How to set up client portal access after an EHR switch
Set up client portal access after an EHR switch by confirming with the new vendor whether portal accounts can move or must be re-invited, preparing invitations and a short client message, sending them from the new system after go-live, and spot-checking a sample of portal logins before the old portal is turned off.
- A client portal is the login clients use for forms, messages, documents and sometimes payments, and portal accounts often stay with the old system.
- Most switches need new invitations or a login reset, so plan the client message and the front desk script together.
- Spot-check a sample of client portal logins after go-live and keep one owner for portal questions.
Do client portal accounts move to the new EHR?
Often they do not move as working logins. Passwords and portal sessions belong to the old system, so clients usually get a new invitation or a reset link from the new one. Portal content can be different: completed forms and shared documents may move with each chart, while messages sent through the old portal may arrive as documents or stay in the archive. Ask your new EHR vendor how its portal invitations work, and check the test export for portal forms and messages.
What do clients need to know?
Keep it to what they must do:
- The new portal address, or that an invitation email is coming from the new system
- How to accept the invitation or reset the login
- Where forms, messages and payments live from go-live on
- Who to call at the practice if the invitation does not arrive
Plan the wording with how to tell clients you are switching EHRs, and give the front desk the same text.
How do you set up portal access step by step?
Step 1: Inventory what the old portal does
List every portal feature clients use today: intake forms, consent signing, secure messages, document sharing, payments and appointment requests. Note which ones the new EHR offers and which will change.
Step 2: Confirm how invitations work in the new EHR
Ask the new vendor whether invitations go out in bulk or one by one, what email or phone the invitation uses, and how resets work. Make sure client email addresses moved correctly with client demographics.
Step 3: Decide what happens to old portal content
For completed forms, shared documents and past messages, decide whether each moves with the chart, moves as a document or stays in the archive. Record the decision in the field mapping.
Step 4: Prepare the client message and front desk script
Write a short message for invitations and a script for calls. State what changes and what the client needs to do, without promising a date you have not set.
Step 5: Send invitations from the new system after go-live
Once the new EHR is live and reminders from the old system are switched off, send invitations from the new portal. Start with clients who have upcoming appointments or open forms.
Step 6: Spot-check a sample of portal logins
Pick a small sample of clients across clinicians and locations, or use staff test accounts if your vendor supports them. Confirm the invitation arrived, the login works, and forms and documents show on the right chart. Log what you find with the other after cutover checks.
Step 7: Retire the old portal on a set date
Turn off the old portal only after the new one is working for most clients and staff know where to send late questions. Tie the date to your old EHR account plan.
What to watch for
- Invitations going to old or missing email addresses.
- Reminders and portal emails still going out from the old system.
- Forms completed in the old portal after go-live that nobody moves.
- Clients told about a new portal before it is ready.
Frequently asked questions
Will clients keep their portal password?
Usually not. Portal logins belong to the old system, so clients accept a new invitation or reset their login in the new one.
Do completed portal forms move with the chart?
Often, as documents or form records, but it depends on the export. Check a sample in the test export and the sample migration.
When should portal invitations go out?
After go-live, from the new system, once old reminders and invitations are switched off. Send to clients with upcoming appointments first.
Does Ferry send portal invitations?
Ferry moves client contact details and portal forms the export contains. Invitations come from your new EHR, sent by your practice.
For staff access in the new system, see how to set up staff users and permissions. For the full project from inventory to archive, see the EHR data migration guide.
How Ferry helps
Ferry migrates data between behavioral health EHRs at a fixed price, with a reconciliation report for every record type. Get a migration quote.