Text reminders

You will receive a text messages to your mobile phone, from which you will be able to access our online patient portal by following the link included in the text/email.

From the patient portal, you can:

• Request to rebook or cancel your appointments
• View location information, including a map, to help ensure you get to the right place at the right time
• View clinic information about your upcoming appointment
• Add your appointment to your calendar
• View all upcoming appointment details in one place
• Have easy access to digital outpatient letters for services that provide them.

Make sure that we have your up-to-date mobile number and email address, so that we can contact you. Ask the receptionist to check we have these details when you have your next appointment.

We have introduced text notifications to allow us to:

• Improve how we communicate with our patients
• Deliver appointment information to patients faster
• Provide a reminder to patients before their appointments.

This is live across all specialities at Liverpool University Hospitals (LUHFT), although there may be some individual clinics that do not have messaging active. If you do not receive a reminder for your appointment and you would like to, enquire with the care team during your visit, or ring the number on your appointment letter to ask about it.

DrDoctor is a digital health company that aims to modernise how hospitals and patients communicate. Their platform provides a convenient way for patients to manage their appointments while reducing costs and saving time.

Your mobile number will be used to send your appointment letter to you digitally. It will also be used to send a text reminder of your appointment. It is therefore important that we have the most up-to-date mobile number for you.

You can update your contact details by visiting our Patient Portal, in the 'Settings' menu. If you cannot get online, please let us know and we can update it for you.

If we have the most recent mobile number for you then you should receive reminders by text message. Visit the Patient Portal and update your contact details in the 'Settings' menu to make sure your details are correct. If you are still not receiving reminders, ask your care team if they can arrange for reminders to be provided.

You can also check that your hospital has the most recent number for you. If we have this, you will then receive confirmations and reminders for your future appointments.

Yes, you can visit the Patient Portal at any time and update your settings. You can also ring the number on the text message and ask them to switch off reminders. You can also reply STOP to any text message.

However, it is important to note that we will be able to communicate with you quicker about your forthcoming appointments if contact is made digitally.

If you have accidentally ended text message reminders by replying STOP, you can receive these reminders again by replying UNSTOP to the last message you received from us. You can also personalise your communication preferences by visiting the Patient Portal and updating your settings.

The website link will lead you to the patient portal, which will allow you to review your appointment letters and all appointments that have been booked for you. It will also give you access to maps, what to expect and other relevant information for your appointment.

You can add your email address via the Patient Portal, under the "Settings" menu, to receive email reminders as well as text message reminders.

If you cannot get online, please let us know at reception or the next time you speak to us, and we can update it for you.

Text message replies will be free if you have a text message bundle with your provider. Otherwise, you will be charged at your provider’s standard rate.

You can receive email notifications instead of a text message by changing your reminder settings in the Patient Portal.

Yes, by visiting the Patient Portal you will be able to view your appointments and add them to your personal calendar.

When you receive your appointment notification on your mobile device you can respond to the text message with CHANGE to reschedule your appointment or CANCEL if required.

You can also change or cancel your appointment by following the link on your appointment notification and managing your appointment through the DrDoctor patient portal. Clicking on your appointment within the patient portal will give you an option to change or cancel your appointment, including the option to give further information to the booking centre (i.e. your availability or your reason for cancelling).

• Follow the link in your text message or visit the patient portal directly to change it
• Enter your name, date of birth and postcode on the Patient Portal. We will send you a one-time code to your phone to make sure it is really you
• Once online you can request to change or cancel your outpatient appointment under the "Appointments" menu by clicking on the relevant appointment you’d like to change or cancel.

You can also contact the Outpatient booking team, on the telephone number provided on your outpatient letter, who will take the necessary steps for you.

Please note the direct links from a reminder message expire after seven days which means if you use this link you will be, for additional security, sent a one-time code to the registered patient mobile number before you can validate yourself.

Contact the Outpatient Booking Centre to inform them of your new number and you can add the details and 'opt-in' via the DrDoctor Patient Portal.

If you have an appointment the online portal allows you to:

• View and download appointment letters (in services using digital letters)
• View the location of your appointment
• View important clinical information
• Add your appointment to your personal calendar
• Receive appointment reminders.

The patient portal ensures that appointment information is never lost and is easily accessible wherever you are and whenever you need it. Going paperless means that you are supporting the NHS to be more environmentally friendly.

You will need to use a smart phone or another digital device (e.g. tablet or computer) that is connected to the Internet.

If you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, please be aware that data charges may apply.

To enable us to deliver this service, DrDoctor will have access to your contact information but not detailed information about your health. DrDoctor is accredited to the highest standards set by the NHS for protecting the healthcare information of UK citizens. For more information, please visit the DrDoctor privacy information page.

You can also visit the Trust Privacy Policy.

If your appointment has just been booked, please be aware it can take up to 24 hours for your appointment to appear on the online portal.

If you are using a device that is not your mobile number we will, for additional security, send a one-time code to the registered patient mobile number which can be validated by last name, date of birth, and postcode. This will also occur if you are using a direct link from a notification message that is more than seven days old. This is standard security practice.