Secure Messages and Patient File Sharing
Spruce centers day-to-day care communication around conversations between a patient and a participating practice. Patients can send and receive secure messages from the mobile app or web, keeping follow-up questions, appointment details, and replies in a single thread instead of splitting the exchange across ordinary texting, voicemail, and email.
The patient experience also supports sharing files and photos with the care team, making it practical to pass along documents or information requested during care. Alerts help users notice new activity, while the practice side can manage conversations with a shared inbox. Availability depends on the services enabled by the connected practice, but the workflow is built for ongoing non-emergency communication.
Provider Invitations and Connected Care Access
Patients generally begin by joining through a link or invitation from their provider, then use the app's account flow to create a profile or sign in. This keeps the patient connected to the intended practice rather than presenting Spruce as an open public chat. Once the relationship is set up, the same account provides a place to reach the care team and manage supported services.
The Android welcome screen offers separate paths for creating a new account and logging in to an existing one, which makes the decision clear. Providers can direct patients to the right connection route, and the patient page supports finding a provider. This setup suits people whose clinic already uses Spruce and want a recognizable channel for recurring care conversations.
Video Visits and Clinical Questionnaires
Spruce extends communication beyond text with provider-initiated video calling. A practice can arrange a virtual visit, then the patient joins from Android, web, or another supported device when the call is offered. Keeping the call inside the care relationship helps patients move from messages to a face-to-face conversation without switching to a separate meeting app.
Clinical questionnaires add a structured intake option for practices that use Spruce Visits. They can collect answers before or between appointments, helping the care team prepare for follow-up and screening. Patients who need remote care, recurring check-ins, or a more organized pre-visit process may find these tools useful, although the exact services depend on the connected provider.
Unified Communication for Healthcare Teams
For practices, Spruce brings phone, text, fax, secure messages, video, and team communication into one workspace. A shared inbox gives staff a common place to handle patient conversations, while internal notes and team chats keep coordination separate from messages intended for the patient.
Teams can also use contact and conversation organization, assignments, scheduled messages, reusable replies, after-hours rules, and routing tools to make recurring work easier to manage. This setup is suited to solo clinicians and growing practices that need clearer ownership across mobile and desktop workflows, especially when patient communication spans several channels. It helps practices preserve context while responding consistently across the day.
