📱 How to set up an automated recall campaign on Hippo Flex

On Hippo Flex, you can set up automated recall campaigns that contact patients through the NHS App, using Hippo's default message templates. Campaigns can target QOF or National Programme indicators (click here to see the full list of what you can use).

This guide walks you through creating a campaign from start to finish.

Go to app.hippolabs.co.uk and log in with your email address and password. If you've forgotten your password, click Forgot your password? to reset it.

Click the Recall Campaigns tab at the top of the screen, then click Create Campaign.

Give your campaign a clear name, e.g. "Asthma"

This is internal, your patients won't see this.

Set the maximum number of recalls per day.

This daily limit protects your appointment availability and reception team. You can send up to 50 free NHS App recalls across all of your campaigns, so have a think about how you want to split those 50 across your chosen care areas.

Choose how many invites per available slot

If you want to send more invites than you have slots available, drag the multiplier to determine how many invites you want to send per available slot

Under Recall Methods, check that NHS App is selected.

This is the only contact method available for free on Flex - if you want to use the other methods as part of Pay as You Go, you will be charged £1.99 per successful booking via email, text, or whatsapp.

Message Translation

We recommend leaving this turned on (you can see the languages we translate in to here).

Smart Send

This isn't relevant if you are only using the NHS App, but if you do want to use more contact methods, this feature allows Hippo to calculate the most effective method of contact for each individual patient.

Here's what your page could look like:

Select the QOF or National Programme indicators your campaign is for - the full list of what you can use on Flex is here.

Hippo then finds eligible patients automatically from their coded information in EMIS, so there's no need to build lists and run searches in EMIS.

If you select more than one indicator, Hippo combines them using AND/OR logic.

For example: select Asthma Review (AST015) and COPD Review (COPD014):

Using OR will contact any patient outstanding either their Asthma or their COPD Review, as well as patients that need both.

Using AND will only contact patients that need both their Asthma AND their COPD review.

If you want to exclude a certain group of patients, for example all patients outstanding their NHS Health Checks, put the indicator in here.

You can choose to target or exclude certain vulnerable groups from your automated campaign. Leave this blank and we will include them all.

Hover over each box to see the SNOMED code that you can choose to target or exclude. This may not be relevant to your practice workflow, so you don't have to use this.

Some campaigns have ages built in to them already (e.g. smears or child imms). If they don't, you can use the age filter to target or exclude certain age groups based on how you manage your clinics.

Here is what your page could look like for a 16+ Asthma Campaign:

If you'd like patients to receive an online booking link, toggle this on, then: select the Appointment Type. This list is generated from your own EHR appointment book.

If you're using a broad slot, like NURSE or DEFAULT which has lots of clinicans assigned to it, you can choose to use the Practitioner filter to idenfity which people can carry out this care. If everyone assigned to the slot can provide the care for this campaign, leave this blank.

Each message is one recall attempt per patient. We suggest having at least 3 messages in your campaign to give patients the best chance of responding. To do this, click Add Message.

You can set the cadence of these messages by adjusting the number in the top right (Minimum days between messages). Most practices go for something between 10-20 days. This means a patient will receive Message 2 x14 working days after message 1.

If a patient book their appointment or completes their care, they will not be contacted again.

If they book but DNA, we will notice that they are still outstanding their care, and they will be invited again, providing they haven't already received every message in your flow.

As a flex user, you will only be using default message templates. Click See Default Settings to see an example message.

You can stick with the default settings (exaplined in the See Default Settings pop up), or choose custom writebacks. There are two options:

Choose the message you want to accompany the code. The default setting is 'Patient recalled for [asthma review] via [NHS App], but a custom message can be helpful to include specific information, for example: Recalled for Asthma Review, please book with Priya Patel

This could help if a patient chooses to phone the practice, rather than book via the link.

Update the rest of the messages in your flow, or click DUPLICATE MESSAGE to quickly repeat what you have just done.

Double check you are happy by clicking on each message.

You can recall by Birth Month, or choose No Ordering - this is just the order that the clinical system sends us the data on eligible patients.