Account deletion on Spruce differs for patients, teammates, and organizations. Patients can delete their own Spruce account through Settings > Account, and can restore it via an emailed link within a designated window; providers keep the conversation history as part of medical records. Spruce Administrators (admins) deactivate teammates through Settings > Teammates and must reassign the removed user's resources. Organization deletion is admin-only and requires first removing active phone and fax numbers through Team Spruce Support, then selecting Delete Organization in Organization Preferences. Admins can cancel deletion via an emailed link before the data is permanently removed.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Patient Account Deletion
A patient’s Spruce account can only be deleted by the patient themself. They can do this by going to Settings/Account and selecting "Delete Account." Once their account is deleted they will have no access to secure conversations with their provider. Only the patient has the ability to restore their account, which they can do using a link emailed to them during a designated period of time.
Providers will continue to have access to the patient's conversation history. This is part of the provider's medical records and cannot be deleted without deleting the entire organization's Spruce account.
Teammate Account Deletion
Only Spruce Administrators (admins) have the ability to remove teammates from your account. This can be done by going to Settings Teammates and selecting the teammate, and then selecting "Deactivate Account." You will be required to choose a team or teammate to receive the resources belonging to the user you are removing. If you are an admin, please refer to these instructions for removing a teammate and transferring their resources to another team or teammate.
Organization Account Deletion
If you are a healthcare provider on Spruce and you want to delete your entire account on Spruce, you must be the Admin on the Spruce account. Admin users on Spruce are the only users with the ability to delete the organization's Spruce account fully. The organization's account cannot be deleted if there are active phone or fax numbers associated with the account. The admin must first reach out in the Spruce to Team Spruce Support and ask that these numbers be removed. Once the numbers are removed the account users will not be able to use Spruce to make or receive phone calls or SMS messages. There is no guarantee that numbers can be retrieved after release, even if the organization seeks to reactivate the account.
Once the numbers have been removed, the admin must navigate to Settings Organization Preferences and select Delete Organization. Once this action is taken, everyone in the organization will lose access to their account. All users will receive an email confirming the deletion of the organization. Admins will have a URL link in the email to cancel account deletion and restore the account. There will be a date communicated in the email until when the org can be restored, after which the data will be permanently deleted. If an admin does initiate restoration, there is no guarantee that the account will be restored in the same state, and it may not be possible to reclaim the same phone numbers previously provisioned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a provider delete a patient's account on Spruce?
No, only the patient can delete their own Spruce account, by going to Settings > Account and selecting "Delete Account"; patients can restore the account via an emailed link within a designated window.
What happens to a patient's conversation history after they delete their account?
The patient loses access, but the provider keeps the conversation history because it is part of the provider's medical records.
How does a Spruce admin delete an entire organization account?
The admin must first request that Team Spruce Support remove all active phone and fax numbers, then go to Settings > Organization Preferences and select "Delete Organization"; the email confirmation includes a link to cancel the deletion before the data is permanently removed.