What is a phone call or other interaction log?
A communication log is the note you keep of a conversation about a patient that didn't happen in Digitail. Use Log phone call for a call on the clinic's line, and Log other interaction for everything else: a conversation with the client at the front desk or in the consult room, a discussion with another clinic or a referral vet, or any other exchange you want on record. You log it on the patient's Timeline, so the next person who opens the case can see what was said, when, and who you spoke with.
Logs sit in the Client Communications section of the Timeline, next to the emails and text messages your clinic sends. Sending an email or a text message is covered in Send a direct message to a client.
How this helps your daily work
Front desk / receptionists - note a call or conversation while it is fresh, including who it was with, so a co-owner's call isn't filed as a call with the Pet Parent
Vets & nurses - record what you told a client about results or aftercare, and file it to the SOAP it belongs to
Practice managers - see every call and conversation with a client next to the emails and texts, on the Timeline and in the Communication Log
Where to find it
Open the patient's Health Card and go to the Timeline. Click the arrow next to the speech-bubble icon (Add Communication), then choose Log phone call or Log other interaction.
[Screenshot: Timeline header with the Add Communication dropdown open + red indicator on Log phone call and Log other interaction]
You can also start a log from anywhere that opens Add New Communication Update, such as Communication in the patient side panel's quick actions, and switch the Type to Log phone call or Log other interaction.
How to log a phone call or other interaction
Open the patient's Timeline and choose Log phone call or Log other interaction from the Add Communication dropdown. The Add New Communication Update window opens.
In Spoke with, pick the person you talked to: the Pet Parent or one of the patient's contact persons, such as a co-owner. (Optional)
Type a Subject, for example "Called about blood results". (Required)
Check the Date. It starts on the current date and time, so change it if you are logging the conversation later. (Required)
Write what was said in the notes field. You can use bold, lists, links and tables, or dictate instead of typing. (Optional)
Add Files if you need to, by dropping them in or clicking to upload. Each file can be up to 20 MB. (Optional)
Check Pets. It starts with the patient you opened the log from, and you can add the client's other pets when the conversation was about more than one. At least one pet is required.
Pick the SOAP the conversation belongs to in Record, or leave it on No record. (Optional)
Click Save.
You see "The communication has been created!", and the log appears in Client Communications on the Timeline of every pet you selected, with the subject as its title and a Spoke with line naming the person you picked.
Note: Spoke with is being turned on for clinics gradually. If you don't see the field yet, it isn't on for your clinic so far, and logs are saved against the pets only.
Other things you can do
Record who you spoke with
Spoke with lists the patient's Pet Parents first, then its contact persons. It starts empty on every new log, so a log only names someone when you pick them.
Leave it empty when you don't know who you spoke with, for example a voicemail left on a shared line
Pick a contact person when a co-owner, a family member or a pet sitter on file called instead of the Pet Parent
Leave it empty for anyone else - another clinic, a referral vet or a lab isn't a client or contact person, so name them in the subject or notes
Change or clear it later from Edit, if you picked the wrong person
The person you pick has to be linked to every pet on the log. If they aren't, the log isn't saved and you see "The selected contact isn't linked to the selected pets." Remove the pets they aren't linked to, or log the conversation separately for each pet.
On a call made or received with Digitail VoIP, Spoke with shows the person the call was matched to and can't be changed.
Edit or delete a log
On the Timeline, find the log in Client Communications.
Click the Actions menu (⋯) on the log.
Choose Edit to change the subject, date, notes, files, pets, record or Spoke with, then click Save. Or choose Delete and confirm.
You can't change the type of a log once it is saved. The Actions menu only appears on phone, VoIP and other logs, not on emails or text messages.
File a log to a SOAP
Pick the SOAP in Record when you save the log, or later from Edit. A log without a record shows No record associated. on the Timeline, with a Select one button to link it there. The log then appears on that record, and you can include it when you download or share a medical summary.
Note: Record only shows when exactly one pet is selected, and only for team members with both the Edit Records and Manage Client Communications permissions.
Dictate or summarize with Tails
With the Tails AI Assistant, you can dictate your notes instead of typing them, and use Summarize to turn long notes into a short summary. On a phone log, dictation also shows the transcriptions you recorded so you can correct them. See Tails AI Dictation.
Save a Tails chat summary as a log
When you summarize a conversation with a Pet Parent with Tails, click Create Client Communication. The log opens as Log other interaction, with the subject and the summary filled in. Check the pets, then click Save.
Tips & best practices
Log the call while you are still on it - the date starts at the current time, and dictation saves typing
Pick the person, not just the pet - when a co-owner calls, Spoke with keeps the record honest about who was told what
Write a subject someone can scan - "Discussed dental estimate" tells the next person more than "Phone call"
File clinical calls to the SOAP - results and aftercare conversations then sit with the visit they belong to
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where do phone call and other interaction logs show up?
On the Timeline of each pet on the log, in Client Communications, and in the Communication Log under Channel Phone or Other. They don't appear in the Inbox.
Who can I pick in Spoke with?
The patient's Pet Parents and its contact persons. To pick someone who isn't on file yet, add them as a contact person on the client profile first. For a conversation with another clinic or a referral vet, leave Spoke with empty and name them in the subject or notes.
Do I have to fill in Spoke with?
No. It is optional, and a log saves with nobody selected.
Why can't I change Spoke with on a call?
The call was made or received with Digitail VoIP, and Spoke with shows the person the call's phone number was matched to. Logs you add by hand can always be changed.
Why do I see "The selected contact isn't linked to the selected pets."?
The person in Spoke with isn't linked to every pet on the log. Remove the pets they aren't linked to, or log the conversation separately for each pet.
Can I log a call or interaction for several pets at once?
Yes. Add the client's other pets in Pets, and the log appears on each of their Timelines. A log with more than one pet can't be filed to a SOAP.
Can I record the call itself?
Not from this window. A phone log holds the notes you write or dictate. Calls made with Digitail VoIP are logged on their own, see Making and Receiving Calls with Digitail VoIP.