This guide will take you through the actions we recommend to stay on top of your recalls activity and keep your HotDoc Recalls up to date.
- We recommend you check the Recalls Summary section in the Dashboard at least once a week.
- In your Summary, you will see if there are recalls you need to manually action, like those under the To Action and Unresolved sections.
- This ensures your recalls are actioned within a timely manner and your patients do not encounter a delay in receiving their messages.
Best Practice - Medical Director (Pracsoft) - Zedmed - Optomate
Why is it important to check my Recalls?
It is important that you regularly check how your clinical reminders are tracking. As you continue to use HotDoc Recalls, new items may pop up which will require manual actioning within the Dashboard. |
If regularly maintained, the checklist won't take much time to complete and will ensure your patients are being notified efficiently.
This guide will take you through the various actions we recommend to keep your HotDoc Recalls up to date.
We recommend that this guide is passed on to all members of your team who will help to manage your clinical reminders.
Check the 'Summary' page
The Recalls > Summary section in your Dashboard includes a list of all the recalls that need to be manually actioned or checked in your dashboard. We strongly recommend using this as your recalls 'to-do' list. |
The following will explain how you can use the Recalls Activity Summary to see a summary of Recalls that need checking or actioning:
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In you HotDoc Dashboard, go to Recalls > Summary:
This is how it will look if you are only using Recalls
This is how it will look if you are using Clinical Reminders and Results.
Note: Click to enlarge the images below
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The To Do List on your Summary page will include a summary of tasks completed out of a total of 9 tasks and the total number of results that require your action:
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To see a definition of each category, hover your mouse over the tooltip. The blue information box will also include a Learn More button linked to relevant support articles:
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Hover your mouse over each status and select the Go to button to be directed to that section of the Dashboard. This will apply the status filter automatically.
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Repeat these steps for each task as explained in the following steps of this article.
Task 1 - Paused due to template settings
Action: Manually send any paused recalls and/or update the templates so that sequenced are started automatically. |
When sending clinical reminder messages to patients, we will always respect the template the recall is linked to. If the template is paused, we will not start recall sequences automatically and these will need to be manually actioned by the clinic.
To check your paused recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go to next to the first status Paused due to template settings
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This will take you to your Clinical Reminders that are currently in this status. If you wish to action them manually, click View next to each and chose from one of the options available:
You can also action them in batches following these steps: How do I batch action multiple Recalls?
If you would prefer these recalls to be sent automatically, you will need to unpause the template. For more information, please see How can I make a Recall sequence send automatically? |
Task 2 - Assign recalls to a template
Action: Assign your new reasons in the To Action screen to templates so HotDoc knows what kind of communication to send for these patients. |
As we sync your recalls, you may find that new reminder reasons which have not been previously assigned to a Template will appear in your To Action screen.
To view unassigned reasons in your HotDoc Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go to next to the status Assign recall to a template
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You can then see all new clinical reminder reasons that have synced into your Dashboard and are yet to be assigned to a template. From here, you will need to either:
- Assign this clinical reminder to an existing template - Please see How to assign or remove Recall Reasons from a Template
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Create a new template - Please see How to edit, add and remove Clinical Reminder Templates to learn more)
- Assign this clinical reminder to an existing template - Please see How to assign or remove Recall Reasons from a Template
Task 3 - Patient's out of age range
Action: Check for patients who have an invalid age. Choose to either remind the patient by post, call or mark as done. |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send a SMS due to the patient being out of the age range as set in your recall settings.
