> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bizaxl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Patient Portal
> How patients can book their own appointments, view prescriptions and lab results, and update their personal details online - without calling the clinic.
The patient portal gives your patients a self-service window to your clinic. They can book their own appointments, check what the doctor prescribed, view their lab results, and update their contact details - all from their phone or computer, at any time.
For the clinic, this means fewer phone calls to reception and patients who are better informed about their own care.
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## What Patients Can Do on the Portal
| Task | What the Patient Does |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Book an appointment | Choose doctor, date, and time; submit the booking |
| View upcoming appointments | See all scheduled visits |
| View prescriptions | Read the medications prescribed in past consultations |
| View lab test results | See approved lab results (submitted Lab Tests) |
| Update personal details | Edit contact information, address, and personal details |
***
## Before You Start
Patients need a portal account to log in. Setting this up takes about 30 seconds per patient.
***
## Enabling Portal Access for a Patient
1. Open the **Patient** record
2. Tick the **Invite as User** checkbox
3. Make sure the patient's email address is filled in
4. Click **Save**
The system sends an email invitation to the patient's address with a link to set their password.
Once the patient sets their password, they can log in to the portal at your clinic's URL.
***
## What the Patient Sees: Booking an Appointment
On the portal, the patient can book a new appointment:
1. They go to **Patient Appointments** on the portal menu
2. They select a doctor, department, appointment type, and date
3. Available time slots are shown based on the doctor's schedule
4. They submit the booking
When the patient submits, a **Patient Appointment** record is created in the system with status **Scheduled**. The receptionist can see and manage it like any other appointment. The patient also receives an automatic confirmation SMS.
***
## What the Patient Sees: Prescriptions
The portal shows all submitted Patient Encounter records linked to that patient. The patient can read:
* The consultation date
* The diagnosis
* The medications prescribed (drug, dosage, frequency, duration)
This means a patient does not need to call the clinic to ask "what did the doctor prescribe?" - they can look it up themselves.
***
## What the Patient Sees: Lab Results
The portal shows submitted and approved Lab Test records. The patient can see:
* Which tests were ordered
* The result values for each parameter
* The normal range for comparison
* The result date
The patient receives an SMS notification when results are printed or emailed (configured in Healthcare Settings). They can also check the portal themselves without waiting for the notification.
***
## What the Patient Sees: Personal Details
The patient can update their own:
* Name
* Contact details (phone, email)
* Address
These changes update the Patient record in the system automatically.
***
## Report Preference
Some patients prefer to receive lab results by email; others prefer to collect a printed copy.
Set this on the Patient record:
1. Open the Patient record
2. In the **Report Preference** field, select **Email** or **Print**
3. Save
When lab results are available, the system sends them via the preferred method automatically.
***
## Troubleshooting
**The patient did not receive the portal invitation email**
Check that the email address on the Patient record is correct and has no typos. Check that BAS email settings are configured and that the clinic's email account is working. If needed, open the User record for the patient in BAS and resend the welcome email from there.
**The patient can log in but cannot see their appointments**
Check that the appointments are linked to the correct patient record. If the patient has a duplicate record, their bookings may be on the other record.
**The patient's prescriptions are not showing on the portal**
Prescriptions only show after the Patient Encounter is submitted. If the consultation is still in draft, it will not appear in the portal.
**Lab results show on the portal but the patient says they were told results are not available**
If the Lab Test is submitted (approved), it is visible on the portal. The patient may be looking at an old result or may not have scrolled to the latest entry. Have them refresh the portal page.
**The patient forgot their portal password**
Direct the patient to the "Forgot Password" link on the portal login page. They will receive a password reset email.
***
## Best Practices
* Invite patients to the portal at registration rather than waiting until they specifically ask - patients who are set up early are more likely to use it
* Always set the Report Preference field for new patients - this prevents results being sent by the wrong method
* Mention the portal to patients when they collect their prescription - telling them they can check future prescriptions online encourages adoption
* If a patient does not have a smartphone or email, do not send a portal invite - focus on SMS for appointment reminders only
***
## Related Features
* [Patient Management](/health-wellness/general-clinic/patient-management): Portal access is enabled from the Patient record
* [Appointments](/health-wellness/general-clinic/appointments): Portal bookings create the same Appointment records as receptionist bookings
* [Consultations](/health-wellness/general-clinic/consultations): Submitted consultations are visible in the portal as prescriptions
* [Laboratory](/health-wellness/general-clinic/laboratory): Approved lab test results are visible in the portal