Prepare to connect with your patients

There are two ways a patient ends up in your Clinic Workspace. Most clinics use both.

Either way, once the patient is on your list, connecting their Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre, or twiist account keeps their data updating without an office upload.

Before you start

A Base Clinic Workspace holds up to 250 patients and includes everything in this article. Check these four things first:

• Browser: Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to log into Tidepool Web at app.tidepool.org.
• Patient limit: Base workspaces cannot create new patients after reaching 250 in the patient list. Your count shows in the Clinic Summary Bar. See Tidepool+ Patient Limits for the messages you'll see at the limit.
• Permissions: Any Clinic team member can add patients, edit details, send invites, and accept share invitations. Only Clinic Admins can remove patients. See Understanding Clinic team member permissions.
• Location: Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre account connections are available for patients in the United States only.

Some screens mention Tags, Sites, or the Population Health and TIDE Dashboards. Those are Tidepool+ features and are not needed for anything below.

Tell your patients before Tidepool emails them

Patients act on Tidepool emails when they expect them. Clinics that tell patients ahead of time see fewer ignored invites and fewer "is this spam?" calls.

Tell each patient three things, at the visit or through your patient portal:

1. Your clinic now uses Tidepool to review their diabetes data.
2. They'll get an email from Tidepool with your clinic's name in it, asking them to connect their device account.
3. Connecting takes a few minutes and lets your team see their data before visits.

The Clinic Success team keeps message templates for clinic-created accounts, patient-initiated sharing, and telemedicine.

Pathway A: Add a patient yourself

When you create a patient's account, it is shared with your clinic automatically. Adding an email address is what lets the patient connect devices and see their own data at home.

Add a new patient

1. Log into app.tidepool.org to open your Clinic Workspace.
2. Click Add New Patient.
3. Enter Name and Birthdate. MRN, Email, and Diabetes Type are optional. You can also set a non-standard target range.
4. Click Add Patient.

Add an email now if you have one. Without it, Tidepool can't invite the patient to connect a device account. Full steps: Adding a new patient account.

Add an email or MRN later

1. Find the patient by name, email, MRN, or birthdate, or click Show All.
2. Click ... next to the patient, then Edit Patient Details.
3. Enter the email or MRN and click Save Changes.

Saving an email triggers an invitation email to the patient right away. See Adding a patient's email address to an account you created and Editing Patient Details.

Connect a patient's diabetes device account

You send the invite; the patient logs into their own device account to approve it. You never need, or see, their Dexcom, LibreView, or My twiist Portal password.

Send the invite

1. In your Clinic Workspace, find the patient.
2. Click ... next to the patient, then Bring Data into Tidepool.
3. Click Email Invite next to the patient's device: Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre, or twiist.
4. If the patient has no email on file, you'll be asked for one. Enter it and click Send Invite.

The patient gets an email with your workspace name in it and a button to connect their account. The invite can go to any email the patient checks. It does not need to match the email on their device account.

Supported connections

What to expect after the patient connects

• First sync: Tidepool pulls the patient's data, which can take up to 60 minutes on first connect.
• Ongoing sync: New data arrives automatically. Nothing for you to do as a Provider/Clinician.
• Not real-time: The newest data point in Tidepool is never less than about an hour old. Tidepool is not a remote monitoring tool.

What your patient sees

Knowing the patient's side helps you coach them by phone. Here is what happens after you add their email or send a device invite:

1. The email. It comes from Tidepool and names your clinic. The patient clicks or taps Share Diabetes Data with Your Clinic if you added their email during Add New Patient or if you used Bring Data into Tidepool they will click or tap Connect your [Dexcom/Libre/twiist] Account
2. Connect. The patient logs into Dexcom's, LibreView's, or My twiist Portal's own login page.
3. Claim (optional). The patient can set a Tidepool password and confirm their birthdate, then tap Confirm. Skipping this still shares data with you.
4. View at home. A patient who claims their account can log in to see their own data: summary stats on a phone, full views on a computer.

Send patients Receiving an invite to Tidepool from your diabetes care team for screenshots of each step.

If the patient can't find the email, ask them to check spam, then resend it by clicking ... next to the patient, then Bring Data into Tidepool, and then Resend Invite for the account you want them to connect to Tidepool.

Pathway B: Patients who already use Tidepool

Don't create a second account for a patient who already has one. Give them your Clinic Share Code instead, and their existing account and connections come with them.

Give the patient your share code

1. In your Clinic Workspace, find your clinic's 12-character share code.
2. Click the copy button next to it.
3. Send the code to the patient through your EHR portal or other message system.

The patient enters the code from their own account, following Sharing your Data. Clinic Admins get an email each time a patient uses the code. See Using your Clinic share code.

Accept the share invitation

1. In your Clinic Workspace, click Invites. The count shows pending invites, e.g. Invites (2).
2. Click Accept to confirm the patient's details and add them to your Patient List.

Declining can't be undone from your side; the patient would have to share again. Any team member can accept. See Accepting a patient's share invitation.

Uploading devices in clinic

For pumps and meters without a cloud connection, upload during the visit with Tidepool Uploader. You need it on each computer that will perform uploads; download it at tidepool.org/download. Ask IT for help installing.

1. Open Tidepool Uploader and log in. Your clinic's name shows at the top.
2. Select the patient and upload as usual. Check tidepool.org/devices for supported devices.

See Uploading patient data for more info.

Helpful tips to get patient data into Tidepool

If you have patients you have created, but do not have data yet, here are some helpful tips.

Resend the invitation email

1. Find the patient and click their name to open their data.
2. Click Resend Verification Email in the banner at the top.

Any team member can do this. See Resending the email to allow your patient to claim their Tidepool Web account.

Resend the diabetes device connection email

1. Find the patient by searching for them in your patient list.
2. Click ... next to the patient, then Bring Data into Tidepool.
3. Click Resend Invite for the account you want the patient to connect to Tidepool.

Can't Add anymore patients?

If you are using the no-cost version of Tidepool, you won't be able to create new patient accounts once your patient list reaches 250.

You'll see a red banner when adding a patient, and the count turns orange in the Clinic Summary Bar. If you would like to increate your patient limit, contact sales about a Tidepool+ plan. Book a Discovery Call with them using this self-scheduling link. See more about patient limits here - Tidepool+ Patient Limits

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