I am still working on this document
The Basics
Log into NextPatient → Settings → Appointments → Add a template (or you can choose to copy an existing one, then make changes)
After you click Add a template you will see the following screen:
Name- Name of the template. This has no bearing on what patients will see. It's a best practice to make this name descriptive, i.e. "Dr. Smith M-F".
Note: This name does not drive any behavior for the schedule, it is simply for informational purposes.
Provider- Use the dropdown to select the Provider who will be using the following template. If the Provider is not in the dropdown, they need to be created first (Instructions on how do do that here)
Exam Room- Please select the correct Exam room, if applicable. Note, if you have selected an Exam Room in the Provider profile this field is not necessary unless you are trying to double book this provider across 2 different exam rooms.
Auto-populate- Once this is turn on, the slots configured in the template will begin to populate in the Schedule tab. Other wise slots need to me added manually.
It is best to start out with auto-populating a few days as you are working on your templates and once everything is confirmed and tested, update it to populate 30 days out. This is because once a date has its slots populated in the Schedule tab, any changes you make to the template after that will not be reflected.
Make sure you select all of the correct days for this template- simply check the boxes for the corresponding days of the week
Increment- The increment you select will adjust how frequently appointments will be offered in your scheduling widget. For example, if you want appointments to be available every half-hour, then the 30-minute increment is appropriate.
Appt Length- Used to cap out the max duration of an appointment type that would be allow to be booked in that slot
For example:
When you do not build in breaks, and everything is connected, any appointment length will be able to be booked at any of the increment times. (i.e. a 15 min, 30 min, or 60 min appointment could be booked at 8:15am as long as the full block of time is available on the providers schedule.)
Different Scheduling Scenarios
For any form of double booking or multiple bookings, certain settings will need reviewed.
The drchrono setting says "don't allow provider to be booked in two places at once" - Make sure this setting is disabled in drchrono to allow one interface provider to be booked across multiple exam rooms.
The NextPatient setting says "don't book into a room if another provider is booked there" - Make sure this setting is disabled (ask David) to allow us to book multiple interface providers into the same exam room.
You CANNOT double book a single interface provider in a single Exam Room.
A Provider that needs to be double booked across 2 different exam rooms. (make more templates if more Exam Rooms are needed)
Follow the basic set up steps and create 2 templates for the same provider, only this time the Exam Room field HAS TO BE FILLED with each of the 2 exam rooms they need to be booked into.
A provider that requires certain appointment types to have different available times.
Example: A provider wants different availability for New Patients vs. Returning Patients
You will need to make sure the provider is in the Provider list 2 times. One entry will be used for New Patients and the second entry will be used for Returning Patients
Go to Visit Reasons and mark the correct Visit Reasons for each provider.
Create a schedule template, one for each provider (Provider - New PT and Provider - Return PT)
(Example Urgently Ortho)