Which appointment types will trigger a recall?
Appointment reasons need to be linked to recalls, to ensure that only appointments of the right type will change a recall's status to 'Booked', or ensure the recall date is moved when completed. If you don't set up appointment reasons correctly, you might risk patients being contacted unnecessarily, or not being picked up when they should have been.
Appointment reasons can be set to trigger a recall (either a hygiene recall, a dental recall, or both), meaning that:
When an appointment of that type is marked as complete, the patient will receive a new recall due date for that appointment type, according to their recall interval.
If a patient is due for a recall and has a recall marker, only appointments of this type will change the appointment status from 'Unbooked' to 'Booked'. If changed to 'Booked', they will stop being included in the 'Recalls' report/receiving recall communications.
If an appointment reason is set not to trigger a recall:
The recall marker's status will stay as 'Unbooked' if that appointment type is booked.
The patient will stay in the 'Recalls' report and will receive recall communications if enabled.
When that appointment type is booked, and then marked as complete, the patient's interval date won't update automatically.
Setting this up incorrectly could mean:
A patient isn't picked up for recalls even though they are due, risking their health if they don't know they need to book.
A patient might book an appointment but then continues to be picked up by recalls, risking unnecessary communications which could annoy or inconvenience the patient.
Your team would have to spend time manually correcting issues, adding to their workload.
The default appointment reasons linked to recalls are:
'Exam' reason is automatically set to trigger 'Dentist' recalls.
'Scale & Polish' is automatically set to trigger 'Hygienist' recalls.
'Exam + Scale & Polish' is automatically set to trigger both 'Dentist' and 'Hygienist' recalls.
All other default appointment reasons will not be automatically linked to any recalls. You can amend this at any time by editing the appointment reasons.
These, along with any new appointment reasons you create, can be completely customised to link or unlink to recalls - so only the appointment reasons you choose will trigger a recall.
💡 Top tip: Recalls are for dental and hygiene appointments and related treatments. The recall system does not support specialist treatments such as dentures and implants, so it is not recommended to use recalls for these.
How do I amend which appointment reasons will trigger a recall?
If editing an existing appointment reason:
Go to 'Settings' > 'Diary' and choose 'Appointment Reasons' from the toolbar on the left.
Find the reason you need to edit and click the pen 📝 icon on the right-hand side.
In the window that appears, check the tickbox next to the recall type that you wish to trigger when this appointment type is completed. 'Exam?' will trigger exam/dental recalls. 'Hygiene?' will trigger hygienist/scale and polish recalls. To trigger combined appointments, ensure both checkboxes are ticked.
Follow the same steps when creating a new appointment reason.
💡 Top tip: To understand what steps you can take if a recall has not sent as expected, read our detailed guide on troubleshooting recalls here.