Patient Comments and Alerts in Cloud 9 are notes attached to a patient record that can pop up automatically or remain as background records. They can be configured to display when opening a ledger, opening a treatment card, or when a patient checks in or out. Alerts can require acknowledgment and support custom icons — useful for flagging allergies, past-due balances, or other important notices.
Quick Answer
To set up and use Patient Comments/Alerts in Cloud 9, grant employees the correct PCT permissions under Edit > Setup > Employees > Login/Permissions, configure comment types under Edit > Setup > Patient Comment Types, and add comments directly from the patient's account menu under 'Patient Comments/Alerts'.
Applies To
Product: Cloud 9
Plan: All plans
Role: All users (permissions vary by role)
Before You Begin
- You must have the correct PCT (Patient Comment Type) permissions to add, edit, delete, or view any patient comment. These are granted per employee by an administrator.
- To assign permissions by employee type rather than individually, see Setting New Employee Permissions Up By Employee Type.
- Check In comments may be visible to patients depending on how your office's Patient Check-In Screen is configured. See: Patient Check-In Screen.
Steps
Part 1 — Grant Employee Comment/Alert Permissions
- Navigate to Edit > Setup > Employees, then open the employee record and select the 'Login/Permissions' tab.
- In the Permissions search box, type pct to filter for the four PCT permission categories. Apply the relevant permissions for each employee:
- PCT Add — Allows the employee to add a comment of the relevant type.
- PCT Edit — Allows the employee to edit a comment of the relevant type.
- PCT Delete — Allows the employee to delete a comment of the relevant type.
- PCT View — Allows the employee to view a comment of the relevant type.
Each permission category contains subcategories — one for each patient comment type. Default comment types in Cloud 9 include:
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Ledger comment: Displays in the patient's ledger as its own line.
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Treatment Card comment: Displays in the treatment card as an icon. Hovering over the icon reveals the comment. A custom icon can be assigned; otherwise the default (red circle with white exclamation point) is used.
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Check Out comment: Displays to staff when a patient is in 'Ready to Checkout', before dismissing. A red 'Alert' icon appears in the upper right of the screen — clicking it opens the comment.
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Check In comment: Displays when a patient checks in from the Patient Check In screen. Depending on your office setup, these comments may be visible to the patient.
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Scheduling comment: Displays in the schedule after clicking on the patient's appointment, below the patient picture, name, appointment type, and age.
- Apply the desired permissions to each employee. You can set permissions per individual employee or by employee type.
You can customize comment types at Edit > Setup > Patient Comment Types.
Part 2 — Add a New Patient Comment Type
- Navigate to Edit > Setup.
- Select 'Patient Comment Types' from the Setup menu.
- Click the blue '+Add' button to create a new comment type, or select the white 'Edit' icon next to an existing comment type to modify it.
- In the 'Description' field, enter a name for the comment type (e.g., Medical Alert, Vendor Comment). Check the boxes for all locations where you want this comment type to appear, then click the green 'Save' button.
Part 3 — Add a Custom Icon to Patient Comments/Alerts
- Navigate to Edit > Setup > Patient Comment Icons and click the blue '+Add' button.
- In the 'Description' field, describe the icon (e.g., Medical Alert, Finances Owed). Use the 'Locations' dropdown to select one or more locations where this icon should appear. Click the blue 'Select Icon File...' button to open a browser window and upload your image file.
- Click the green 'Save' button once the image has uploaded.
- When creating or editing a patient comment/alert, open the 'Icon' dropdown — it will now display the default icon and any custom icons you have uploaded. Select your desired icon, complete any other necessary changes, then save the comment.
The custom icon will now display wherever the comment appears in locations that show icons (schedule, treatment card, etc.).
Part 4 — Add a Patient Comment/Alert to a Patient
- On the patient's account, click the dropdown arrow next to the patient name and select 'Patient Comments/Alerts'.
- Click the blue '+Add' button on the Patient Comments screen.
- Enter the comment information — including 'Comment Type', 'Responsible Party', 'Insurance', display options (such as 'Show in Ledger', 'Show in Schedule', 'Prompt (must acknowledge)', etc.), and the 'Icon' if desired — then click the blue '+Add' button to save.
Expected Result
When complete, the new patient comment or alert will appear in all configured locations (ledger, treatment card, schedule, check-in/check-out screen) as specified. If a 'Prompt (must acknowledge)' option was selected, a pop-up window requiring user acknowledgment will appear at the appropriate trigger point. If the comment does not display as expected, verify that the employee has the correct PCT permissions and that the appropriate display checkboxes were selected when creating the comment type and the individual comment.
Need More Help?
If these steps did not resolve your issue, contact Planet DDS Support and include the following:
- Screenshot or screen recording of the issue
- Your account name or Practice Group ID (PGID)
- The exact error message text, if any
- What you were doing when the issue occurred
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