⚠️ Please note: This change only comes into effect once your EPR is integrated with Accurx and we are searching for patient via your Trust Integration Engine (i.e. using hospital number).
Once integrated in this way, how you search for patients and access historic conversations in Accurx will work differently. Please read this article carefully.
Check if and when this change affects your Trust below.
What's changing and why
To support your clinical workflows, Accurx is integrating with hospital systems at some of our partner Trusts. This means that when you message a patient through a hospital-system workflow, Accurx will create a new patient profile based on their hospital number, rather than their NHS number.
Their previous Accurx profile and all conversations before integration will still exist, but will not appear in Patient Search results. To find historic conversations, you will need to search the inbox by patient name or scroll through the inbox manually.
What's a hospital-system workflow vs a PDS-based workflow?
Hospital-system workflows look up patients by hospital number (or linked NHS number), with patient details pulled from the hospital system.
PDS-based workflows, on the other hand, look up patients by NHS number and date of birth, pulling details from the national Personal Demographics Service (PDS) database.
When will this change affect me?
This change comes into effect once Accurx is integrated with your Trust’s hospital system. Some workspaces at your Trust may be integrated with your Trust’s hospital system before others.
Once you are able to search for patients on Accurx by their hospital/MRN number, this means that Accurx is fully integrated with your hospital system, and these changes will affect your workspace.
If you have always searched for patients by hospital/MRN number since you started using Accurx, this advice is not relevant to you.
How Patient Search works after integration
Before integration, Patient Search in Accurx Web and the Accurx app references the national PDS database. You can search by NHS number and date of birth, or use Advanced Search (first name, last name, gender and postcode).
Depending on the setup of your hospital integration, Patient Search may be updated to:
Reference your Trust’s hospital system instead of the PDS.
Require you to search by NHS number or hospital number.
No longer support Advanced Search (first name, last name, gender and postcode).
Return a new patient profile based on the hospital number, showing only hospital-system workflow conversations from the date of integration onwards.
⚠️ Please note: In these instances, Patient Search will not show conversations created before integration, or conversations from PDS-based workflows (e.g. Patient Triage or Batch Messaging). To find these, you will need to search the inbox by patient name or scroll through your inbox.
Which workflows are affected?
The information outlined below shows how each workflow is affected from the date Accurx integrates with your hospital system.
Hospital-system workflows
These workflows will use your electronic system to look up patients, and messages sent after the change will create a new profile in Accurx based on the hospital number.
Workflow | What changes after integration |
Appointment Reminders | Reminders are sent to the patient’s mobile number in your hospital system. A new patient profile is created in Accurx. The old PDS-based profile won't appear in Patient Search. |
Clinic list messages (single or batch) | You can search by NHS number or hospital number. The phone number is pulled from the hospital system. Patients messaged after integration will form a separate profile (based on hospital number). The original profile is no longer searchable via Patient Search. |
Single (ad hoc) messages (1-way SMS, 2-way SMS, questionnaires, video consultation links) | You can search by NHS number or hospital number. The phone number is pulled from the hospital system. Patients messaged after integration will form a separate profile (based on hospital number). The original profile is no longer searchable via Patient Search. |
PDS-based workflows
Patient Search will not return a patient profile with conversations from these workflows outlined below. To find these conversations, scroll through your inbox manually or use the search functionality from within the inbox as detailed below.
Workflow | What changes after integration |
Appointment cancel/rebook requests | Profiles with submitted cancel/rebook requests prior to integration will not appear in Patient Search. |
Batch Messaging | Profiles with batch responses or batch conversations prior to integration will not appear in Patient Search. |
Patient lists (manually created) | Profiles with conversations from patient lists will not appear in Patient Search. |
Patient Triage forms | Profiles with submitted forms or triage conversations prior to integration will not appear in Patient Search. |
Appointment Reminders | Profiles with appointment reminders sent will not appear in Patient Search. |
Clinic list messages | Profiles with conversations from clinic lists will not appear in Patient Search. |
How to find historic conversations
If you need to view a patient's full conversation history, you will not be able to rely on Patient Search alone. To search your personal conversations or all historic conversations (assigned to anyone in your workspace):
Go to “My inbox” or alternatively “All conversations” in the Accurx inbox
Use the search function within the inbox to search for a patient by name. (Alternatively, scroll through conversations manually to locate the historic record for that patient)
⚠️ Please note: This means that for a full audit trail of a patient's conversations, you will need to check both the patient's new profile (searchable after integration) and either search the inbox by the patient’s name or scroll through the inbox for any older conversations made prior to integration.
Here's a worked example
Here's a worked example
Joe Bloggs (Example patient) has had 10 conversations in Accurx before integration. After integration, if you search for his NHS number or hospital number, his historic conversations listed below will not appear in Patient Search.
However, you can find them by going to All conversations in your Inbox and either searching the inbox for Joe Bloggs by name, or scrolling manually through the Open and Done tabs. Note that All conversations shows all communication with a patient across your whole workspace, giving you the most comprehensive view of their history.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still access conversations from before the change?
Can I still access conversations from before the change?
Yes, all previous conversations still exist. They just won't appear in Patient Search, but you can find them by searching the inbox by patient name or manually scrolling through your inbox.
Will the patient's phone number change?
Will the patient's phone number change?
From the date of integration, for workflows that use your hospital system, the patient's phone number will be pulled from the hospital system rather than the PDS. If the hospital system holds a different number to PDS, the message will be sent to the hospital system number.
Can I still use Advanced Search?
Can I still use Advanced Search?
No, Advanced Search (by first name, last name, gender and postcode) will no longer be available. You will need to search by NHS number or hospital number.
What if I message a patient I messaged before the change?
What if I message a patient I messaged before the change?
A new profile will be created for that patient based on their hospital number. Their previous profile (and conversations) will remain in Accurx but will only be accessible by searching the inbox by name or scrolling through the inbox.
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 👉