Consent letters
A patient’s consent letters can be viewed and sent to the patient for signing from their profile.
Consent letters are configured by administrators.
Navigating to a patient’s consent letters
To view a patient’s consent letters:
- search for the patient and visit their profile
- in the patient’s sidebar, click Consent letters
The consent letters are listed in two sections:
Signed consent letters lists the consent letters the patient has already signed. Each item shows the letter’s title (which links to the signed consent letter’s detail view), a signed indicator, and who signed the letter and when.
Practice consent letters lists the consent letters the patient has not yet signed. Each item shows the letter’s title, and a required indicator where the letter is required by your practice. Optional consent letters have no indicator.
Already-signed consent letters are also available within this section, collapsed under a Show already-signed toggle. In the rare case that a document may need to be signed again, expanding the toggle lists the signed consent letters so that a new signing link can be sent - see Requesting signatures for consent letters.
Only required consent letters are visible to patients in the patient portal. Optional consent letters must be sent to the patient individually - see the Requesting signatures for consent letters section below.
Viewing a signed consent letter
A signed consent letter can be opened in a detail view to review the signed PDF inline, along with who signed the letter and when.
To view a signed consent letter:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- find the consent letter in the Signed consent letters section
- click on the consent letter’s title
The signed PDF is shown on the page. The dot menu to the right of the heading can be used to download the signed PDF.
Downloading a signed consent letter
A signed consent letter may be downloaded for your records.
To download a signed consent letter:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- find the consent letter in the Signed consent letters section
- click on the dot menu to the right of the consent letter, or open the detail view and click the dot menu to the right of the heading
- click Download
The signed PDF will open in a new tab, ready for printing or saving.
Requesting signatures for consent letters
Links to consent letters may be sent to patients for signing via email or WhatsApp, or shown as a QR code which can be scanned on a device at your practice to give to patients to sign.
For security purposes, these links will expire after 24 hours from when they were sent. The patient will also be able to log in to the patient portal to sign the consent letter after the link has expired, or new links can be sent to the patient.
In order to send links via WhatsApp, messaging must be enabled for your practice, and the patient must have a valid WhatsApp number saved against their profile.
Sending a link for a single consent letter
To request a signature for a single consent letter:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- find the consent letter in the Practice consent letters section
- click on the dot menu to the right of the consent letter
- click Request signature via email or Request signature via WhatsApp
To re-send a link for a consent letter that has already been signed, expand the Show already-signed toggle in the Practice consent letters section and follow the same steps for the relevant letter.
Getting a QR code for signing
When the patient is in the practice, a QR code can be scanned to get a secure link for signing the consent letter.
The QR code can be scanned using a tablet or smartphone at your practice, and then handed to the patient to sign the letter.
To get a QR code for signing:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- find the consent letter in the Practice consent letters section
- click on the dot menu to the right of the consent letter
- click Get QR code for signing
- ask the patient to scan the QR code with their phone’s camera
A modal opens showing the QR code. When scanned, a secure signing link opens on their device. The same 24-hour expiry applies to this link as when it is sent via email or WhatsApp.
Sending a link for all required consent letters
When a patient has one or more unsigned required consent letters, a dot menu next to the page’s heading can be used to send a single signed link to the patient for all required consent letters at once. This is useful for prompting the patient to sign any outstanding letters without sending them individually.
To send a link to sign all required consent letters:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- click on the dot menu to the right of the page’s heading
- click Email all required to patient or WhatsApp all required to patient
The patient will receive a message with a link to a page where they can review and sign required consent letters.
Once all letters are signed, the patient will receive an email with a list of all of the signed consent letters, the dates they were signed, and attached PDFs of each letter.
Uploading a signed consent letter
When a consent letter has been signed outside of the patient portal - for example, a printed copy - a file can be uploaded against the relevant consent letter for the patient.
To upload a signed consent letter:
- navigate to the patient’s consent letters
- find the consent letter in the Practice consent letters section
- click on the dot menu to the right of the consent letter
- click Upload signed consent letter
- in the modal, choose the signed document — a PDF, JPEG, or PNG file
- ensure the document was signed by the relevant person
- ensure the document is for the correct consent letter
- click Yes, please upload
The uploaded document is recorded as a signed consent letter and will appear in the Signed consent letters section, where it can be viewed and downloaded like any other signed consent letter.