To action these in your Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the relevant status:
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You can then action those clinical reminders based on their status and your chosen sequence:
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If the recall has since been given already, you can Mark as Done. See How do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
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If the recall has not been given yet, you can choose to Remind by Post (which places the recall into the 'To Post' tab for letter download) or to Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list)
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If the recall has since been given already, you can Mark as Done. See How do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
If a recall is moved to To call, we recommend leaving a comment on the Clinical Reminder each time you contact the patient, as this will then be entered back into the patient's file. You will also see this recorded in the Attempts column of the patients recall: |
Task 4 - Mobile numbers are incomplete or invalid
Action: Check for patients who have an invalid mobile number. Choose to either remind the patient by post or mark as done. See What happens to a recall if a patient has an invalid mobile number? |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send a SMS due to:
- The patient not having a mobile phone number in their patient record or the number is invalid
To action these in your Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the relevant status:
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You can then action those clinical reminders based on their status and your chosen sequence:
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If the recall has since been given already, you can select Mark as Done. See How do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
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If the recall has not been given yet, you can choose to Remind by Post (which places the recall into the 'To Post' tab for letter download) or to Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list)
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If the recall has since been given already, you can select Mark as Done. See How do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
If a recall is moved to To call, we recommend leaving a comment on the Clinical Reminder each time you contact the patient, as this will then be entered back into the patient's file. You will also see this recorded in the Attempts column of the patients recall: |
Task 5 - Patients opted out of SMS
Action: Check for patients who have opted out of receiving reminders via HotDoc. Choose to either remind the patient by post, call or mark as done. See How do I manage patient consent in the Dashboard? |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send a SMS due to:
- The patient is opted out of receiving SMS communication
To action these in your dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the relevant status:
- You can then action those clinical reminders based on their status and your chosen sequence:
- If the recall has since been given already, you can select Mark as Done. SeeHow do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
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If the recall has not been given yet, you can choose to Remind by Post (which places the recall into the 'To Post' tab for letter download) or to Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list)
If a recall is moved to To call, we recommend leaving a comment on the Clinical Reminder each time you contact the patient, as this will then be entered back into the patient's file. You will also see this recorded in the Attempts column of the patients recall: |
Task 6 - Patients to call
Action: Head to your 'To Call' screen to see patients that you will need to call to schedule a recall appointment |
The To Call section shows all recalls that require you to manually call the patient to schedule in a recall appointment. Items will appear here if:
- The patient has not responded to the final SMS attempt. (You can see the contact attempts in the Attempts column, see image below)
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You have manually selected a patient as ‘Remind by Call’
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Patients to call
From there, you can action them individually. For additional steps please see: What to do when a recall is in the To Call section & How to use the Recalls 'To Call' Stage
Task 7 - Letters to post
Action: Head to your 'To Post' screen for letters that need to be downloaded and sent to your patients. See: How do I download and print Recall letters? |
The To Post section shows all recalls which require you to generate a letter and manually send it to patients. Items will appear here if:
- The recall/reminder type has a template that is only ever set to send as a letter.
- The patient has not responded to the final SMS attempt. (You can see the contact attempts in the Attempts column, see image below)
- You have manually selected a patient as ‘Remind by Post’
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go To next to the Letters to post
For additional steps on how to print your Recall letters see How do I print a Recall letter in HotDoc?
Task 8 - Check for upcoming appointments
Action: Review any paused recalls and check if the patient's appointment is booked correctly |
If you are using our pause on booking feature, you will need to check if any patient's recall has been paused due to having an upcoming appointment booked that does not match the appointment type set on the template.
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Check patient's upcoming appointment
- You will then need to action these recalls and decide whether you want to stop the sequence and link the relevant upcoming appointment to the recall, or if you would like us to continue to message the patient.
Please see this Pause on Booking for HotDoc Recalls article to learn more about how to action this type of recall.
Task 9 - Patients seen but recall unresolved in file
Action: Review the Unresolved tab to check for any patients who have attended an appointment but still have an unresolved recall in their file. |
If you are using our pause on booking feature, you will need to check if any patients have since been seen by the practitioner but have a clinical reminder still unresolved on their patient file.
HotDoc will sync if a practitioner removes a clinical reminder from a patient's file and will move this to 'Done'. Checking for any recalls in the Unresolved tab will allow you to make sure the recall is notified and if not, provide a list for you to follow up with the patient's practitioner.
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Patients seen but recall unresolved in file
- In the Unresolved tab > Filter by the Practitioner > select Print > provide the practitioner with the list to 'remove the clinical reminder if it was discussed in their recent appointment.
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Alternatively, if the practitioner is unable to update the recall to notified, you can mark the Clinical Reminder as done by clicking the patient's recall and selecting 'Mark as done'. For steps and images on how to do this, see How to leave a comment and mark the Recall as done.
- If the clinical reminder was not discussed, you have the option to restart communication to the patient. To do this click on the patient's recall to open and click Start again. For steps and images on how to do this, see How do I restart a recall sequence?
How to check if my recalls are up to date?
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- If you are up to date, this will be reflected in your Dashboard as Tasks Complete:
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Dental4Windows - HotDoc Calendar
In this article |
Why is it important to check my Recalls?
It is important that you regularly check how your recalls are tracking. As you continue to use HotDoc Recalls, new items may pop up which will require manual actioning within the Dashboard. |
This guide will take you through the various actions we recommend to keep your HotDoc Recalls up to date. If regularly maintained, the action checklist won't take much time to complete and will ensure your patients are being notified efficiently.
We recommend that this guide is passed onto all members of your team who will help to manage your Recalls.
Review your Summary Page
This section includes a list of all the Clinical Reminders that need to be manually actioned or checked in your Dashboard. |
You can see a summary of recalls that need checking or actioning under Recalls > Summary. This will include a list of 7 categories and the total number of recalls that require actioning.
You can also hover your mouse over the tooltip to see a blue information box has definitions of each and a Learn More button linked to relevant support articles.
