My patient didn't get the SMS
If your patient hasn't received their pre-visit questionnaire link, work through this checklist — the mobile number on the episode, when the SMS is scheduled to send, and how to resend the link.
Your patient hasn't received the text message with their pre-visit questionnaire link. In almost every case it's one of three things: the mobile number on the episode, when the SMS is scheduled to send, or the link simply needs resending. Work through the checks below in order.
The questionnaire link is sent by SMS to the Mobile Phone number on the patient episode. There's no email fallback for the link, so the mobile number has to be present and correct.
1. Check the mobile number on the episode
The most common cause is a missing, mistyped, or wrong mobile number.
Open the Dashboard and find the patient in the episode list. You can use the Search by patient name... box.
Open the episode and check the Mobile Phone field.
Confirm the number is the patient's current mobile and is typed correctly. An Australian mobile looks like 0412 345 678.
If it's wrong or missing, correct it, then resend the link (see below).
Mobile Phone is required when an episode is created, but it can still be a wrong number or a landline. A landline can't receive an SMS, so double-check it's a mobile.
2. Check when the SMS is scheduled to send
If the number is correct but nothing has arrived yet, the SMS may simply not have been sent yet. i-consult schedules the link to go out a set number of days before the appointment, rather than the moment you create the episode.
This is the Days Before Appointment setting on the episode (default 3 days). Three days is the recommended balance: fresh information before the consult without rushing the patient.
Open the episode and look at the Appointment Date and the Days Before Appointment value.
Work out the scheduled send date: appointment date minus the days-before value. For example, an appointment on the 10th with Days Before Appointment set to 3 sends on the 7th.
Check the episode status stepper. SMS Scheduled means it's queued but hasn't sent yet; SMS Sent means it has gone out.
If the send date is still in the future, nothing is wrong; the link will go out on schedule. If you need it sooner, resend it now (see below).
When you create an episode, the form shows an "SMS Reminder Scheduled" preview: "An appointment reminder will be sent from {date}" with a badge such as "3 day(s) from now" or "Sending today". That preview date is when the link is due to go out.
3. Check the timezone / send date
If the scheduled date looks off, the appointment date or time may have been entered incorrectly, which shifts the calculated send date.
Re-check the Appointment Date (date and time) on the episode.
Confirm it matches the real appointment; a wrong date moves the send date with it.
If you correct the appointment date, the send schedule recalculates from the new date.
For a closer look at how send timing and timezones combine, and why a link can land at an unexpected time, see The SMS date/time looks wrong.
4. Resend the link
If the number was wrong and you've fixed it, or the patient deleted the message, resend the link from the episode.
Open the episode from the Dashboard.
Use the resend option on the episode to send the questionnaire link again.
Confirm with the patient that a new message has arrived.
For the full resend walkthrough, see Resending a questionnaire link. To check or change how an episode is set up in the first place, see Create a patient episode manually.
Still not arriving?
If the mobile number is correct, the SMS shows as SMS Sent, and a resend still doesn't reach the patient:
- Ask the patient to check their blocked or filtered messages.
- Confirm the number once more directly with the patient.
- If it still fails, contact Akuru support with the patient's name and appointment date so we can check the delivery record.
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