Responding to a crisis alert
Step-by-step: what triggers a Pippa risk alert email, what it contains, and how to open the patient, check Conversations and the Safety Plan, and reach out.
Pippa emails you a risk alert when it detects a high-risk signal from a patient you have a signed agreement with. This page walks the response, start to finish. Move quickly, but read the whole picture before you act.
Pippa is not a monitored crisis line and does not call for help on its own. If a patient may be about to harm themselves, direct them to call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. For eating-disorder support, point them to ANAD at 888-375-7767. The alert email tells you a concern was raised; it is on the care team to respond.
What triggers the alert
An email goes out when Pippa's moderation flags a self-harm or crisis signal, or when a clinician records a positive suicide screen. The sources are:
- Conversations with the in-app AI: a message from the patient is flagged for self-harm content.
- A message to the care team: the patient's message runs through the same moderation and is flagged.
- A positive C-SSRS: a clinician records a score of 4 or higher on the Measures tab.
- A flagged questionnaire or mood note: a self-reported measure or note raises a safety concern.
The alert is sent to every clinician who holds a signed agreement (granted consent) with that patient. If nobody has consent, no email is sent, because there is no one authorized to see the patient's data.
What the email contains
The email is deliberately low on detail so it is safe to receive anywhere. It tells you:
- What happened, in plain language, for example "Pippa flagged concerning content in their conversation."
- The patient's name (from the consent record).
- A short detail line, such as the flagged categories.
- A Review and acknowledge button that opens that patient's dashboard page.
The response, step by step
Tap Review & acknowledge. It takes you straight to the patient's page. The Conversations tab shows a flag badge, and the concern appears at the top of the page in the concern panel.
The panel at the top of the patient page states, in a "Flagged because" line, exactly what tripped the alert. A crisis flag is shown in the acute (red) band. Read the why line before opening anything else so you know what you are looking for.
Go to Conversations. The risk box shows the flagged categories, the exact excerpt that was flagged (in quotes), and when it was flagged. Read the surrounding recent messages for context, since a single line can read very differently in the flow of a conversation. See the Conversations tab for how this view is built.
Go to Safety Plan. If the patient has a Stanley-Brown safety plan, review it: their warning signs, coping strategies, people to call, and means-safety steps. If there is no plan yet, this is the moment to build one. The plan is shared with the care team and shows read-only in the patient's app, so it is there when they need it. See the Safety Plan tab.
Use your usual clinical pathway to make contact: a phone call for anything acute, otherwise a warm, direct message from the Messages tab. Keep it human and non-alarming. Name that you saw they were having a hard time and that you are here. Do not quote the flagged text back at them. See writing messages that land.
Once you have reviewed and responded, press Acknowledge on the concern so the care team knows it has been handled. Acknowledging is a record that a person looked, not a claim that the risk is resolved.
Write a clinical note on the Notes tab, set its risk level, and record what you saw and what you did. If you administered a C-SSRS, record it on the Measures tab and pair it with an updated safety plan.
Marking an alert acknowledged only tells your colleagues someone has seen it. It does not close the clinical loop. Follow your own crisis and duty-to-warn procedures. Pippa is a tool that surfaces a signal; the clinical judgment and the follow-through are yours.
Hotlines to keep close
Call or text 988 for any acute suicide or self-harm concern.
Eating-disorder support and referrals. Pippa routes patients here in the app.