How to use the Recalls Summary Page
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Go to Recalls > Summary and hover your mouse over each status that requires actioning until you see a Go to button that you can click on. This takes you to the activity section of the Dashboard and will apply this status filter automatically.
- Action your Recalls as explained in the following steps of this article.
- If you are up to date, this will be reflected in your Dashboard with each item having a green check and a "Tasks Complete" label.
Task 1 - Paused due to template settings
Action: Manually send any paused recalls and/or update the templates so that sequenced are started automatically. |
When sending recall messages to patients, we will always respect the template the recall is linked to. If the template is paused, we will not start recall sequences automatically and these will need to be manually actioned by the clinic.
To check your paused recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go to next to the first status Paused due to template settings
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This will take you to your recalls that are currently in this status. If you wish to action them manually, click View next to each and chose from one of the options available:
You can also action them in batches following these steps: How do I batch action multiple Recalls?
If you would prefer these recalls to be sent automatically, you will need to unpause the template. For more information, please see How to pause your Recall Templates |
Task 2 - Patients out of age range
Action: Check for patients who have an invalid age. Choose to either remind the patient by post, call or mark as done. |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send a SMS as the patient is out of the age range in your recall settings. To action these in your Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the relevant status:
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You can choose to take the following actions in these cases:
- If the recall has not been given, you can choose to Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list)
- If you do not wish to contact the patient, you can choose to Mark as Done. See How do I leave a comment and mark a Recall as done?
- If the recall has not been given, you can choose to Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list)
Task 3 - Mobile numbers are incomplete or invalid
Action: Check for patients who have an invalid mobile number. Choose to either remind the patient by call or mark as done. |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send an SMS due to:
- The phone number on the patient's file is either incomplete or may not be a mobile number. If possible, update the mobile number on the patient's file.
To action these in your Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go To next to the relevant status:
- You can then action this based upon the status of the recall and the sequence.
Task 4 - Patients opted out of SMS
Action: Check for patients who have opted out of receiving reminders via HotDoc. Choose to either remind the patient by call or mark as done. |
You may find that there are some patients for who HotDoc is not permitted to send an SMS due to:
- The patient is opted out of receiving SMS communication
To action these in your Dashboard:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
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Click Go To next to the relevant status:
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You can then action this based on the status and your chosen sequence:
- If the recall has since been given already, you can Mark as Done
- If the recall has not been given yet, you can Remind by Call (which places the recall into the 'To Call' tab and into a call list). We recommend leaving a comment each time you attempt to call the patient.
- If the recall has since been given already, you can Mark as Done
Task 5 - Patients to call
Action: You will have a list of patients to call to schedule a recall appointment |
The To Call section shows all recalls which require you to manually call the patient to schedule an appointment. Items will appear here if:
- The patient has not responded to the final SMS attempt. (You can see the contact attempts in the Attempts column, see image below)
- You have manually selected a patient as ‘Remind by Call’
To check these recalls:
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- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Patients to call
- From there, you can action them individually. For additional steps please see: What to do when a recall is in the To Call section
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
Task 6 - Check patient's upcoming appointments
Action: Review any paused recalls and check if the patient's appointment is booked correctly |
If you are using our pause on booking feature, you will need to check if any patient's recall has been paused due to having an upcoming appointment booked that does not match the appointment type set on the template.
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Check patient's upcoming appointment:
- You will then need to action these recalls and decide whether you want to stop the sequence and link the relevant upcoming appointment to the recall, or if you would like us to continue to message the patient.
Please see this Pause on Booking for HotDoc Recalls article to learn more about how to action this type of recall.
Task 7 - Patients seen but recall unresolved in file
Action: Review the Unresolved tab to check for any patients who have attended an appointment but still have an unresolved Recall. |
If you are using our pause on booking feature you will need to check if any patients have since been seen, but have a Recall that is still unresolved in HotDoc.
Checking for any Recalls in the Unresolved tab will allow you to make sure the patient was seen for their Recall reason.
To check these recalls:
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- Click Go To next to the Patients seen but recall unresolved in file
- In the Unresolved tab > Filter by the Practitioner > select Print > provide the practitioner with the list.
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If the patient has been seen for this appointment, please revisit their appointment in the calendar and update the arrival status to Seen. The recall will then move to Done- Patient Seen (providing that the appointment type is linked to the template).
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If the appointment type was not linked to the Recall template, but the patient was Seen, please click Mark as Done.
- If the recall is not resolved and the patient was not seen, you have the option to restart communication to the patient. To do this click on the patient's name to expand the patient Recall details and click Start again.
How to check if my recalls are up to date
- Navigate to Recalls > Summary
- If you are up to date, all tasks will have a green check and this will be reflected in your Dashboard along with 'Tasks Complete'