Using the notifications center

The notifications center is the bell in the sidebar footer. It shows unread notifications for you and refreshes while you work.

Owners and admins manage practice-wide notification settings in Settings → Notifications. In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under General, click Notifications. Those settings control automated email and SMS notifications, visit reminders, intake timing and message templates.

How do I view notifications?

Use the bell in the sidebar footer to see unread notifications without leaving the page you are on.

1. In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications.
2. Review the Notifications list.
3. If a notification has an action label, use it to see where the row will take you.

The bell badge shows the unread count. Counts above 9 display as 9+. If there are no unread notifications, the list says You're all caught up.

How do I open a notification?

Open a notification from the sidebar bell when you want to go straight to the work it refers to. Notifications with a destination show an action label, such as Go to task or Go to visit.

1. In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications.
2. Find the notification you want to handle.
3. Select the notification row.

Ona opens the related page and marks that notification read. Depending on the event, the notification may open a task, chat, lead, note, visit, lab order, unmatched lab results, a patient's forms, consents, interviews, prescriptions, or the caller's call conversation.

Some notifications do not have a destination. Those rows do not show an action label.

How do I dismiss notifications?

Dismiss a notification from the sidebar bell when you have already handled it or do not need to open it.

1. In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications.
2. Point to the notification row.
3. Select Dismiss notification on the row.

The notification is marked read and removed from the unread list.

How do I mark all notifications read?

Use Mark all read in the sidebar bell when you want to clear the unread list at once.

1. In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications.
2. Select Mark all read.

All currently unread notifications are marked read. The bell count clears when there are no unread notifications left.

How do I change practice notification settings?

Owners and admins can change practice-wide notification settings from Settings → Notifications. In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under General, click Notifications. These settings shape how clinic events reach the team and patients.

1. In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom).
2. In the settings menu, under General, click Notifications.
3. In Emails, turn email notification types on or off.
4. In SMS, turn SMS notification types on or off if SMS is available.
5. In Intake timing, choose when visit consents, forms and interviews are sent.
6. In Visit reminders, turn reminders on, then add or edit reminder rules.
7. Save the changes from the Unsaved notification changes bar.

If you change your mind before saving, discard the changes from the Unsaved notification changes bar. Ona only saves these settings when you save that bar.

SMS requires a provisioned phone number. If SMS is not available, Ona shows a warning and disables SMS notification settings. Patient texts also require the patient's SMS consent and a phone number on file.

For more detail about configuring notification settings and templates, see Notifications and reminders and Editing notification templates.

What notification types can appear in the bell?

In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications. Each notification row has a label for the event type. When the row has a destination, the action label tells you where it will take you.

Notification label	Opens
Task reminder	The task
Mention	The related task, chat, lead or note
Missed call, Answered by AI, or Missed call · voicemail	The caller's call conversation
Patient joined	The visit
Consent signed	The patient's consents
Form submitted	The patient's forms
Interview completed	The patient's interviews
Critical lab result, Abnormal lab result, or Lab result	The lab result
Lab order needs attention, Lab order closed, Lab draw appointment, or Lab order placed outside Ona	The lab order, when the notification includes the order
Unmatched lab result	Unmatched lab results
DoseSpot Alert, Prescription Update, or DoseSpot	The patient's prescriptions, when linked to a patient

Other patient-linked notifications that do not have a more specific destination may open the patient's prescriptions. Notifications without enough information to open a destination stay as informational rows.

What can't I do here?

In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications. For notification settings, click Settings (at the bottom) in the left sidebar, then click Notifications under General. The notifications center and notification settings have these limits:

• The bell shows unread notifications only. It is not a full notification history.
• The bell does not include a mark-unread action for dismissed notifications.
• Staff and clinicians can use the bell, but they cannot manage Settings → Notifications unless they also have an owner or admin role.
• SMS notification settings cannot be used until SMS is available for the practice.
• Each reminder rule keeps at least one channel.
• Reminder times must be whole numbers of at least 1 in the chosen unit. Scheduled intake timing uses hours or days.

Common questions

Why does the bell show 9+?

The badge shows exact counts up to 9. When there are more than 9 unread notifications, the badge shows 9+.

Do notifications disappear when I open them?

Yes. Opening a notification's destination marks that notification read, so it leaves the unread list.

What if notifications fail to load?

In the sidebar footer, select Open notifications, then select Try again. Ona also refreshes notifications while you work.

Can I turn off SMS notifications for patients?

Owners and admins can turn SMS notification types off in Settings → Notifications. In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under General, click Notifications. SMS messages also require the patient's SMS consent and a phone number on file.

Can I edit the wording of notification messages?

Yes, if you are an owner or admin. In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under General, click Notifications, then select Edit templates in Message templates. See Editing notification templates.