HotDoc Recalls is a system that allows you to securely send messages to patients if they have an upcoming recall in their patient file. It allows you to:
- Automate your contact attempts with push notification or SMS messages, replacing manual calling and saving your staff time and effort
- Update the patient record automatically with the HotDoc contact attempts
- Encourage your patients to make a booking, increasing patient engagement
Follow the guide below to see how to setup and manage your Recall settings.
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For practices using Best Practice, Medical Director or Zedmed, please see our recalls guide here. |
Dental4Windows/HotDoc Calendar
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In this article |
1. The Patient Experience
Below is a basic example of the patient journey and some helpful information about how we send recalls to patients, once you have added a patient recall for the patient in the HotDoc Dashboard.
- HotDoc can send a secure mobile notification (SMN) via push notification or via SMN to the mobile number listed in the Patient Details section within HotDoc.
- For Dental practices, the message copy we use is the exact recall a patient is due for. Eg. "Hi Harry, you are due for a Check Up & Clean with General Dental Centre"
- For other practices, the message copy we use refers to a 'health message' rather than the exact recall that the patient is due for.
- The Push Notification (PN) will be sent by the name of your practice like below:
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Specialist/Allied PN message copy |
Dental specific PN message copy |
- The SMN message have the name of your practice in the message and a link for them to click to access their recall:
- The patient can click the push notification or the link in the SMS to open the recall, read the message and be directed to book an appointment with the assigned practitioner like below:
We recommend you share the above with your wider team so everyone is informed and ready to assist with any questions you may receive from your patients!
Review your Recall Settings
| It is important to review the default Recall settings so you are aware of the time and days recalls will be sent to your patients. You can edit these settings using the steps below to choose a time that suits your practice best. |
- To access your Recalls Settings, log in to your HotDoc Dashboard and navigate to Recalls > Settings:
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In the Secure Mobile Notification (SMN) Settings:
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Configure the time of day and the days of the week the SMN messages are to be sent out to patients.
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Select if you would like HotDoc to restrict sending messages for patients of specific ages:
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- Set Automated Recall Settings - This feature will automatically create a recall after a patient has been seen for a specific appointment type.
For more details please see How to set up Automated Recalls 
- Select if you would like to show the practitioner's name on recalls in your Dashboard view. This is shown internally only, this feature can be helpful for your daily workflow.
- Click the green Save button to save your changes.
Templates
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Template groups are HotDoc's way of knowing what kind of communication to send to a patient for their recall. There are pre-existing templates for you to choose from and you can edit these templates or add new templates as you please. |
Refer to the table below for definitions of each section when you are adding or editing a template:
| Ch | Select an existing template from the list if the template you're creating is similar. |
| Template name: | The name of the recall, patients will see this. We recommend the name is patient-friendly as it's shown within the Recall. |
| Remind patients via: |
How many contact attempts are sent to the patient. For example, the sequence 2 SMN (7 days) means patients will receive 2 SMN messages, 7 days apart: The first message on the recall due date then, if the sequence isn't stopped (see below), the second message will be sent 7 days after. The message sequence will then be completed. |
| Reminder message: | The message the patient will see when they open the recall |
| Add Direct booking link (recommended): Pre-select appointment type for the patient |
Allows patients to book online at your practice for that Recall type. There is also the option to select the appointment type that patients will be directed to book via the booking link. |
| Send HotDoc Recall automatically: |
If unchecked, the recall will immediately pause on the due date of the recall and will require you to manually resume this in the Dashboard for it to send. |
| Stop Recall Sequence when: Patient has an upcoming appointment for the linked appointment types | Select the appointment type from the drop down that matches your recall template. When a patient books an appointment that is linked to that recall, we will automatically pause the sequence. If the patient has an upcoming appointment for an unlinked appointment type, we will continue the sequence. |
| Stop Recall Sequence when: Patient reads recall |
We will pause the contact attempts once the patient reads their recall message even if they haven't booked an appointment. |
Edit an existing template
- In the Recalls > Template Groups, click Edit Template next to the recall.
- Here you can see a preview of what it looks like for the patient, and edit the following fields by typing or selecting from the different options.
- Click the green Save button once you've made your changes.
Add a new template
- In the Recalls > Template Groups select New Template
- Select Choose a Template to Start From if you would like to copy the settings from an existing template or complete the following details:
- Template name
- Remind patients via (contact attempts)
- Reminder message (that patient will see when they open the recall)
- Add direct booking link, with the option to Pre-select an appointment type for the patient to book
- Send HotDoc Recall automatically
- Stop recall sequence when: Patient has an upcoming appointment or when the patient reads the recall message.
- Link the relevant appointment type to the template.
- In this example we have created a Check Up & Clean Template:
- In this example we have created a Check Up & Clean Template:
- Click Save. It will then appear with all the Templates Groups.
You're ready to start sending recalls!
Congratulations! You're now ready to start sending recalls to your patients. Please review the articles below for a step by step guide on sending and managing recalls in your HotDoc Dashboard:
Optomate
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In this article |
1. The Patient Experience
Below is a basic example of the patient journey and some helpful information about how we send recalls to patients, once you have added a patient recall for the patient in the HotDoc Dashboard.
- HotDoc can send a secure mobile notification (SMN) via push notification or via SMN to the mobile number listed in the Patient Details section within HotDoc.
