DrChrono Virtual Assistant Guide: Onpatient, Clinical Notes, and iPad Workflow Setup

DrChrono is an iPad-first cloud EHR popular with small-group and specialty practices, especially in physical therapy, orthopedics, podiatry, and concierge primary care. Its strengths (mobile clinical notes, Onpatient portal, integrated billing) come with workflow quirks that a virtual medical assistant has to learn explicitly.

Practices that onboard a DrChrono-trained virtual medical assistant correctly typically free up 12 to 18 hours of provider time per week and recover $2,000 to $4,500 per month in revenue cycle leakage.

What makes DrChrono different

DrChrono's clinical note system is form-driven and template-heavy. The Onpatient portal is patient-facing and tied to scheduling and intake forms. The billing module is built in (not a separate product) and integrates directly with Medical Billing service when used. And the iPad client is a first-class citizen, not an afterthought.

A virtual medical assistant has to be fluent in the web app, the iPad workflows their provider uses, and the Onpatient portal admin experience.

Step 1: Provision the right user role

DrChrono uses staff role permissions. The two most common we provision: 'Clinical Staff' (for encounter prep, message triage, refill routing, Onpatient triage) and 'Front Desk' (scheduling, intake review, eligibility, demographics). Billing access should be granted separately and only to virtual assistants doing RCM work.

Two-factor authentication should be enabled on every staff account. We require it.

Step 2: Onpatient portal triage

Onpatient is where most DrChrono practices leak time. Patients send messages, request appointments, fill out intake forms, and upload records, and nobody is responsible for triaging the queue.

A virtual medical assistant owning Onpatient triage will: review every incoming message within two business hours, route clinical questions to the right provider, approve or reschedule appointment requests, confirm completed intake forms, and follow up on incomplete ones before the visit.

This single workflow typically eliminates 80% of 'wait, did you see that message?' provider interruptions.

Step 3: Clinical note templates and chart prep

DrChrono clinical note templates are form-driven. A virtual medical assistant can pre-populate the next-day schedule by opening each chart, pulling in last visit details, current medications, active problems, recent labs, and any open referrals. By the time the provider walks in, the SOAP shell is ready.

If the provider uses macros or favorite templates, the VA should be trained on those specifically.

Step 4: Billing setup and charge capture

DrChrono's integrated billing module handles charge capture, claim scrubbing, and submission. A virtual medical assistant trained on RCM can: review the daily charge slip, confirm CPT and ICD-10 coding accuracy, flag missing modifiers, and submit claims daily instead of weekly.

Daily submission alone typically accelerates revenue 4 to 7 days compared with weekly batch submission.

Step 5: iPad workflow gaps to close

Providers who do most of their work on the iPad often forget that some actions (scheduling, billing, certain Onpatient configuration) are easier or only possible in the web app. A virtual medical assistant covering the web side fills the gap. The provider stays in the iPad. The VA handles everything that would otherwise pull the provider back to a laptop.