have logged into their online account first, this is to ensure that the correct email address and patient details have been recorded and to confirm that the patient is able to successfully access their online account.