What is Batch Self-Book?
Batch Self-Book saves organisation time by reducing the manual steps involved in booking patients into appointments.
With Batch Self-Book, organisations can invite multiple patients to book their own appointments for a given slot type/ appointment type. Invite patients to book directly into the organisation's appointment book without the need to call the surgery 🙌
📋 Before you start
Ensure you have a CSV file exported from your clinical system (EMIS, SystmOne, or Vision) containing the list of patients.
Make sure you have enough bookable appointments (ie not blocked or embargoed) available in your appointment book for the chosen slot type.
🚀 How to send a Batch Self-Book invite
1. On your Accurx Desktop toolbar, click the dropdown arrow (next to the compose button) and select 'Batch messaging'.
Alternatively, click the settings cog on the toolbar, select 'Settings' from the menu, and then click 'Batch messages' on the left-hand sidebar of the web page that opens, followed by 'Send a batch message'.
2. Check your slot availability by clicking the 'Check availability' button. Select your intended slot type to see how many appointments are currently bookable. This can help dictate the size of your patient list you upload or encourage you to make more appointments available in your appointment book.
You will see some information about what the CSV file needs to include. When you have created the CSV file, select 'Upload File'.
3. Once you upload your CSV patient list, the screen will display the total number of patients successfully added as recipients.
4. Write your message. You can select a pre-written template from the dropdown or type a custom message.
💡 Pro-tip: Use the tag icon (bottom-left) to attach a SNOMED code. This code will automatically save to each patient’s record once the text is sent.
5. Attach the Self-Book link by clicking the calendar icon in the bottom-left corner.
You will need to configure the following:
Appointment Type: Choose 'Face-to-face' or 'Telephone'.
Please note: Self-Book cannot determine whether an appointment is face-to-face or by telephone from your appointment book, so users will need to select the correct appointment type here to ensure patients receive the appropriate booking confirmation message.
Slot Type: Select the specific slot from your clinical system you want the patients to book into.
Appointment Time: Choose whether patients see a specific time or a time window.
Specific Clinician (Optional): Select the clinician(s) you want the patients to book with.
Appointment Availability (Optional): Set a timeframe (e.g., next 2 weeks) to limit what patients can see.
Decline (Optional): Allow patients to decline and code their response to the medical records.
💡 Tips when customising the decline message:
💡 Tips when customising the decline message:
We recommend you include the name of the appointment to make it clear to the patient exactly what they are declining.
It is also important to let the patient know what will happen if they decline, so they can make an informed decision.
An example for flu - If you don't want a flu vaccine, we'll stop sending you invites to book one this year.
6. Click 'Send' once you have reviewed your message and Self-Book link setup.
📱 What will patients see?
When a patient receives the message, the process is designed to be simple and secure:
The patient clicks the unique link in their text message and sees two options: 'Book an appointment' or 'I don't want this' (if you have added the ability to decline the appointment).
If the patient chooses 'Book an appointment', they'll be asked to confirm their identity (by entering their date of birth) before they can select their appointment time.
Once the patient has selected the time and date of the appointment, they can confirm the booking, and they will receive a confirmation SMS.
Once the patient books in, they are automatically assigned to the chosen slot type in EMIS, SystmOne or Vision 🙌If the patient chooses 'I don't want this', they'll be asked to confirm their identity (by entering their date of birth) before they can decline the appointment invite.
📖 How to see which patients have booked and which have not?
From the View details page for any Batch Self-Book message, you can download CSV reports that track patient booking status. This is especially useful if you want to follow up and reinvite patients who haven't responded yet.
To download booked vs not booked data:
1. Navigate to the Batch Messages page and select 'View details' on a specific Batch Self-Book message.
2. Click on the blue number beneath 'Booked' or 'Not booked' to download a report.
Booked: Shows which patients from the Batch Self-Book message have booked an appointment.
Not booked: Shows which patients from the Batch Self-Book message have not booked an appointment. This includes the following states:
Status in 'Not booked' | Meaning |
Open | Patient has not booked an appointment, and their link has not expired yet. |
Timed Out | Patient did not book within the allocated time, and their link has expired. |
Declined | Patient has declined the Self-Book invite. |
Cancelled | Patient has cancelled the appointment using the cancellation link in their Appointment Reminder message. |
Pending | Patient has requested to book an appointment, but it hasn't been confirmed against the medical records yet. |
Failed | Patient attempted to book an appointment, but the request failed. |
The downloaded CSV files will be formatted for re-upload, making it easy to drop them right back into the Batch Messaging flow to send a follow-up reminder.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Check out our FAQ's page here for queries around Self-Book 👈
If you have any further questions or feedback, please get in touch with our support team using the message bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this page 👉