By combining the power of Nextech with the power of NextPatient, online scheduling can be a very seamless process not only for the patients, but also for the office staff. In this article, we are going to talk about two methods that are able to be configured in Nextech to help improve the workflow for your team.
Visual Distinction between appointments booked internally vs online
We can visually identify appointments made online vs those made internally by creating a unique Appointment Status in Nextech.
In the image above, you will see that the appointment on the top and bottom having a status of Pending (p) while the two in the middle are set to Pending - Web (w) and have a different background color. This allows anyone looking at the schedule to quickly see the difference between these two appointments without having to hunt for an Input User name or special appointment types.
Setup Instructions:
Add an Appointment Status: Admin Module → Scheduler tab → Edit Status. Normally all appointments begin as “Pending (p)”, but we recommend adding a new option for “Pending - Web (w)”.
Update Preferences: Tools → Edit Preferences → Scheduler Module → Online Scheduling → General. Assign the “Online Scheduling Appointments - Book” preference value to “Pending - Web” and press Save.
Using the Online Appointment Queue
Nextech’s internal Online Appointment Queue can be configured to work nicely with all API based online scheduling systems including NextPatient. This tool allows the office staff to locate any appointment made through the API with easy to use filters for date range, location, provider, and even appointment type or purpose. To access this tool, go to Activities → Scheduling → Online Scheduling… or click its icon in the Scheduler module shown below in green.
Note: The Online Schedule Queue’s icon in the Scheduler Module will be disabled when there is no activity to review. You can still access the tool through the Activities menu at any time.
Setup Instructions:
Update Preferences: Tools → Edit Preferences → Scheduler Module → Online Scheduling → General. Assign the “Online Scheduling Appointments - Hold” preference value to “Pending - Web” and press Save.
Setting the hold preference does not impact the appointment being saved. All appointments through NextPatient will still be saved successfully and no action is officially needed from the staff to confirm the appointment.