What to change
Use the exact public label and explain where to find the reference. Confirm what alternative route works for someone whose confirmation has no matching number.
A worked example
Illustrative example
An appointment-change form asks for the booking reference shown under appointment details in the confirmation email. It offers reception contact for patients whose telephone booking has no visible reference.
Put it into practice
If someone may not have a reference, explain the available alternative through the practice's usual process. Ask reception to check a real blank example of the confirmation layout. An instruction referring to a “case ID” is unhelpful when patients have only ever been shown a booking number.
Include a recognisable example of the reference's position or label where useful, without publishing a real person's details. The aim is to help people locate it, not create another unfamiliar code.
What to agree before publishing
Look at the reference exactly as patients receive it in a confirmation or acknowledgement. Use that name in the form and describe where it can be found. If the practice can handle an enquiry without the reference, explain the appropriate alternative through its normal checks. Do not introduce a new label such as case identifier when every patient message says booking number. A useful prompt reduces unnecessary searching and lets reception connect the answer to the correct task without asking the same question again.
How to check the result
A person can find the requested information or use a valid alternative without inventing a code.
A mistake to avoid
Do not make a reference mandatory solely because it is convenient for staff when some legitimate booking routes never provide one.
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.
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
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