What is Self-Book?
Self-Book aims to save the healthcare team's time by reducing the manual steps involved in booking patients into appointments.
Using Self-Book, your organisation can choose which patients require a face-to-face or telephone appointment and send these patients a unique link via text.
Invited patients will be able to choose a time slot and day that they are available and, once chosen, they are booked directly into the organisation's appointment book without the need for the patient to call the surgery 🙌
How does it work?
Firstly you'll need to select the Self-Book icon in the bottom left of your compose message page 📆
Create the Self-Book link by selecting:
Appointment type
Appointment time (chose if you want the patient to see a time window, or the exact time of their appointment)
Slot type
If you want the appointment to be with specific clinicians
The appointment availability you want the patient to be able to book into (specific time frame or specific dates)
If patients can select the clinician
If patients can decline the appointment invitation (if you enable this option, you can choose a decline SNOMED code)
Add link, the link will auto-populate in the message with the following message included 👇
Appointment time
Appointment time
When sending a Self-Book link, you can choose if the patient can see the exact time of their appointment or a time window (useful for telephone appointments).
This is what it looks like when you select 'Exact time' 👇
This is what it looks like when you select 'Time window' 👇
If 'Time window' is selected, patients will see the windows of 8:00 to 13:00 or 13:00 to 18:30.
Specifying a clinician
Specifying a clinician
You can specify one or more clinicians that you would like the patient to book an appointment with. If you use this option, the patient will only be able to view appointments available for the clinician(s) of your choice.
If you choose Any Clinician, we will show all available appointments with any clinician for that slot type. Read more about this feature here.
Amending appointment availability
Amending appointment availability
You can choose the appointment availability shown to patients.
You can pick a time frame that patients can book into. You can choose when the time frame starts and how long it lasts 👇
What happens if a Self-Book link with a time frame is scheduled to send in the future?
The time frame the patient can book into will change based on when the message is scheduled to be sent.
For example, if the appointment availability is set to start in 2 weeks and the time frame is set to 4 weeks👇
If the Self-Book link is scheduled to send in 1 week, the patient will see appointments starting 2 weeks after the message is sent for a time frame of 4 weeks👇
Before sending the link, please check the patient will be shown appointments for the correct time period.
Alternatively, you can choose specific dates that the patient can book into. If you want the patient to be able to book in on the same day the link is sent, please use this option👇
What happens if a Self-Book link with specific dates is scheduled to send in the future?
The patient will only be able to book appointments on the specific dates chosen.
Link expiry
If you choose to reduce the appointment availability to less than 7 days, the link expiry timeframe will also reduce to match.
For example, if you wanted the patient to only book an appointment in the next 2 days, the link will expire after 48 hours.
Allow patient to decline
Allow patient to decline
You can also allow patients to decline the appointment. If they choose to decline, the chosen SNOMED code will be added to their record.
What happens next?
Invited patients will receive a text message or an email with a unique (and one-use-only) link. Once they click on their link, they can choose a time window or time slot (depending on appointment type) and date that they are available for their appointment (up to 6 weeks (12 weeks if you have the extension enabled) in the future.
Patients are automatically booked into one of the chosen appointment slots in EMIS, SystmOne or Vision.
What will patients see?
Patients will receive a text message with their unique booking link. Once they've clicked on the link they will be prompted to enter their date of birth.
Patients will be able to choose a convenient time and date for their appointment 👨🏽⚕️
The patient will then receive a confirmation SMS with the appointment details
FAQs
Can I send more than one self-book link per message?
Can I send more than one self-book link per message?
No, you can only send one link per message
Can I choose multiple slot types per self-book link?
Can I choose multiple slot types per self-book link?
No, you can only choose one slot type to send.
Can I send self-book links to multiple patients at the same time?
Can I send self-book links to multiple patients at the same time?
Yes, you can! 🎉 Self-Book can also be used to invite cohorts of patients to book a face-to-face appointment. Find out more 🌟
Can I share one self-book link with multiple patients?
Can I share one self-book link with multiple patients?
No, each self-book link is auto-generated at the time the message is sent so it is unique to each patient.
Can I edit the message that is sent with a self-book link?
Can I edit the message that is sent with a self-book link?
You can only currently customise your invite message at the moment i.e., you can change the 'We'd like you to book an appointment' aspect of the invite message to a message of your choosing.
Please note, there isn't a way to change the actual template, but you can select a template before going into the booking option.
Can I sent a self book link via Email?
Can I sent a self book link via Email?
Yes! You can send self book links via email or text message.
Is it possible to schedule a Self-Book link more than 6 weeks (12 weeks if the extension is enabled) in the future?
Is it possible to schedule a Self-Book link more than 6 weeks (12 weeks if the extension is enabled) in the future?
Yes! It is possible to schedule a Self-Book link up to 5 years in advance. Please ensure there will be available appointments at this time for patients.
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. 👉