Over time, waiting lists lose accuracy. Patients may no longer need their appointment, may have been treated elsewhere, may have moved, or may simply have changed their mind. Without a way to check, your team ends up scheduling patients who never attend — wasting clinic slots that could have gone to someone still waiting.

Client validation is the process of contacting patients to confirm they still require their place on the list. Diarybook supports this through SMS, with a secure link that takes the patient to a validation page where they can respond.

How it works

The validation workflow has four steps:

1. A validation page is created in Diarybook for the waiting list, setting out the information the patient will see and the response options available to them.
2. An SMS is sent to patients on the list containing a secure link to the validation page.
3. The patient responds by following the link, reviewing their details and selecting their response.
4. The response is recorded against the patient’s waiting list entry, updating the Validated date on the list view.

The validation page

The validation page is a web page that patients access via the link in their SMS. It is designed to be clear, accessible and straightforward — patients should be able to understand what is being asked and respond within a few minutes on a mobile phone.

The page typically shows:

• The name of the waiting list or service the patient is on.
• Relevant details of the patient’s entry, such as how long they have been waiting.
• A set of response options.

The response options are configurable, but a typical set would include:

• I still need this appointment — the patient confirms they wish to remain on the list.
• I no longer need this appointment — the patient asks to be removed.
• My circumstances have changed — the patient indicates something has changed (for example, new contact details, a change in condition, or a preference to be seen elsewhere).

When a patient selects a response, it is submitted back to Diarybook and recorded on their waiting list entry.

Configurable response options

The validation form is fully configurable. Beyond the standard “I still need this appointment” response set, your service can add custom questions tailored to the specific waiting list or clinical context. Questions can use different input types — for example, a yes/no choice, a set of radio options, or a free-text field.

As an example, a service managing a long inpatient waiting list might add a question such as:

This allows your team to gather specific, actionable information as part of the validation cycle rather than relying on follow-up phone calls.

All responses — both standard and custom — are captured and stored against the waiting list entry in a structured format. Diarybook can output this data so your team can review, filter and report on the responses. For example, you could identify all patients on a list who indicated willingness to attend an alternative location, or extract all free-text comments for review at a scheduling meeting.

The configuration of validation forms — including which questions to include and what options to offer — is managed as part of the waiting list setup. Details on configuring validation forms will be covered in a future update to this guide.

Hosting the validation page

The validation page needs to be hosted on a web platform that patients can access from their phone or computer. Diarybook supports this through services such as HSEBOOK, but any suitable hosting platform can be used provided it can serve the page securely and communicate responses back to Diarybook.

Your Diarybook administrator can advise on which hosting arrangement is in place for your service.

Sending validation requests

Validation requests are sent to patients by SMS using Diarybook’s existing SMS capabilities. The message contains a short text explaining that the service is checking whether the patient still requires their place on the list, along with a secure link to the validation page.

When planning a validation cycle, consider the following:

Which patients to validate. Not every patient on the list needs to be validated at the same time. A practical approach is to start with patients who have been waiting the longest or who have the oldest (or no) validation date. These are the entries most likely to have become outdated.

Timing. Validation messages are most effective when sent during reasonable hours and with enough notice for patients to respond before any scheduling decisions are made. Avoid sending validation requests immediately before a scheduling run — allow a response window of at least a week.

Contact details. Validation depends on having a current mobile number on the client record. Entries where the SMS cannot be delivered (invalid number, no number on file) will not receive the validation link. These cases may need to be followed up by other means — phone call, letter, or email — depending on your service’s policy.

Suspended patients. Patients whose waiting list entry is currently suspended should generally not receive validation requests. They have already indicated they are temporarily unavailable, and a validation message during that period may cause confusion.

Processing responses

When a patient responds through the validation page, the following happens:

The Validated date is updated on their waiting list entry. This date is visible in the Validated column on the list view, giving your team an at-a-glance indication of how recently each patient confirmed their status.

The response is recorded against the entry, so your team can see what the patient said — not just that they responded.

Action may be required depending on the response:

• I still need this appointment — no action needed beyond noting the confirmation. The patient remains on the list and the validation date is updated.
• I no longer need this appointment — the patient has indicated they wish to be removed. A member of your team should review the response and change the status to Removed with the appropriate removal reason (typically “Patient Request”). The validation response provides the evidence for the removal.
• My circumstances have changed — a member of your team should review the details and take appropriate action, which might include updating contact information, adjusting priority, or contacting the patient directly for more information.

Validation responses do not trigger automatic status changes. A person on your team always reviews and acts on the response. This is deliberate — automatic removal based on a single response carries risks (the patient may have misunderstood, tapped the wrong option, or a family member may have responded on their behalf). Human review ensures that patients are not removed from the list without appropriate consideration.

What patients see

The validation page is designed to be simple and reassuring. Patients should understand that:

• Their place on the list is not at risk simply because they received the message.
• Responding helps the service manage the list effectively.
• If they confirm they still need the appointment, nothing changes — they remain on the list at their current position.
• If they choose to be removed, someone from the service will process that request.

The tone and wording of the validation page and SMS can be tailored to suit your service. Clarity and plain language are important — many patients will be unfamiliar with terms like “waiting list validation” and the messaging should avoid clinical jargon where possible.

Running regular validation cycles

Validation is most effective when it is carried out regularly rather than as a one-off exercise. A common pattern is to run a validation cycle quarterly, or more frequently for lists with long average waiting times.

Regular validation has several benefits:

• Keeps the list current. Entries that are no longer active are identified and removed, giving your team an accurate picture of true demand.
• Reduces wasted slots. Patients who no longer need their appointment are identified before a slot is allocated to them, freeing capacity for patients who are still waiting.
• Supports reporting. Waiting list figures reported internally or externally are more meaningful when the list has been recently validated.
• Improves the patient experience. Patients appreciate being contacted — it shows the service is aware they are waiting and is actively managing the list. Even a simple “we haven’t forgotten about you” message has value.

Practical tips

Start small. If your service has not run a validation cycle before, consider piloting it on one list or one cohort (for example, patients waiting longer than six months) before rolling it out more broadly. This lets your team develop a workflow for processing responses before handling larger volumes.

Agree on response handling. Before sending validation messages, make sure your team knows who is responsible for reviewing responses and what the process is for each response type. A validation cycle that generates responses nobody acts on is worse than not validating at all — patients have been asked to engage and expect something to happen.

Document the outcome. When acting on a validation response — particularly a removal — use the reason text field on the status change to note that the removal was prompted by a validation response. This links the audit trail back to the patient’s own confirmation.

Monitor non-responses. Patients who do not respond to a validation request are not necessarily no longer interested. They may not have received the SMS, may not have understood it, or may simply not have got around to it. Non-response should trigger follow-up (a second SMS, a phone call, or a letter) rather than removal. Most services require at least two contact attempts before removing a patient for non-response.

Next steps

• Understanding Breach Dates and Targets — how breach dates are calculated, how suspensions affect them, and what the visual indicators mean.