**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.

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."

```callout kind="info"
**There's nothing the clinician or practice needs to do** when a patient pauses. The patient just reopens their original SMS link to keep going. No new link or reminder is required for them to resume.
```

## 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](/i-consult/resending-a-questionnaire-link)). When they open the resent link, their saved progress is still there.

## Related articles

- [What your patients receive and see](/i-consult/what-patients-receive): the full questionnaire journey, start to finish.
- [Speaking instead of typing](/i-consult/speaking-instead-of-typing): answering by voice instead of typing.
- [Resending a questionnaire link](/i-consult/resending-a-questionnaire-link): how to send the link again if a patient has lost it.