Can a patient pause and come back?
Can a patient pause the i-consult pre-visit questionnaire and resume later? Yes, and if they still haven't finished closer to the appointment, i-consult now sends them an automatic reminder text.
Yes. Patients don't have to finish the pre-visit questionnaire in one sitting. They can stop whenever they need to, whether to take a call, check their medications, or just continue later, and pick up exactly where they left off. If they still haven't finished closer to their appointment, i-consult also follows up with an automatic reminder text.
This is one of the most common questions patients ask, so it's worth reassuring them up front.
How it works
- Progress is saved automatically. As the patient answers, i-consult saves their progress for them. There's no "save" button to remember and nothing to lose by closing the page.
- The same link resumes. To continue, the patient simply reopens the same SMS link they used the first time. The questionnaire carries on from where they stopped rather than starting over.
i-consult sets this expectation the very first time a patient opens the chat, through a "Resume Anytime" note that tells them: "you can pause and resume using this same link, your progress is automatically saved."
Automatic reminder texts
If a patient starts the questionnaire but hasn't finished it, i-consult sends a couple of reminder texts automatically, so the practice doesn't have to chase it up:
- One around 48 hours before the appointment, naming the day of the appointment.
- Another around 24 hours before, saying the appointment is today or tomorrow.
Both reminders link back to the same questionnaire and pick up exactly where the patient left off, the same as the original link. Reminders only go out during the day in the patient's own timezone, and stop once the appointment is too close for a reply to be useful.
There's nothing the clinician or practice needs to do when a patient pauses or gets a reminder. Both are automatic; the patient just keeps using their original SMS link.
If a patient can't find their link
If a patient has lost the SMS or can't reopen it, the questionnaire link can be resent from the practice side (see Resending a questionnaire link). When they open the resent link, their saved progress is still there.
Related articles
- What your patients receive and see: the full questionnaire journey, start to finish.
- Speaking instead of typing: answering by voice instead of typing.
- Resending a questionnaire link: how to send the link again if a patient has lost it.
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