💡 The Core Principle 💡
Hippo's recaller processes SNOMED codes from your patient records to determine patient eligibility — not free text, and not notes. If care is delivered but not correctly coded, Hippo will not recognise it as complete and will continue to recall that patient. Accurate recalls start with accurate coding.
🧩 Why coding discipline matters
Hippo runs a nightly sync with your clinical system. During each sync it checks every relevant patient record and determines whether outstanding care has been delivered, based on the SNOMED codes present in the record.
This means the accuracy of your recall list is a reflection of the quality of your clinical coding. Three common issues break the loop:
Free-texted care: If an outcome is written as a note rather than coded, Hippo cannot read it
Wrong SNOMED code: If the code used does not match what Hippo expects for that indicator, the care will not register as complete
Delayed coding: Care coded after the nightly sync has already run will not take effect until the following night.
📌 Partial care is not complete care
Hippo breaks complex care pathways into individual components. If a patient's diabetes review requires a blood test, foot check, and structured review — and only two of the three are coded — the patient will remain on the recall list until all components are recorded.
Use See Patient on the manual recall list to view exactly which elements are still showing as outstanding.
✅ What good practice looks like
To keep Hippo's recall list accurate, your team should follow these steps consistently:
✅ Code care at the point of delivery
Same-day coding in your EHR ensures the next nightly sync picks up completed care
✅ Use the correct SNOMED code for each care item
Refer to the relevant indicator article in the Help Centre if you are unsure which code applies. Free text or non-standard codes will not be recognised
✅ Check the patient summary before assuming a recall is an error
The patient summary shows exactly what Hippo believes is still outstanding for that individual. You can find the patient summary by searching for their name or NHS number in the search bar, or via the Manual Recall List > See Patient
✅ Apply exception and opt-out codes correctly
Patients who have declined care or are no longer eligible must be coded in your EHR with the appropriate exception or opt-out code
✅ Log manual recall outcomes in Hippo
When your team contacts a patient by phone, always record the outcome using the Action Patient button on the patient summary page. This writes a SNOMED-coded entry back to the patient record automatically
🔍 Common issues and what to do
If a patient appears on the recall list unexpectedly, or fails to drop off after care has been delivered, use this table to diagnose and resolve the issue.
Situation | Likely cause | What to do | Where to act |
Care delivered but patient still recalled | Correct SNOMED code not entered, or wrong code used | Check and correct the code in the patient record. The patient will drop off the recall list after the next nightly sync. | Patient record → Consultations and Care History |
Patient recalled too early | The QOF year restarts on 1 April — patients become eligible for annual care from that point, even if their last appointment was less than 12 months ago. | Check the timings settings within your Hippo account, or contact Hippo support. | Hippo Recaller → Recall Config → Timing Settings
|
Only part of the care shows as done | Multi-component care pathway — one element is still missing from the record | Use See Patient on the manual recall list to identify exactly which element is outstanding or if any SNOMED codes are missing from the patient record. | Manual recall list → See Patient
Patient record → Consultations and Care History |
Declined patient keeps reappearing | Declination not recorded with the correct exception or opt-out code | Apply the appropriate exception or opt-out code in the patient record. | Patient record → Consultations and Care History |
Care coded but patient not removed overnight | Code entered after the nightly sync window ran | No action needed — the patient will be removed after the next sync (within 24 hours). If still present after 48 hours, contact Hippo support. | — |
If a patient continues to appear after care has been correctly coded and 48 hours have passed, contact Hippo support — there may be an indicator logic issue that needs investigating.
🆕 New to Hippo? If you have not yet read the overview of what Hippo Recaller is and how it works at a high level, take a look here: What is the Hippo Recaller?