Patient Self-Scheduling & Lab Order Page — Product Guide

Overview

The Patient Portal is a secure, white-labeled experience that allows patients to schedule their lab appointment, understand what’s been ordered, and know what to expect at the lab — all through a unique, order-specific link.

Customers can use the Patient Portal in two ways:

1. Automatically, via Junction’s email and SMS notifications (no engineering work required), or

2. Manually, by generating a Portal URL via the Junction API and linking out from their own product

The Portal is designed to reduce friction to collection, increase appointment booking, and improve overall lab utilization. Patients who book an appointment are much more likely to complete their lab draw than those who walk in without one.

What the Patient Portal Enables

With the Patient Portal, patients can:

• Securely access their lab order

• Schedule a Quest PSC appointment directly on page

• View appointment details (location, date, time, confirmation code)

• Track order progress

• See expected lab turnaround time for results

• Review tests ordered and fasting requirements

• Understand what to expect at the lab

• Download their lab requisition

• Access help if they get stuck

All within a mobile-friendly, branded experience hosted by Junction.

How Patients Access the Patient Portal

Option 1: Junction Email & SMS (Default, No Engineering Required)

If you use Junction’s patient email and SMS notifications:

• A unique Patient Portal link is automatically generated

• The link is included in:

  • Order confirmation messages

  • SMS appointment reminders, if enabled for your team (see below)

• Patients simply tap the link to access their Portal

This is the fastest way to get started and requires no API work.

Option 2: Generate the Portal Link via API (Optional)

For customers who want to surface the Portal inside their own product experience, you can generate the link yourself using the Junction API and link out to it.

SMS Appointment Reminders

SMS appointment reminders pair with the Patient Portal to nudge patients to book, and then show up for, their lab appointment. Each reminder includes the patient's Portal link. Reminders are sent by SMS only; no reminder emails are sent.

Before an appointment is booked

After the requisition is created, Junction schedules these reminders:

If no nearby Patient Service Center address is available, the 7-day reminder instead lets the patient know their lab order is still open and includes the booking link.

Booking reminders stop as soon as the patient books an appointment. No further booking reminders are sent after day 7.

After an appointment is booked through Junction

A few details:

• If an appointment is booked less than 24 hours ahead, the 24-hour reminder is skipped.

• Rescheduling automatically recalculates the reminder times.

• Cancelling an appointment clears any pending appointment reminders.

Customizing reminder messages

Reminder copy can be customized for each reminder. Work with your Customer Success Manager to replace Junction's default templates with your own. See 📄 SMS Template Parameters for the fields you can use.

Authentication & Security

Authentication depends on how the portal link is delivered:

A) If the link is delivered via Junction comms (Email/SMS)

Patients must verify their identity using 6-digit OTP verification.

Flow:

1. Patient opens the Portal link

2. Patient chooses one of two verification methods:

   1. Email me a 6-digit code, or

   2. Text me a 6-digit code

3. The code is sent to the patient’s pre-populated email address or phone number from the order

4. Patient enters the code to proceed

Notes:

• The patient can only send the code to the contact info on the order

• No passwords, accounts, or long-term logins

• If a patient accesses the Patient Portal via a Junction-generated short link, they only need to complete verification once per device.

B) If the link is generated via the Junction API

There are two distinct API-based behaviors:

Case 1: Portal URL generated with patient context (pre-authenticated)

If the customer generates the Portal URL via the Junction API and passes the required patient context:

• The patient is pre-authenticated

• No OTP verification is required

• The Portal opens directly

This is intended for customers who:

• Already authenticate patients in their own product

• Want a seamless link-out experience

• Control how and when the link is shared

Case 2: Short link generated without patient context

If a short link is generated without patient context:

• The patient must authenticate using a 6-digit OTP

• OTP is sent via Junction email or SMS

⚠ Important:

Sending OTP codes requires Junction white-labeled email and/or SMS to be enabled. Customers who do not have Junction comms enabled cannot currently complete OTP delivery.

Patient Experience Flow (for Quest orders)

Step 1: Patient opens their unique Portal link (with authentication) to view their lab order and is prompted to schedule an appointment

Step 2: Patient's zip code is pre-populated from the order information to present convenient lab PSC's for their collection

Step 3: Patient selects a convenient location, date, and time

Step 4: Patient reviews and confirms appointment

Step 5: Appointment is confirmed with an appointment code and progress bar is updated.

The patient can return to the Portal to:

1. Review appointment details

2. Download their requisition

3. Review preparation instructions

4. Reschedule or cancel an appointment

Supported Labs & Scheduling

• Quest PSC scheduling is supported directly on-page

• Availability is based on real-time Quest location data

• For Labcorp and BioReference orders, the appointment booking button on the lab order page opens a new tab in the patient's browser for scheduling on the labs' external websites. Direct on-page scheduling is coming soon.

  • Learn more at: 📄 Patient Self-Scheduling for Lab Appointments (Labcorp & BioReference)

What the Patient Portal Does Not Do (Yet)

The Patient Portal MVP does not currently support:

• Creating patient accounts or logins

• Viewing lab results

• Modifying lab orders

• Billing or payment flows

• Other collection modalities outside of lab PSCs

The Portal is intentionally focused on helping patients complete the collection step successfully by scheduling a convenient draw appointment and answering common questions about what to expect at the lab.

Branding & White-Labeling

• The Patient Portal inherits your configured brand settings in Junction (the same settings used for Junction email communications)

• The experience is branded, but hosted and maintained by Junction

• No frontend work is required to launch.

Getting Started

To enable the Patient Portal:

1. Confirm your team is using Junction email and/or SMS (recommended), or plan to generate links via API

2. Decide whether you'd also like SMS appointment reminders turned on

3. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager

4. Junction will help confirm eligibility and rollout timing