In November 2022, we rolled out an update to our Appointment Reminders functionality, which scans the EMIS/SystmOne record to look for any SNOMED codes related to SMS consent (for instance, if the patient has explicitly expressed dissent for SMS communication). It will then choose whether to send the appointment reminder based on this and hence will not send appointment reminders to patients that have a code for declined consent in the record.
We have always reflected the consent status in our individual text messages sent from the general Accurx Desktop toolbar, which you can read about here.
In this article, we detail the behaviour of Appointment Reminders.
When does an Appointment Reminder get sent?
Appointment reminders are scheduled to send 1 working day before the patient's appointment. You can read more about appointment reminder behaviour here.
However, before we send the reminder, we check the record for whether the patient has consented or dissented to receive SMS communication. The logic works as follows:
✅ We do send the appointment reminder if:
There is consent coded in the record (and there are no 'declined consent' codes that have been added since that consent*)
There is neither consent or declined consent coded in the record. We expect this to be the default behaviour for most patients, and we assume implied consent under a duty of care.
❌ We do not send the appointment reminder if:
There is declined consent coded in the record (and there are no 'consent' codes that have been added since then).
In other words, we respect the latest consent/declined consent as available in the record, and in the absence of consent will send the reminders.
What codes does Accurx look for in the record?
Consent given ✔️
Consent given for communication by short message service text messaging
SNOMED: 699237001
READ: 9ndP
Consent given to receive test results by short message service text messaging
SNOMED: 911361000000104
READ: 9ndP0
Consent declined ❌
Declined consent for short message service text messaging
SNOMED: 513631000000106
READ: 9ndQ
Declined consent to receive test results by short message service text messaging
SNOMED: 911401000000108
READ: 9ndQ0
Updating consent in SystmOne
If you're a SystmOne user then you'll need to amend the consent in the following section of the patient record.
Search and load the patient in SystmOne,
Select the, "Administrative" tab on the left-hand side and select, "Patient Details",
Select the, "Record Details" button and,
Change the preferred contact method as per the patients preference,
Then select the relevant consent as per the option below 👇
If you still have any questions or concerns, feel free to chat with us using the green message bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of this page. 👉