Websites & patient experience · Practical guide

Help patients ask about an existing appointment

A contact page treats every message as a new enquiry. Existing patients cannot tell how to ask about the appointment they already have without starting another booking request. People with an existing booking often need a faster, more specific route than a new-patient enquiry. Name that route and tell them what appointment details to have ready.

Read the guide Make your action list
Healthcare website and appointment calendar displayed on devices at an empty clinic reception.
Make the website useful for the people who use your practice.

What to change

Name a route for existing appointment questions and describe what helps the team locate the booking. Keep the message focused on the practical question rather than inviting a full history.

A worked example

Illustrative example

An appointment help page asks patients to have the service and booked location ready when contacting reception. It points visitors with another provider's confirmation to that provider's contact details.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts.
Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form.
Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Put it into practice

Ask reception which questions they can answer directly and which need another colleague. The page should make the distinction easy to recognise, especially on a phone, without making patients understand the practice's internal departments first.

Put this option beside new-enquiry routes where people are likely to look. A person who already has a booking should not need to browse unrelated service pages to find help.

What to agree before publishing

Start with the question a booked patient is likely to have: a date, location, instruction or change to their existing visit. Give the contact route that can handle that task and identify the useful booking reference. Ask reception to compare it with the new-enquiry route. The difference should be apparent to a patient without knowing the team's departments. A clear existing-booking option can prevent repeated forms and make it easier to reach somebody who can check the appointment already arranged.

How to check the result

Someone with a confirmed visit can get help without appearing to request another appointment.

A mistake to avoid

Do not require a patient to complete every field of a new-patient enquiry just to clarify their arrival instructions.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discuss

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Further reading

These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.

Related guides

Need help with this?

Tell us what is getting in the way. Kay & Co. can help you understand the options and turn the next step into something that works for your practice.

Explore websites & patient experience services or discuss your project.

Try the free Healthcare Digital Planner to find your starting priority.