In Instinct EMR, the Pet Owner Portal lets pet owners view and download their pet's visit history, chart notes, lab results, estimates, invoices, and vaccine certificates—all in one place. This article explains what records are visible in the portal and how practices control document sharing.
What pet owners can see in Medical Records
Pet owners access the Medical Records tab in the portal to view and filter records by pet. The following record types can be made available:
Chart Documents: charts with a Complete status, documents at To Sign status, and uploaded files or attachments in visit and non-visit sections. Only document types not excluded in the portal settings are shown, and only when the Pet Portal Sharing toggle is on for that document.
Diagnostics and Imaging: blood work results and imaging reports that have reached the status defined in your portal settings (To Review, To Share, or Completed). Diagnostic images are not currently available.
Estimates: completed estimates (signed or completed without signature) showing low and high cost, subtotal, tax (if applicable), total, and estimated duration.
Invoices: closed invoices with itemized details.
Rabies/Vaccine Certificates: both signed and unsigned certificates.
Pet owners can filter by record type or select a specific year using the drop-down in the upper right corner of the Medical Records tab.
Warning: When editing a completed estimate, pet owners may see the estimate in an incomplete or in-progress state if they access the portal before you re-complete it. If the estimate contains sensitive pricing or information, communicate directly with the client before making changes.
Control document sharing at the practice level
Practice admins can exclude specific document types from the portal using the drop-down under Chart Documents in Admin → Pet Owner Portal → Settings. Document types added to this list will never be shared with pet owners, even if the Chart Documents category is enabled.
Control document sharing at the individual document level
Staff can turn sharing on or off for a single document using the three-dot menu. This menu is accessible from the document's row in the patient chart or from within the opened chart.
Locate the document in the patient chart (in the non-visit section or within a visit card).
Select the three-dot menu on the document's row.
Select Turn On Pet Portal Sharing to enable sharing, or Turn Off Pet Portal Sharing to disable it.
Individual document sharing control is available for Chart Documents, Chart Files, and Lab Reports/Diagnostics. It is not currently available for Invoices or Estimates.
Note: Individual document sharing overrides both category-level and template-level settings—it is the highest level of control. Turning off sharing for one document only affects that specific document; it does not change settings for other documents of the same type.
Documents uploaded to the portal are shared by default. If a document should not be shared, staff must manually turn sharing off after uploading.
Check sharing status with the Pet Portal column
In the patient chart, a Pet Portal column appears in both the non-visit section and the visit card. A sharing icon in this column means the document is currently shared in the portal. If the column is blank for a document, that document will not appear in the Pet Owner Portal.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't a completed chart document appearing in the portal?
Check if the document type is in your excluded list. In Admin → Pet Owner Portal → Settings under the Share Medical Records section, make sure the toggle is on for Chart Documents and that the specific document type that isn’t appearing is not excluded.
Can pet owners download records?
Yes. Pet owners can view and download their pet's records directly from the Medical Records tab.
Are diagnostic images available in the portal?
Not currently. Only text-based lab reports and imaging reports are available. Diagnostic images are not yet supported.
Still need help?
Contact support via live chat or email [email protected].