General

How do I find AHLA Communities? 
Visit Communities at www.connect.americanhealthlaw.org. 

What is AHLA Communities?
AHLA’s online community platform is a one stop shop to connect members with everything AHLA. This means connecting you with other members, leaders, mentors/mentees, volunteer opportunities, new publications, resources, and educational opportunities.

What is my username/password?
Your login credentials are the same username and password that you use to log in to the main AHLA website. If you have forgotten your login credentials or need assistance with your login information, contact us at [email protected].

How do I update my contact information?
On your profile page, select "Edit Profile" on the top of the page. If a field is greyed out, please update that information in the myAHLA portal, which will sync over to the Communities platform the next day.

How do I control who can see I’m online?
On your profile page, select "Edit Profile" on the top of the page. Scroll down to Privacy settings and select from the following options: Public (Users can message you and see when you’re in a post), Invisible (No one will know you’re online), and No Tracking (No one will see you when you’re in a post).

Do the Communities have User Rules?
Yes, the communities are bound by AHLA’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Code of Conduct. By using AHLA’s communities, and AHLA’s websites in general, you agree to these governing documents while engaging with each platform and with other AHLA stakeholders on these platforms.

Community Platform Migration 

How much content was migrated from the old platform to the new platform?
All content 5 years and newer has been migrated over to the new platform. Most of the content lives under the Health Law Topical Discussion Forum, tagged by the area of health law and easily accessible by using the filters and search features. While content from the old platform is historical and uneditable, it can still be commented on. 

Content posted to AHLA Communities between August 13th–31st may not be initially in the new platform, but we will be moving it over following the launch in early September. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Will my notifications preferences change?
All members are automatically enrolled in the “Daily Digest”, receiving a digest email each morning for the previous day’s activity within Communities. You can change your email preferences by going to the Communication Preference Center in the myAHLA Portal.

What is the Mentorship and Sponsorship Community?
You can change your mentorship status by navigating to your profile within Communities and scroll down to "Mentor Profile", select from the following options in the drop-down menu: "Active Mentor", "Seeking Mentee", "Active Mentee", or "Seeking Mentor". AHLA members can find and connect with you based on your identifier. 

Additionally, we now have a Mentorship and Sponsorship Community that provides a forum for sharing resources and experiences that help mentorship relationships thrive.

What communities do I already belong to?
All members are automatically sync’d into the Health Law Discussion Forum as well as your corresponding Practice Group Communities, and any Leadership Committee Communities based on your volunteer service. All members have also been automatically sync’d with their health law topical interests based on the topical communities enrolled in the previous platform. These preferences can be changed at any time by going to the Communication Preference Center in the myAHLA Portal.

Premium members can add or remove Practice Groups by visiting the My Membership page in the myAHLA portal. Members at the Enhanced or Full membership level can upgrade their membership to add additional Practice Groups by contacting us at [email protected]. Changes will sync overnight to the communities platform.

To review your communities, click the “Communities” link found in the main navigation bar. Here you will find all the communities you belong to and the communities that are open for you to join. You can also find your communities by going to your profile and scrolling down to “Communities" section.

Contacts/Connections

How do I find other members?
Click the “Community Members” link found in the main navigation bar. The Directory lets you search for other users based on:

• First and/or last name
• Company/Institution name
• Email address
• Community membership

Filter your results using the tags in the right-hand column with the following categories:

• Leadership Title
• Leadership Group
• Professional Category

Please note that adding filters expands your search results, showing results where any one of the tags selected applies.

How do I chat with other members?
Find the profile of the member with whom you would like to chat. On the top of their profile click “Message.” A chat box will pop up on the bottom of your window where you can begin to chat. To view your previous message history, click the text bubble icon in the main navigation bar.  

Communities/Networks

What Communities are there?
There are four community categories:

• Discussion Forums: This includes the Health Law Topical Discussion Forum and the Leadership Discussion Forum. The Health Law Topical Discussion Forum will encourage members to connect with one another on all relevant health law topics. Likewise, the Leadership Discussion Forum enables leaders to connect within and across leadership groups about relevant issues and initiatives.
• Practice Groups: This includes all Practice Group communities and only accessible by members of those groups. This is an area for AHLA to disseminate Practice Group content and for AHLA Practice Group leaders to engage directly with those enrolled in the Group.
• Professional Networks: Communities based on members in similar career stages, with similar demographics, and/or shared interests. They provide a safe space for members and allies to share and connect professionally from unique perspectives.
• Board Committees: A forum for board committees to store information, discuss the work of the committee, set up calls, and engage in strategic discussions.

