When a family stalls
Some families never finish onboarding. They lose the email, start the forms and stop, or download the app but never enter the code. This page covers how to tell where they are stuck, and the four ways to get them moving.
Where are they stuck?
The status on the Patients list names the blocker, so read it before you act.
| Status | What it means | What they need from you |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The invite went out, nothing is finished yet | Wait for the automatic reminders |
| Pending Registration | Forms are outstanding: registration, insurance, HIPAA, or your own PDFs | A reminder listing what is missing, or waive the form |
| Pending Acceptance | Forms are done, but nobody has entered the invite code | Resend the code, or read it to them |
| Active | Onboarding is complete, or nothing was required | Nothing |
| Inactive | Archived. See Archiving & reactivating | Reactivate if they return |
The dashboard is more specific still. A pending patient's item in Needs Your Attention names the exact blocker, such as not having entered insurance or not having signed HIPAA consent.
The platform chases them first
Every invited family gets three emails automatically: a welcome on day 0, a reminder on day 3, and a final reminder on day 7. The drip stops as soon as there is nothing left to complete. Record-only patients and families invited without an email address never enter it.
So a family two days past their invite does not need your attention yet. The platform has not finished asking.
Your four options
1. Remind them
From the row's actions menu on the Patients list:
- Remind Acceptance sends a short "let's get started" email carrying the invite code and the programs you turned on.
- Remind Patient sends an itemised email listing exactly which forms are still outstanding.
You can also use Send reminder email in the Program Access panel, which re-sends the app invite with the same code and shows you a preview first.
2. Read them the code
Some families are easier to help on the phone. The row's actions menu shows the patient's invite code and onboarding link without opening the record, so you can read the code out during the call. This view is available to Viewers too.
3. Waive what is blocking them
Go to Patient record → Settings → Onboarding to waive an individual requirement, or restore your practice defaults with Reset to Org Defaults. Waiving registration for a family you onboarded in the office is the common case.
4. Force them active
Patient record → Settings → Patient Status has a Force Active override that skips every requirement at once. Reach for it when the family is genuinely using the app and the paperwork is the only thing standing in the way.
Changing what they were invited to
A family already on Heartful Sprout can be given Heartful Baby, and anything can be turned off, from the Program Access panel. Turning a program off keeps everything the family has already shared.
Reminding, reissuing, and waiving never reset the patient record. Sessions, growth data, and shared logs are all preserved.