What are Appointment Reminders?
What are Appointment Reminders?
Appointment reminders are text messages which are automatically sent to patients to remind them about their upcoming appointment 📅.
The text message will include the date and time of the patient's appointment and, if your organisation has more than one site, the location of the appointment.
When are the reminders sent?
When are the reminders sent?
1 reminder message is sent 24 hours before the patient's appointment. There is also an optional reminder 1 week prior to the appointment that can be set up ✅, and a post appointment reminder message option. We currently do not send out automatic texts to patients to confirm their appointment booking ❎.
How do I set up new Appointment Reminders?
How do I set up new Appointment Reminders?
Add a slot type into your clinical system, and our system will pick them up in about an hour if a patient is booked into the slot in the next 7 days. This article here goes into more detail 😃.
Does Accurx check consent for appointment reminder messages?
Does Accurx check consent for appointment reminder messages?
Yes ✅ our system 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.
For more information on this please see this article here.
What happens if a new member of staff joins the organisation, do I need to do anything to make sure their patients receive reminders?
What happens if a new member of staff joins the organisation, do I need to do anything to make sure their patients receive reminders?
Nope! Our system doesn't distinguish between clinicians and only looks at slot types 🔍
My practice has just procured Appointment Reminders, do I need to do anything with my current system?
My practice has just procured Appointment Reminders, do I need to do anything with my current system?
You will need to turn off any current system reminders so patients do not get multiple reminders.
Can I use Appointment reminders for telephone appointments with no fixed time?
Can I use Appointment reminders for telephone appointments with no fixed time?
At the moment we only support appointment reminders for appointments that have a set date and time in their slot type, so Appointment Reminders is not suitable for telephone appointments.
How do Appointment Reminders save in the medical record?
How do Appointment Reminders save in the medical record?
Appointment reminders are not currently saved to the record ❎.
My organisation has multiple sites, will appointment reminders include which site the patient's appointment is at?
My organisation has multiple sites, will appointment reminders include which site the patient's appointment is at?
Yes! If we detect more than one site in your appointment book then we will automatically include the location of the appointment in the reminder.
Can I use Appointment Reminders to send Friends and Family tests?
Can I use Appointment Reminders to send Friends and Family tests?
Our Post-Appointment Message feature allows you to set up text messages which are automatically sent to patients 24 hours after their appointment. This is included in our Appointment Reminders product. Within this message, you can include whatever text you like, including a link to your Friends and Family test! We've made two articles to make it super easy to create your own FFT on Microsoft Forms or Google Forms but you are welcome to use whichever survey-building provider your organisation prefers.
How to create your own Friends and Family Test on Microsoft Forms.
How to create your own Friends and Family Test on Google Forms.
Will Accurx check if the appointment was cancelled before sending the Post-Appointment Message?
Will Accurx check if the appointment was cancelled before sending the Post-Appointment Message?
Yes, we will search the appointment book for the associated appointment before the post-appointment message is sent. If the appointment was cancelled or reschedule then the post-appointment message would not be sent.