How do I join a community?
For communities that are not sync’d based on being a member, your Practice Group(s), or your volunteer service, click the “Communities” link found in the main navigation bar to find the other communities that are open for you to join. Click the Community you wish to join and click Join at the top of the page.

How do I leave a community?
Go to your profile and scroll down to the Communities section. Choose the Community you wish to leave. At the top of the page click “Leave Community.” You can rejoin a community at any time.

However, Practice Group communities cannot be left unless you adjust your Practice Group enrollments.  Likewise, you cannot leave the Leadership Discussion Foum until your volunteer leadership service is complete. 

Can I search for posts across all the communities?
Yes, you can search for posts across all the communities to which you belong. Click on the magnifying glass icon found in the main navigation bar. Type in the word or phrase you are looking for, results will automatically populate.

Posts & Threads

How do I start a new discussion thread? 
You can post in the Health Law Topical Discussion Forum, or any other community to which you belong. 

Go to the Community you wish to post in. Click “Create” in the navigation bar. Select “Discussion” in the drop down menu and draft your post. Click “Post” in the upper right-hand corner. 

How do I post anonymously? 
Click on the “Create” link found in the main navigation bar. Select “Anonymous Discussion” in the drop down menu. Fill out the form and click submit. AHLA staff will review the post, post it to the Health Law Topical Discussion Forum, and add you to “following” the post—this will ensure you are alerted when someone responds while maintaining your anonymity, as other users cannot see posts you follow.

How do I import a published article in a community?
Click on the “Create” link found in the main navigation bar. Select “Import article.” Paste the link of your article and select the Community where you want your article to appear.

How do I import a video in a community? 
Click on the "Create" link found in the main navigation bar. Select "Video." Paste the link of your video and select the Community where you want your video to appear. 

How do I respond to others’ posts? 
Click on the post to which you wish to respond. Type your comment in the comment box and click on “Post.”

How do I collaborate on content in a community?
Within any* article or discussion in any Community, you can insert inline comments under any paragraph in the content. Here’s how:
1. Hover to the right of the paragraph you’d like to comment on.
2. Click the bubble that pops up.
3. Type your comment. You can also insert files or upload images here.

*This feature is not available on content migrated from the previous platform. 

What are the tags for?
Tags are a great way to organize and categorize content across the Communities platform. Not only can you search content by tags, you can also choose to be notified when someone posts an article or discussion thread with a tag you are following.

Events

How do I see upcoming AHLA events?
Click “Dashboard” found in the main navigation bar. Find the box labeled “Upcoming Events” in the right-hand column.

How do I register for an event?
Click on the event you want, and then click “Register” for that event.

Will others see I have RSVP’d to an event?
No, if you register for an event others will not see. However, if you want others to see you are attending an event, click “Attending” on the top right of the event page.

Volunteer Center

Where do I find the volunteer center?
Click on the “Volunteer Center” link found in the main navigation bar.

How do I filter volunteer opportunities for my interests?
Scroll down on the page and use the right-hand column to sort volunteer opportunities by type of opportunity, time commitment, the group requesting volunteers, the health law content it relates to, and skill level required.  

Notifications

How can I control the frequency and format of emails I receive?
All members are automatically enrolled in the “Daily Digest”, receiving a digest email each morning for the previous day’s activity within Communities. You can change your email preferences by going to the Communication Preference Center in the myAHLA Portal.

I’m not receiving digest emails. How do I fix this?
Go to the Communication Preference Center in the myAHLA Portal. Make sure “Email Digest” is selected. If it is selected or you still do not receive your email digest after making that selection, contact us at [email protected].

Will I be notified if someone replies to a thread I started?
Yes. You can also choose to be notified immediately when someone replies to a thread, or you are mentioned in a thread by checking the “As-it-happens” box in the Communication Preference Center in the myAHLA Portal.

How do I follow a thread so I get notifications when new replies are posted on it?
Click on the Discussion you are wanting to follow. Click the “Follow” button on the left side of window. If you wish to unfollow a Discussion you can click the “Unfollow” button on the left side of the window.

Troubleshooting Errors

We will occasionally be making updates to the platform. This may disrupt your ability to access certain pages or features. If this should occur, you can quickly solve this issue by Clearing your Cache. 
How to clear your cache depending on your browser: 
Chrome
Microsoft Edge
Safari
Firefox