Automatic Patient Recalls

Automatic recalls are based on the date of last exam (or hygiene) and the interval (in months) between visits.

On completion of a course of treatment the user is asked to confirm the recall period for next examination or hygiene vist (if applicable).

The program provides both a default set or recall types and allows the setup of different recall types based on the scheme of the patient.

You end user may choose to send any combination of email, sms, letter or phone options; and set the time before the recall is due to send.

Select within the program setup.

The process of enabling the recall allows you to confirm which treatment items are either exam or hygiene based, this allows the program to set the last exam / hygiene date based on item if not already set. The program offers you the option of achiving any patients not seen recently (36 month default, but you can change), and the maximum daily rate you want recalls send out.

Based on the example settings above:

As long as the patient does not have a current appointment, is not under treatment and is not blocked from being recalled, the program will send an email 4 weeks before the recall is due. If by the time the next procedure (SMS) is due an appointment has not been booked, or the patient starts a new course of treatment then the procedure triggers.

If contacting by email / SMS fails to recall the patient and letter / phone option is included within the procedure then this is carried out within the program

If the site uses imail (How do I setup an imail account and how do I use it within SFD?) the the letters are automatically forwarded for printing.


The "Letters" tab show all patients due recalls by printing, the "Telephone" tab shows those by phone

If a patient fails all attempts to contact them, then the "Follow-up" allows you to repeat the process again by selecting or to defer for a period of time.

You may check the status of all patient's recalls


Recall process is currently active.
The patient has booked an appointment since recall processed.
The patient has failed to book an appointment within 2 months of recall date.
The patient has a current appointment.
The patient has a current course of treatment.
No interval in months set (hygiene interval for denture patient?).
The patient is blocked from having an appointment.
No base date for recall is set!

It's possible that a patient is added to the program, and then never attended, or as in conversions from other PMS where no recall period was stored, that the inital base date of the recall period is not set. To avoid this, the program allows filtering of these patients so direct contact can be made to arrange an appointment, or the patient made inactive.

It happens, on occasion, that someone will leave open a course of treatment inadvertently. The program automatically closes any course (non-NHS) that has not been amended in 8 weeks and no current appointment exists.



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