Using Ona Assistant
Open Ona Assistant from anywhere in the dashboard, ask practice-wide or record-specific questions, and check the context behind each answer before you rely on it.
Ona Assistant is a chat assistant with context of your organization and, when you're on a patient or visit, of that record too. You ask in plain language; it answers from what's actually in your Ona data.
How do I open Ona Assistant?
In the launcher at the bottom-right of any dashboard page, open Ona Assistant.
The panel opens with the Ona mark and Assistant label at the top, a personalized greeting, and suggestion prompts you can click to start a conversation. Below that, the composer shows the question input, the current context, Attach files, and the Legal information note. After you send attachments, uploaded images appear in the conversation as previews, and uploaded documents appear as file links using the file name or Document.
The context chips are the thing to watch. They tell you what "this patient" or "this visit" refers to before you ask — so you're not guessing whether the Assistant knows who you mean.
How do I ask about a patient or visit?
In the left sidebar, click Patients and then click the patient's name, or click Visits and then click the visit you want. Then open Ona Assistant from the launcher at the bottom-right of the app. With a patient or visit in context, you can ask directly about that record.
Use the Patient record (1) to confirm the chart is open, and the Open Ona Assistant (2) button at the bottom-right to launch the panel.
Before you ask, check the context chips to confirm the right patient or visit is loaded. Ask "What is this patient's main concern and diagnosis?" and the Assistant answers from the chart.
In the example, it responds with the main concern, the coded diagnosis, and another problem-list item with supporting lab detail and date, then offers a follow-up such as a brief timeline across recent visits.
That answer is drawn entirely from the patient's record — the reason for visit, the diagnosis codes, the observations. It's reading the chart, not guessing. After you send your question, you get a chart-based starting point that you can review against the source record.
What can I ask?
From anywhere in the dashboard, open Ona Assistant to ask practice-wide questions. If you want patient- or visit-specific help, open that record first so the Assistant loads that context.
Use the Assistant header (1) to stay oriented in the panel. Use the Ask anything input (2) to type the question in plain language.
Two broad patterns work best:
- Ask about your organization when you need practice-level context.
- Ask about a specific patient or visit after you open that record first.
Useful questions include summarizing a patient's history, pulling together what happened across recent visits, asking what a result means in context, or getting a starting point for a note or plan. If a file matters to your question, use Attach files before you send it. After you send the message, those files stay visible in the conversation.
What should I check before I rely on an answer?
In Ona Assistant, review the context and the answer before you use it for clinical work.
Use the Context chips (1) to confirm what patient or visit the Assistant is using. Read the Answer area (2) as a summary and starting point, not as the final word. Read the Legal information note (3) once so you understand the panel's terms and limits.
Ona Assistant is fast for orientation, summary, and pulling details together across the record. It is not a substitute for reading the chart yourself. Treat its response the same way you would treat any AI-drafted output: useful to get started, but something you verify before you rely on it. For note review workflows, see Reviewing and signing an AI-drafted note.
What can't I do here?
In Ona Assistant, keep these limits in mind:
- Patient- or visit-specific answers depend on the record you already have open and the matching context chips.
- If you stay on a general dashboard page, your question uses organization context instead of a specific chart.
- Ona Assistant is not a substitute for reading the chart yourself before you act on it clinically.
Common questions
Does Ona Assistant work outside a patient chart?
Yes. On general dashboard pages, it can answer practice-level questions using organization context. Open a patient or visit first when you want record-specific answers.
What do the context chips mean?
They show what Ona Assistant is currently using as context before it answers. Check them first whenever you ask about "this patient" or "this visit."
Can I attach files to a question?
Yes. Use Attach files in the panel before you send your message. Images show in the conversation as previews, and other files stay visible there as attachments.
Should I copy an answer straight into the chart?
Use the answer as a starting point, then verify it against the record before you document or act on it.
Where can I read more about how AI uses our data?
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