Use the Client Portal to share private information with a client in a safer way than a regular text. You mark what the client can see (results, files, or a secured message), then CoolFocus texts them a short invite with a link. The client opens the link, signs in, and reviews the information inside the portal.
Important: Do not put medical details, test results, financial information, or other private content in a regular text message. Use a secured message (for the portal) instead. See When to Use a Regular Text vs. a Secured Message.
Texting fee: Client portal text messages (for example, secure-message invite texts and security access codes) will add a text messaging usage fee on your monthly CoolFocus invoice when CoolFocus sends or receives an actual text message. Turning a setting on alone does not bill you, but each message that goes out or comes in can. Full list: What Counts as a Text Message & What are the Text Usage Fees?.
After a client signs in, they may see:
• Messages — secured messages your team sent (and their replies)
• Results — pregnancy test, ultrasound, and STI test information you have shared
• Files and media — visit files, ultrasound images, and videos you have shared
• Appointments — upcoming and past appointments
• Documents — consent documents they need to review or sign
• Education — lessons you have sent (for example BrightCourse)
Nothing shows until your team has shared it (or sent a secured message). Sharing is intentional — locking a note or completing a chart does not by itself make content visible in the portal.
Open the client's Visit in CoolFocus.
Share test results
On the visit, use Share with client for the type of result you want them to see:
• Pregnancy test (including pregnancy test notes that are ready to share)
• Ultrasound (results and related sonographer notes that are ready to share)
• Ultrasound images and video clips (see files below — these are separate from sharing the result text)
• STI tests
What is not shared automatically: unlocked notes, client intentions, physician notes, and any content you have not marked to share. Always write notes as if the client may eventually read them.
Share files on the visit
Only files that belong to the visit can be shared in the Client Portal. Files on the case or on the client record alone do not have this share control.
1. Open the visit and go to the chart or Files area for that visit.
2. Find each file you want the client to see.
3. Turn the control from Hidden to Shared (Client portal).
CoolFocus confirms with a short success message when a file is shared or hidden again.
Ultrasound images tip: Sharing the ultrasound results does not automatically share every attached scan image or video. Share the result and set each image or video you want them to see to Shared.
A secured message keeps the private content out of plain SMS (regular text). With a secured message, the client usually gets a short text invite with a link, enters her portal login criteria, then reads and replies to the full message there, or views test results.
Before you send
• Your organization needs Inbox and a connected text number so the invite text can be sent. See Purchasing Your Text Number.
• The client needs a valid mobile number on their client record (used for the invite and for portal log-in).
• Confirm the phone number and date of birth on the client’s record are correct — the client uses those to sign in. See Client Portal Login.
How to send a new secured message
1. Open Inbox.
2. Select the New button (plus +). The tooltip says Create new conversation.
You can also press n from Inbox to start a new secure message.
3. In the New Conversation window:
• Choose Secure (secured message), not a regular text.
• Search for and select the client in To.
• Enter a Subject (required for secured messages).
• Type the message. You can be as clear as you need — this content is for the portal, so the actual message content will not be visible on their lock screen.
• Optional: attach one image or short video with the paperclip. This is not the same as sharing ultrasound images or other visit test results in the portal.
Ultrasound images and other visit information you already marked **Shared** on the visit are already available in the Client Portal. You do **not** need to attach those files here. Use the secured message to let the client know there is new information to view or read in the portal, or to send other sensitive information in the message itself. A paperclip attachment is only for something **different** or **in addition to** visit files you have already shared from the Visit.
Allowed types include JPEG, PNG, GIF, and MP4 or 3GPP video, up to 5 MB. See [Message Attachments](https://docs.coolfocus.app/docs/inbox-messaging/message-attachments).
4. Select Send.
After you send, CoolFocus opens the new conversation so you can keep working there.
What the client receives
1. CoolFocus texts a short secure message invite that includes a link to the Client Portal (administrators can customize that invite wording — see Customizing the Secure Message Invite).
2. The client opens the link.
3. They sign in with their phone number, a one-time code texted to them, and their date of birth.
4. In the portal they open Messages to read your secured message and reply.
If you also shared visit results or files, those appear under Results (and related file sections) after login.
Replying in an existing conversation
Open the conversation in Inbox, confirm the channel is Secure (not Text), write your reply, and send. Switch the message channel to Secure before including private details.
1. On the visit, share the results and set the files you want them to see to Shared.
2. Send a secured message that tells the client there is information to review (for example: “Your visit results are ready in the Client Portal. Please open the link in this text, sign in, and review Messages and Results.” Administrators can customize this invite wording — see Customizing the Secure Message Invite).
3. If the client cannot sign in, check phone number and date of birth on the client record, or use Client Portal Sign In Log (administrators).
• Default to Secure when you are unsure whether something is private.
• Plain web addresses starting with http:// or https:// in a secured message become clickable links in Inbox and in the portal after the client signs in.
• Image and video paperclip attachments on a secured message show inline in the portal message (preview for photos; play controls for video). These are separate from visit files marked Shared, which the client opens under Results.
• Closing a conversation never deletes it. History stays available for your team.
• Administrators can set whether new conversations open as Text or Secure by default in Inbox Settings.
• What Counts as a Text Message & What are the Text Usage Fees?
• Client Portal Login
• When to Use a Regular Text vs. a Secured Message
• Managing Conversations & Sending Messages in Inbox
• Customizing the Secure Message Invite
• Message Attachments
• Getting Started in the Inbox
• Purchasing Your Text Number
• Client Portal Sign In Log
How clients sign in with phone, text code, and date of birth — and how staff troubleshoot with Sign In Log.
Find Client Portal Sign In Log under Care Settings, read failed login attempts, and fix phone, date of birth, or code issues.