Preparing patients for a first specialist consultation

A first specialist consultation goes well when the patient arrives with the referral letter, previous results and imaging, a list of current medication, and their own questions written down — and when the slot is long enough for a full history and examination. Tell new patients exactly what to bring when they book, give first visits a longer slot than follow-ups, and end each first consultation with a clear plan: tests to do, the next appointment, and who to contact in the meantime. Preparation on both sides turns a first visit into a decision, not a second referral.

A new patient brings a history you don't know yet: symptoms that may go back years, tests done elsewhere, treatments already tried. If the documents are missing, the consultation turns into a list of things to fetch and a second appointment just to look at them. A first visit also carries more worry for the patient, who may have waited for it and fears what they'll hear. Giving it its own slot length and its own instructions is the simplest way to make it useful.

A first consultation includes the history, the examination, reviewing documents, explaining findings and agreeing on a plan. That takes longer than a follow-up. Set a first-visit slot that fits your specialty, and keep it separate from follow-ups so new patients can't book into a short slot by mistake. If some first visits need an in-clinic test, such as an ECG or an ultrasound, allow for it in the slot or create a separate service for it.

Start with the patient's own account before the documents: what worries them, how it started, what has changed. Then go through the results they brought. Patients who feel heard at the start are more likely to follow the plan at the end.

Say what you think is going on, what's still uncertain, and what the next steps will tell you. Use plain words, check what has been understood, and give written information if you have it. If a diagnosis is serious, leave time for questions or suggest the patient comes back with someone close.

Before the patient leaves, they should know which tests to do and where, when the next appointment is, and how to reach the practice if things change. Send a letter to the referring doctor so the whole care team works from the same information.

Some patients forget their results or can't get them in time. Ask them to send documents before the appointment if they can, and decide in advance what you'll do if key results are missing on the day: go ahead with the history and examination and review the results at the follow-up, or move the appointment. Saying this in the service description avoids surprises for both sides.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a first-consultation service and a follow-up service, and open slots for each at their length, one place per slot; repeat them each week on chosen weekdays until a date. Patients book online without an account and receive a confirmation email. Put the list of things to bring in the first-consultation description, so they read it before booking. The public form includes an optional note: patients can mention who referred them, without medical detail. The note can't be edited once the booking exists.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Patients can't move bookings online: they contact the practice, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and let them know yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book handles appointments only; it doesn't store medical records or take payments. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.