Contacts in Spruce represent the people your practice communicates with - patients, referral partners, or other providers. Contacts can be created manually, imported via CSV, or auto-created when unknown numbers reach your practice. Each contact record stores phone numbers, email, custom fields, and links to all conversations. Contacts can be deleted when no longer needed.
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Contact Types
When creating a new contact, you'll have the option between two Contact Types: Patients and Professionals.
Patient Contacts: You should save a contact as a Patient when they are a patient/client of your practice. Saving your contact as a patient gives you the opportunity to invite the patient to Spruce from the contact card. It also serves as a helpful indicator on which patient has the app (and may be messaged securely) and which does not.
Professional Contacts: Professional Contacts are individuals that are not within your Spruce organization, such as colleagues and pharmacies that you commonly communicate with for care coordination. By saving these individuals as contacts, you can more easily send information to them and quickly source previous communications that you’ve exchanged. Note: You cannot invite a professional to Spruce to sign up with an individual account at this time.
Adding a Contact
Whether you are adding a new Patient or Professional Contact, the first step is to navigate to your Contacts tab. You can find your Contacts tab at the bottom of your screen on the mobile app and in the left sidebar on the web.
- First, select New Contact on the web or the + sign on mobile, and choose whether you want to save your contact as a Patient or Professional Contact.
- Fill in relevant information for your new contact (e.g., Name, Phone Number, Fax Number, Date of Birth, etc.).
- Select Save.
- Once you save the contact, you may choose whether or not you'd like to invite the contact to download the Spruce app. To invite them to download the app, click on their contact and select Invite to Spruce. If they download the app, you will be able to exchange secure messages (different from SMS).
Custom Contact Fields
You can create custom fields within your contacts to deliver a more robust, personalized view of the contact within Spruce. For example, you may want to add a custom field that captures insurance information or that houses a link to an EHR record. If you create a custom field at the organization level, it will also be available to use on all your other contacts (Note: you may add custom fields, contact by contact, as well).
You can create a new custom field by going to Settings > Organization Preferences > Custom Field Defaults for Contacts, then selecting the Add Field option. Upon creating a new custom field, you'll be able to fill in a value for it within any contact card by clicking Edit and scrolling to the bottom section called Additional Fields. Once you save the contact, the new custom field and associated value will be visible on the contact.
Deleting Contacts
To delete a contact:
- Navigate to the Contacts tab
- Select the contact you wish to delete
- Select Edit
- Select Delete at the top right on web or scroll down and select Delete Contact on mobile
- Confirm that you'd like to delete the contact.
❗ Important Notes:
- A contact for a patient connected securely on Spruce cannot be deleted.
- Deleting a contact removes their contact information only. Any conversations associated with that contact will remain on Spruce.
Quick Action Buttons
When you are viewing a patient or professional contact, you will see a row of buttons with icons that allow you to quickly communicate with that contact. If an icon is grey, it means that communication channel is disabled (e.g., you cannot select the Secure Message action if a patient has not joined your organization on Spruce.
Patient and Professional Contact Quick Actions
| Name | Icon | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Call | Phone | Starts a new call to that contact. Before the call starts ringing, you will be able to confirm the number you are calling and your Caller ID number. |
| SMS | SMS speech bubble | Starts a new SMS message with that contact. If an SMS conversation already exists, you will be redirected there and can type a new message. |
| Secure Message | Lock | Starts a new secure message with that contact. If a secure conversation already exists, you will be redirected there and can type a new message. The contact must be connected to your organization on Spruce for this action to be enabled. |
| Video Call | Camera | Starts a video call with that contact. Note: The video call will start ringing right away. The contact must be connected to your organization on Spruce for this action to be enabled. |
| Note | Paper | Starts a new note conversation with that contact. This will start a brand new note conversation each time. |
| Fax | Fax machine | Starts a new fax message with that contact. This will start a brand new fax conversation each time. Note: This quick action icon only appears on Professional contacts, but you can add a fax number to any contact to see this option under Contact Details. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a new patient contact to Spruce?
Tap New Contact in the Contacts view, enter the patient’s name and phone number, and save. You can also import contacts in bulk via CSV.
Can I delete a contact in Spruce if they are no longer a patient?
Yes, you can delete a contact from your contact book. Deleting a contact removes it from your contact book, but conversation history will not be deleted. Please note that a contact for a patient connected securely on Spruce cannot be deleted.
Can Spruce auto-create contacts for incoming messages?
Yes. When an unknown number contacts your practice, Spruce automatically creates a conversation thread with an unsaved contact, which can then be associated with a new or existing contact.
Why are some of the quick action buttons on a contact greyed out?
If a quick action button is greyed out, it means that communication channel is not available for that contact. For example, if the contact has not joined Spruce and connected to your organization, you cannot securely message or video call them.