Automated Scheduling invites patients to book into live clinic slots, and Automated Rescheduling lets them move one. Changes reach your record where supported.
THE PROBLEM
Booked months ahead, then moved or missed
Outdated booking practices lock patients into inconvenient slots, and changing them is rarely easy. In our survey of 5,003 people who had missed at least one NHS hospital appointment, 28% wanted to be able to rebook online, but couldn't (Censuswide, September 2024).
- Fixed months ahead
- Dates are set long before patients know if they can make them.
- A call to change it
- Moving a date means ringing the booking line and waiting to get through.
- Keyed in by hand
- Each booking and change is typed into the PAS/EPR one at a time.
Automated Scheduling
Patients book into a live slot
Automated Scheduling sends the invitation, and the patient books into a slot the clinic already has open.
THE BOOKING DATA
Booked closer to the day, missed and cancelled less
We looked at two years of booking data on the DrDoctor platform from August 2024 to August 2026. Appointments booked with six weeks' notice or less were missed and cancelled less often than those booked further ahead.
7%
DNA rate, booked six weeks or less ahead
9.4%
DNA rate, booked more than six weeks ahead
22%
Cancelled, booked six weeks or less ahead
33.8%
Cancelled, booked more than six weeks ahead
OUR RESEARCH
Our outpatient scheduling research
Insight from over 5,000 patients who missed an appointment, almost 40 NHS operations and clinical leaders, and booking data from 70 trusts.
Automated Re-Scheduling
When things change, so can the slot
Automated Rescheduling gives eligible patients a live slot to move into, instead of a request someone has to action.
NOT EVERYONE BOOKS ONLINE
For the patients who cannot book online
An unanswered invitation prompts another message, not a call. Post and phone stay active for those who need them, and your team sees who has not booked.
PODCAST
Imperial's journey to transform scheduling
Milica Stjepanovic, Deputy Divisional Director of Operations, on how Imperial College Healthcare redesigned booking, and what it took beyond the tools.
WHERE TO START
Start where you are
Patient communications are included as standard, so switching on the next service never adds to the SMS bill.
Start with comms
Patients confirm, change or cancel by request, with no slots integration.
No integration yet
Unintegrated Scheduling lets patients pick a time while integration is built.
Redesign the model
Delivery Partner redesigns booking with your team until it runs without us.