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Two More Client Portals to Try: a Law Firm and a Clinic, From Both Sides
We finished two more working client portals. Calder & Wynn, a fictional law firm, lets its client follow the case, review a document with word-by-word redlines, comment on a clause, approve and sign it, and pay from the trust account, while the firm runs a docket, a conflict check and the matter workspace. Harborview Health, a fictional clinic, gives its patient lab results next to MedlinePlus’s reference ranges, refills that follow the clinic’s rules, phone check-in and messages checked for emergency words, while the care team works an inbox, a refill queue and result release. Both sides share one sandbox, so what you do as the client shows up for the staff.
A client portal is only worth having if it takes work off both sides of the desk. Our accounting portal showed what that looks like for a tax practice. Now two more are finished, each with the client’s side and the staff’s side sharing one sandbox: what you do as the client shows up for the lawyers or the care team, and the other way round.
Calder & Wynn: a law firm’s portal
The client, a coffee roaster in a supplier lawsuit, signs in to its case: the phase it’s in and what that means, the next court dates, the tasks the lawyers need from them, privileged messages and a case calendar with booking.
New this week:
- Document review. A protective order in three versions, with the changes between them shown word by word. The client comments on any clause, approves the agreed final text once the lawyers have answered, and each person who will see confidential documents signs the acknowledgment.
- Billing. The retainer in the trust account with every movement, an invoice that lists each time entry with who did the work and why, and paying it from trust or by card.
- The firm’s side. A docket of every matter’s next deadline, new-client intake that checks the client and every other party against the firm’s records (try “Ambrose”: it finds the other side of the current case and a former client), and the matter workspace where the lawyers answer comments and messages.
Harborview Health: a clinic’s patient portal
The patient, Theo, has a check-up today. His portal starts there:
- Test results next to MedlinePlus’s adult reference ranges, with a small trend over three blood draws. The newest results stay with the doctor until she releases them with a note.
- Refills that follow the clinic’s rules: too early until three quarters of the last fill is used, no refills left goes to the doctor to renew, a controlled medicine is always reviewed. Try them; one is too early on purpose.
- Visits: the pre-visit questions, then checking in from the phone with the copay.
- Messages read first by a nurse. Write “chest pain” and a call-911 warning appears before you send; the message is flagged for a call-back.
- Bills that show what insurance paid and what’s left, a new insurance card from the phone, and sharing the record with family, with full or appointments-and-bills access.
The care team’s side puts urgent messages first, then the refills for the doctor to approve or deny, the results to release and today’s check-in with the patient’s answers.
Why both sides matter
A portal that only the client sees moves the email chase into a nicer window. The work disappears when the rules live in the software: a refill that’s too early never reaches the doctor, a document can’t be approved while a question is open, a conflict is found before anyone gives advice. That’s the part we build around each office’s own way of working, and the part you can try here.
Want one for your firm or practice? See client portals, or start with a free 30-minute call.
Frequently asked questions
Are Calder & Wynn and Harborview Health real?
No. Both businesses, their clients and patients, and every figure, result, medicine and bill are made up, and each page says so. The portals are real: what you do goes through the same kind of server rules a client project would have, saved in your own sandbox for 48 hours.
Where do the lab reference ranges come from?
From MedlinePlus, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's health site; each test links to its page. Ranges vary by lab and by person, and a value outside a range isn't a diagnosis, which the results page says too.
Can I see the staff side without signing in?
Yes. The firm view is at Calder & Wynn's /firm/ pages and the care team's at Harborview's /care/ page. Do something as the client first, then switch: your comment, refill request or check-in is waiting there.
Could you build a portal like this for my firm or practice?
Yes. Both are built from the same parts as our accounting portal, so a new one starts from working pieces, shaped around how your office already works. The first 30-minute call is free.