What is the context?
The Meddbase Patient Portal allows patients to go online to make appointment bookings, complete questionnaires, view documents, pay invoices and update their details amongst other things.
The Patient Portal is an optional add-on for our customers and is available on request for an additional fee. This service can be added by logging a ticket with our Helpdesk team.
What is the purpose of this article?
This article guides the Meddbase superuser through key setup and configuration activities for the Patient Portal.
Setting up the Patient Portal
Once you have the service added, setting up the Patient Portal consists of 5 main steps.
- Step 1: Creating an online chargeband
- Step 2: Enabling access for your patients
- Step 3: Enabling online bookings for your clinicians via the clinician schedules
- Step 4: Customising Patient Portal notifications
- Step 5: Adding questionnaires to appointment types
Step 1: Creating an online chargeband
The patient will require a new online chargeband, reflecting the appointments/services that they can book online.
Click here and follow the step-by-step guide to setting up online chargebands.
Step 2: Enabling access for your patients
When enabling online access for a chargeband you have the option to notify all the patients on that chargeband that they now have access to the Patient Portal (as demonstrated in Creating an Online Chargeband).
In the situation where:-
- You do not wish to do a batch invite
- Or the chargeband already has online access enabled
The Reset Portal Login feature enables you to send the patient a link guiding them to the Patient Portal and allowing them to change their password and access it.
Please click here to find out how to reset the Patient Portal login.
| Please note: Password reset links expire in 15 minutes. |
Step 3: Enabling Online booking via clinicians schedules
By default, the clinicians' schedules do not allow bookings via the Patient Portal. Note: The clinician record will need to be assigned to a user account so the slots appear. Online bookings can be enabled on a per-session basis via the Site Scheduler on the clinician's record. To do this:
1. From the Start page, select Clinicians
2. Select Find Clinician
3. Input search criteria and select the required Clinician from the Search Results
4. From the Actions panel, select Site Scheduler
5. Select the Session for which online bookings should be allowed and click to select
6. Tick the check-box for Allow Online Booking
7. Save the change
As a demonstration, this is shown in the short video below.
If you wish to repeat this availability on a weekly basis you can use the Copy Week option which will copy this schedule into the next one, two, three or four weeks.
Step 4: Customising Patient Portal notification templates
All notifications sent to a patient regarding the Patient Portal are generated using templates. To find the templates:
1. From the Start page, select the Admin tile
2. In the Admin page, select the Configuration tile
3. In the Configuration page, select Online Portal
The range of templates for the portal are shown in the section Patient Portal templates.
These templates are pre-populated with default text relating to the type of notification being sent.
Step 4a: Editing templates
By clicking on the Pencil icon on the row for a template you can customise each template with custom greetings, company-specific themes, logos, etc.
Step 4b: Creating new versions of templates
By clicking on the Plus icon you can create a new template of your choice. The same template codes apply when editing any other template within the Meddbase system.
Important points about editing or creating notification templates
Below are some key points to note about editing and creating notification templates for the Patient Portal.
| No | Key Point |
| 1. | When editing or creating a new email template which includes links to the Patient Portal, the URL code (link) should be within the body of the template. All links should be buffered with the supporting template code {BeginLink}LINK{EndLink}. |
| 2. |
As of 4 August 2021, SMS Templates have a character limit of 150 characters per 1 message. This will include any information pulled from the template code. Example: {Patient.FullName} is 18 characters long, 'Joe Bloggs' is 10 characters long, this will use up 10 characters not 18. However, SMS functionality is scheduled to change as described in this article here. |
| 3. |
Registration confirmation email links expire in 30 days. |
| 4. |
Information about using template codes in templates is in the series of articles listed here. |
Step 5: Adding pre-appointment questionnaires to appointment types
The Patient Portal provides functionality to enable patients to fill in questionnaires online prior to their appointment. To add pre-configured questionnaires to your appointment types:
1. From the Start page, select Admin
2. In the Admin page select Appointment admin
3. On the Appointment Admin page
3.1 Select the required Appointment Type from the pick-list
3.2 With the selection made, click on Edit
4. Scroll down to the Questionnaires panel and click on the + icon
5. From the Select a questionnaire dialogue that appears
5.1 Scroll through the list and select a questionnaire
5.2 Click on OK
6. Back in the Edit Appointment Type list, click on Save
The pre-appointment questionnaire is added to the Appointment type.
The video below provides a walk-through of the process.
For more information on adding questionnaires to appointment types click here.
If you do not have any questionnaires or would like to add or amend current questionnaires you will need to raise a ticket with our Support Team.
Review date
This article was last updated on 1st November 2024.