- For Optometry practices, the message copy we use is the exact recall a patient is due for. Eg. "Hi Harry, you are due for a Annual Eye Test with General Optometry Clinic"
- The Push Notification (PN) will be sent by the name of your practice like below:
- The SMN message have the name of your practice in the message and a link for them to click to access their recall:
- The patient can click the push notification or the link in the SMS to open the recall, read the message and be directed to book an appointment with the assigned practitioner like below:
We recommend you share the above with your wider team so everyone is informed and ready to assist with any questions you may receive from your patients!
2. How does HotDoc sync and display Recalls
By default, HotDoc will sync any unresolved Recalls with a due date that falls between four weeks into the past and two weeks into the future. We refer to this time frame as the Sync Window. |
When a recall is entered into a patient's record in Optomate, this is usually entered with a recall reason and a due date.
If the recall reason is unresolved and has a due date that sits within the sync window, we will bring it into the Dashboard for actioning. Alongside this, HotDoc also syncs and displays the following:
- Patient name
- Recall Reason (as outlined in the patient record)
- Due date
- Mobile number
- Date of Birth
- Optometrist
- Patient's next appointment date
Example of a Recall synced into the HotDoc Dashboard
Once HotDoc has synced a Recall into the Dashboard, we will automatically send out a push notification or SMN depending on whether the recall has been attached to an applicable template.
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HotDoc will not sync recalls that have previously been exported via Optomate |
Review your Recall Settings
| It is important to review the default Recall settings so you are aware of the time and days recalls will be sent to your patients. You can make adjustments to these settings following the steps below. |
- To access your Recalls Settings, log in to your HotDoc Dashboard and navigate to Recalls > Settings:
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In the Secure Mobile Notification (SMN) Settings:
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Configure the time of day and the days of the week the SMN messages are to be sent out to patients.
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Optional: Select if you would like HotDoc to restrict sending messages for the following demographics: Teenagers, Patient's over a specific age, Patient's who have opted out of SMS reminders in Optomate.
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- Select if you would like to show the practitioner's name on recalls in your Dashboard view. This is shown internally only, this feature can be helpful for your daily workflow.
- Click the green Save button to save your changes.
Templates
|
Template groups are HotDoc's way of knowing what kind of communication to send to a patient for their recall. There are pre-existing templates for you to choose from and you can edit these templates or add new templates as you please. |
Refer to the table below for definitions of each section when you are adding or editing a template:
| Ch | Select an existing template from the list if the template you're creating is similar. |
| Template name: | The name of the recall, patients will see this. We recommend the name is patient-friendly as it's shown within the Recall. |
| Remind patients via: |
How many contact attempts are sent to the patient. For example, the sequence 2 SMN (7 days) means patients will receive 2 SMN messages, 7 days apart: The first message on the recall due date then, if the sequence isn't stopped (see below), the second message will be sent 7 days after. The message sequence will then be completed. |
| Reminder message: | The message the patient will see when they open the recall |
| Add Direct booking link (recommended): Pre-select appointment type for the patient |
Allows patients to book online at your practice for that Recall type. There is also the option to select the appointment type that patients will be directed to book via the booking link. |
| Delay Sending first SMN until due date. | If ticked, HotDoc will send the first SMN on the date the test is due. If unticked, HotDoc will send the first SMN 2 weeks before the due date. |
| Send HotDoc Recall automatically: |
If unchecked, the recall will immediately pause on the due date of the recall and will require you to manually resume this in the Dashboard for it to send. |
| Stop Recall Sequence when: Patient has an upcoming appointment for the linked appointment types | Select the appointment type from the drop down that matches your recall template. When a patient books an appointment that is linked to that recall, we will automatically pause the sequence. If the patient has an upcoming appointment for an unlinked appointment type, we will continue the sequence. |
| Stop Recall Sequence when: Patient reads recall |
We will pause the contact attempts once the patient reads their recall message even if they haven't booked an appointment. |
Edit an existing template
- In the Recalls > Template Groups, click Edit Template next to the recall.
- Here you can see a preview of what it looks like for the patient, and edit the following fields by typing or selecting from the different options.
- Click the green Save button once you've made your changes.
Add a new template
- In the Recalls > Template Groups select New Template
- Select Choose a Template to Start From if you would like to copy the settings from an existing template or complete the following details:
- Template name (i.e. 24 Month Eye Test)
- Remind patients via (contact attempts)
- Reminder message (that patient will see when they open the recall)
- Add direct booking link, with the option to Pre-select an appointment type for the patient to book
- Send HotDoc Recall automatically
- Stop recall sequence when: Patient has an upcoming appointment or when the patient reads the recall message.
- Link the relevant appointment type to the template.
- In this example we have created a 24 month Eye Test Template:
- In this example we have created a 24 month Eye Test Template:
- Click Save. It will then appear with all the Templates Groups.
You're ready to start sending recalls!
Congratulations! You're now ready to start sending recalls to your patients. Please review the article below for a step by step guide on sending and managing recalls in your HotDoc Dashboard:
| By default, HotDoc will sync any unresolved Recalls with a due date that falls between four weeks into the past and two weeks into the future. We refer to this time frame as the Sync Window.It is important to review the default Recall settings so you are aware of the time and days recalls will be sent to your patients. You can make adjustments to these settings following the steps below. |
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- link articles