PHQ FAQs  have been put together to help booking teams with any questions around issues patients might have accessing and completing the PHQs:


I have received an email from ‘MTW, Noreply-PHQ ([email protected])’ – is this a genuine email?

Yes, patients should have been advised to look out for the email at the time of booking. Sometimes emails can be flagged as spam or junk by the recipient’s email server.

 

I was told to expect an email with a Patient Health Questionnaire, but I haven’t received one?

The PHQ should have been automatically sent via email at the time of booking, but sometimes if the booking process isn’t followed correctly, or if the patient’s email address is missing, the PHQ isn’t sent. Check the Inpatient WL report on Hexio, or those with access to the Analytics module on iPro can check the ‘PHQ Status’ report:

  • If the PHQ Status is ‘Sent’, confirm the patient’s email address and ask the patient to check their Junk or Spam email folder.
    1. If the patient’s email is incorrect, this can be updated on PAS and it should automatically re-trigger the PHQ to be sent.
    2. If the patient’s email appears to be correct, and the email is not in the patient’s Junk or Spam email folder, it is possible to re-trigger the PHQ by changing the patient’s email address on PAS to include a full stop ‘.’ at the end, submitting the change, and then updating the email address once more, deleting the full stop ‘.’. This should automatically re-trigger the PHQ to be sent.
  • If the PHQ Status is ‘Not Sent’, check whether there is a valid email. If there isn’t a valid email, enter this on PAS and it should automatically re-trigger the PHQ to be sent.
  • If no PHQ has been created, check the Orders tab in Sunrise to confirm that a Referral - Elective Admission order has been submitted for the patient. If an order hasn’t been submitted, please advise the relevant clinician or staff member.

 

The link in the email I have received doesn’t work?

Sometimes, the patient’s email server deactivates the hyperlink in the patient’s email. If this happens, they should copy and paste the link into their browser. If this doesn’t work, they should check their browser security settings. We recommend patients use either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as the web browser.

 

I have received an email but when I click or copy the link into my browser, it says ‘The link has expired.’?

Check the patient is using the most recently received email. The Inpatient WL report on Hexio or the PHQ Status report on iPro can be used to check the ‘Email Last Sent’ column, to advise the patient when the most recent email should have been received. If necessary, the PHQ can be manually re-sent from within the PAT module, but only if a pre-assessment appointment has been booked.

Alternatively, as above, it is possible to re-trigger the PHQ by changing the patient’s email address on PAS to include a full stop ‘.’ at the end, submitting the change, and then updating the email address once more, deleting the full stop ‘.’. This should automatically re-trigger the PHQ to be sent.


I have clicked on or copied the link into my browser, and I can see a login page for the PHQ, but I get a message stating ‘Login unsuccessful. Please check your details and try again.’?

This suggests the patient is entering their name and date of birth differently to how it is recorded on PAS/Sunrise. Ask them to check the spelling of their name and their date of birth against what is recorded on PAS/Sunrise.

 

I can access the questionnaire, and have part-completed it, but now the computer is saying there is a time-out error?

The connection to the website will time out after 2 hours. If patients receive an error message, they should close the window and use the same link to log back in to the questionnaire. They will need to click through to get to the page they had reached previously, but anything they had entered up to the point the PHQ timed out should have been saved.

 

Can I come back to a part-completed questionnaire if I need to?

Yes – the questionnaire will remain editable until the point it is submitted, using the same link as the patient originally used to access it. As above, anything they had previously entered should be saved.

 

How do I submit the questionnaire once I’ve finished?

Patients must complete the ‘Confirmatory Statement’ section and signature box on page 15 (these are the only mandated questions in the questionnaire), then ‘Submit’ on the following page. NB patient must complete this step, or a copy of the patient’s PHQ will not appear in iPro or on Sunrise. Where patients have part-completed but not submitted their PHQ, the PHQ status will display on the Inpatient WL and PHQ Status reports as ‘InProgress’.

 

I have received an email with a link to complete a PHQ, when I have already submitted one in the last few weeks/months – do I need to do another one?

Normally, patients who have completed a PHQ within the last 6 months should not receive an email requesting them to complete a new PHQ. It is possible the patient believes they have submitted the questionnaire, when in fact they did not click the submit button. Whether a patient has previously submitted a PHQ in the last 6 months is displayed in the Inpatient WL and PHQ Status reports. If there is a previously submitted PHQ, and it appears the patient has been sent another email in error, such patients are not required to complete a new PHQ, unless there has been a significant change in their health in the meantime. Previously completed PHQs should also be viewable in Sunrise under the Documents tab (remember to select ‘All Available Charts’).

 

 

For any other issues, please take as much detail from the patient as possible, and raise a ticket via the IT ServiceDesk under:

Organisation *   CSMT

Category *          iPro

Item *                   Other



Version 2.0 - Last Updated 03/07/2025(OB)