Skip to content
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

How Patient Requests Arrive in Your Inbox

When EMMA handles a patient call, she submits the patient's request directly into your surgery's online consultation inbox. This article explains how that process works, what a request looks like when it arrives, and what your team needs to do with it.

Purpose of This Article

One of the most common questions from new practices is how patient requests get from EMMA into their inbox, and what that looks like in practice. This article answers that question clearly so your team knows what to expect from day one.

Main Content

How Submissions Work

When EMMA finishes handling a patient call, she submits the captured request directly into your online consultation inbox. This is the same inbox your team already uses for online consultation submissions from patients.

EMMA submits requests into whichever consultation system your surgery is configured to use:

  • Accurx
  • eConsult
  • Anima
  • AskMyGP

The submission appears in your inbox in the same format as any other online consultation submission. Your team reviews and actions it as they would any other request. No new system or workflow is required.

What a Request Contains

Each request submitted by EMMA includes the structured information captured during the call. Depending on the type of request, this typically includes:

  • Patient name and date of birth
  • NHS number (verified via live PDS lookup during the call)
  • The nature of the request (medical, administrative, routine care, etc.)
  • The patient's description of their concern or need
  • Any relevant context EMMA collected during the conversation, such as symptoms, tried treatments, or specific asks
  • The time and date of the call

For Admin and Other type requests, EMMA may also include answers to targeted follow-up questions she asked the patient during the call, providing your team with richer context before they triage.

Request Types

EMMA captures a range of request types, which appear in your inbox with the relevant category label. Common request types include:

  • Medical (GP review needed)
  • Routine care
  • Repeat prescription
  • Test results
  • Sick or fit note
  • Referral follow-up
  • Doctor's letter
  • Administrative request

Each type follows a structured conversation flow, so the information captured is consistent and relevant to that request type.

The Duplicate Enquiry Alert

If the same patient submits more than one request on the same day, a Duplicate Enquiry alert is automatically displayed on the later submission. This helps your team spot repeat submissions at a glance and avoid processing the same request twice.

The alert applies across the main inbox, the Failed section, and the Review section of the dashboard. No configuration is needed — it is automatically enabled for all practices.

Only same-day submissions are flagged. Requests from previous days are not marked as duplicates.

What Your Team Needs to Do

Your team's workflow does not change significantly. When a request arrives:

  1. Open your consultation inbox as normal.
  2. Review the submitted request from EMMA in the same way you would any online consultation.
  3. Triage, assign, or action the request according to your practice's usual process.
  4. Mark the request as done once actioned.

EMMA handles the capture. Your team handles the clinical decision-making and follow-up.

Out-of-Hours Submissions

If your consultation system is switched off outside of surgery hours, EMMA can be configured to handle this in one of two ways:

  • EMMA remains active but informs patients the surgery is closed and no requests can currently be taken
  • EMMA is turned off entirely outside of configured hours so calls are not answered

Your approach should align with your surgery's existing out-of-hours phone setup. If you need to review or change this configuration, contact your account manager.

If a Submission Does Not Arrive

Occasionally a request may not appear in your inbox. The most common reasons are:

  • Your consultation system was temporarily unavailable or closed at the time of the call
  • A technical issue occurred during submission
  • The request was redirected rather than submitted (for example, the call was transferred to reception)

If a patient reports that their request was not received, check your consultation inbox and the dashboard call recordings. See also: A Patient Request Has Not Arrived in the Inbox (article 3.3).

Step-by-Step Instructions

Your team's daily process for handling EMMA submissions:

  1. Log in to your online consultation inbox (Accurx, eConsult, Anima, or AskMyGP) as normal.
  2. New submissions from EMMA appear alongside any other online consultation requests.
  3. Review each request. Check for the Duplicate Enquiry alert on any request where the same patient has submitted multiple times that day.
  4. Triage, assign, or action each request according to your practice's usual clinical workflow.
  5. Mark requests as done once actioned.
  6. If a request appears to be missing, check the dashboard call recordings and contact support@quantumloopai.com if needed.

Troubleshooting

A patient says they spoke to EMMA but their request has not arrived in our inbox. Check your consultation inbox carefully, including any filtered or archived views. Then check the dashboard to find the relevant call recording and confirm whether a submission was made. If a submission was attempted but failed, contact support@quantumloopai.com. See: A Patient Request Has Not Arrived in the Inbox (article 3.3).

We are seeing a lot of duplicate enquiry alerts. Duplicate alerts indicate the same patient submitted more than one request on the same day. This can happen if a patient called twice, or if a SOFIA submission arrived alongside a call submission. Review the requests to determine which is the most recent and complete, then action accordingly.

Requests are arriving in our inbox but with less information than expected. EMMA collects structured information during the call. If a patient gave very brief answers or the call was short, the submission may contain less detail. This is normal. Your team can follow up with the patient if more information is needed.

Requests are arriving in the wrong category or format. Contact your account manager. This may indicate a configuration adjustment is needed for your EMMA call flows.

Our consultation system was down and we are worried about missed requests. Accurx submissions include an automated fallback mechanism that activates if the primary submission method is temporarily unavailable. For other consultation systems, contact support@quantumloopai.com to check whether any submissions need to be reprocessed.

FAQs

Do EMMA submissions look different from regular online consultation submissions? They appear in the same format as other online consultation submissions in your inbox. The source may be identified within the submission details, but the format your team sees is consistent with what they are already used to.

Can EMMA submit requests to more than one consultation system? No. Each surgery is configured to use one consultation system at a time. If you need to change your consultation system, contact your account manager.

What happens if a patient submits a request via EMMA and also separately via the online consultation tool? Both submissions will arrive in your inbox independently. The Duplicate Enquiry alert will flag these if they are from the same patient on the same day, helping your team identify and consolidate them.

Does EMMA submit requests outside of surgery hours? This depends on your configuration. If EMMA is active outside of hours, she can submit requests while your consultation system is also active. If your consultation system is closed, submissions may be queued or EMMA may be configured to inform patients that no requests can currently be taken. Speak to your account manager to review your out-of-hours setup.

Can we see all submissions made by EMMA in one place? Yes. The QuantumLoop AI dashboard shows all EMMA call activity and submissions. Your consultation inbox contains the submitted requests themselves. See also: How to Use the QL Consultation Tool Inbox (article 2.13).

What is the Duplicate Enquiry alert and can we turn it off? The Duplicate Enquiry alert flags same-day submissions from the same patient to help your team avoid processing the same request twice. It is automatically enabled for all practices and does not currently have a per-practice off switch. Contact support@quantumloopai.com if you have questions about how it works.