To send a batch message with Accurx, you will need to create a CSV file with a list of patients.
For EMIS organisations in England, the CSV needs to have the following columns:
NHS number
(EMIS number is no longer required)
If your organisation is in Wales, you will need the following columns:
NHS number
Mobile Telephone
Date of birth (in a DD-MMM-YYYY format)
Optional - First Name - if you would like each patient's text to contain their first name or a different name to the one listed in their medical record (e.g. "Dear Joe")
Optional - Email address - if you’d like the message to be sent via email
Note: The information listed above is all you need in your CSV file. Extra columns may cause errors, so please remove any unnecessary data before uploading. As Accurx is a data processor, not a data controller, we’re unable to edit CSV files for you under our data processing agreement.
Creating the CSV file
In EMIS, you can create a list of patients you want to send a batch message to. You can then save this list as a CSV file, and upload it to Accurx, to send a text to the list of patients.
Here's how to do this step by step with correlating screenshots for the listed actions👇
Hint: Make sure you have a patient search created, containing the search terms for the patients you want to send a batch message to
1. Head to 'Reporting' from the main EMIS menu, and select 'Population reporting'
2. Click on 'Add', select 'Patient', and select 'List report'
3. Name your report, and locate your patient search, (containing the search terms for the patients you want to send a batch message to).
Select it in the 'Results from' box.
4. Select 'Add', and choose 'Patient details'
5. Select 'NHS Number' on the left-hand side. ⚠️ If your organisation is in Wales, select NHS number, Mobile Telephone (by expanding the "Contact Details" section), Date of birth and Patient name.⚠️
6. Select 'Save and run' in the top bar
7. Right-click on the report, and select 'View results'
8. Select 'Export' in the top bar
9. Select 'CSV' and tick 'Exclude report header' and then 'OK'. Then you can select where you want to save your CSV.
And that's it! You now have your list of patients to send a batch message to. Follow these instructions to send a batch message to your patients!
Note: you do not need to remove any additional columns or patients that have a landline number, Accurx will do this for you 😊
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. 👉