Leads are potential patients who have shown interest in Oto but haven't been enrolled with a full license yet. They're perfect for patients who aren't quite ready to purchase — a lead gets a taste of the Oto app now, and you convert them to a full patient when the time is right.
Leads live in the Leads tab of your Provider Dashboard, separate from your enrolled patients. For getting your practice listed so patients can find you, see the Provider Directory article.
What Leads Can Access in the App
A lead gets introductory access to the Oto app straight away — they don't have to wait until you convert them. As a lead, the patient can:
Use the starter sessions of the therapy program (the first couple of sessions)
Access the full sound library
Introductory access has no time limit — it isn't a trial that expires after a week or a set number of days. A lead keeps the starter sessions and sound library for as long as they remain a lead.
The rest of the therapy program sits behind a "Get Full Access" screen in the app. Once a patient has explored the starter sessions and is ready for the full program, that's your cue to convert them to a full patient — which issues their license and unlocks every session.
How Leads Arrive
From the Provider Directory
When a patient finds your practice in the Oto directory and registers their interest, they automatically appear as a lead:
They create an Oto account linked to your practice
A new lead appears in your Leads tab
You receive their contact details and qualifying information
You can reach out to schedule a consultation
Added manually
You can also add a lead yourself — useful for a patient you've already spoken to who isn't ready to purchase yet. In the Leads tab, click "+ Add Lead" and enter their details (name, email, location, and optional qualifying information and an internal note).
When adding a lead manually, you can tick "Don't contact the patient yet" — Oto then won't send any emails (including the app invite) until you issue their license. This is useful when you just want to record intake data (like a baseline TFI) before the patient decides to enroll.
Qualifying Information
During registration, patients answer brief qualifying questions to help you prioritise follow-up:
Hearing Loss - Whether they have known or diagnosed hearing loss
Hearing Aids - Whether they currently use hearing aids
Tinnitus Duration - How long they've experienced tinnitus
This information appears in the lead details panel, helping you identify patients who may benefit most from a consultation.
Message vs Note
The lead details panel keeps two kinds of text separate:
Message - written by the patient during registration. Read-only.
Note - an internal note written by you or your team (e.g. follow-up context). Only your team sees this; it's never shown to the patient.
Managing Leads
New leads appear in your Leads tab. From there you can:
View lead contact details and qualifying information
Filter leads by location and status
Mark a lead as contacted once you've reached out, so your team can track outreach
Track TFI assessment scores for leads who complete assessments in the app — valuable insight before their first appointment
See when a lead has requested full access from within the app (a badge on the lead), signalling they're ready to enroll
Converting Leads to Patients
When a lead is ready for the full program:
Open the lead's details panel
Open the Actions menu and click "Convert to Patient"
Choose the responsible clinician and, if your plan allows, the license duration
Confirm — this issues their full license, changes the lead status to "Converted", copies over any activity they've already recorded, and sends the patient a confirmation email. You'll be charged at your agreed license rate.
They now appear in your Patients tab with full access to every session in Oto
You don't have to create a lead first. If a patient is ready to enroll immediately, add them directly from the Patients tab using "+ Add Patient", which issues their full license right away. (If their name or email matches an existing lead, the dashboard will prompt you to convert that lead instead, so you don't create a duplicate.)
Who Can Manage Leads
Access to leads follows your team's permissions. A team member needs the View leads permission to see the Leads tab, and Manage leads to add, edit, and convert leads. If you can't see the Leads tab, ask your organisation admin to update your permissions.
Best Practices
Respond quickly - Leads who register are actively seeking help. Quick follow-up increases conversion rates.
Use qualifying data - Prioritise leads with longer tinnitus duration or existing hearing aid use, as they may be more motivated.
Track TFI scores - Leads who complete TFI assessments in the app give you valuable insight before their first appointment.
Let the intro access do the work - The starter sessions and sound library give the patient a real feel for Oto, which makes the conversation about enrolling much easier.