Block via Schedule Template
Need to ensure that certain Schedule Templates do not allow for availability such as Holiday, Lunch, Meeting, or other block purposes?
Nextech’s Schedule Templates allows for this by defining a “rule” preventing any appointments. To get started, first open Nextech and navigate to the Schedule Template Editor which is accessible either through the Admin Module - Scheduler Tab or right-clicking on an open space in the scheduler itself.
Click on the template that needs to be defined as having no availability.
Click Edit
Click Add Rule
Review the ‘Edit Rule Details’ page and enter your details as needed. The red schedules in the image below should be completed/selected. These will generate a prompt to any staff member attempting to book onto this template and deny NextPatient the option to book there completely.
The blue section contains two optional fields: A) ‘Prevent the appointment from being saved' will deny non-admin staff from booking in this field. B) ‘Override Location Templates’ will prevent a location template from applying when this schedule template is applied, typically used for Holidays and Out of Office blocks. Both are optional and not needed for NextPatient’s effectiveness.
Click OK to close the details page, OK again to close the Template Entry page, and Close to exit the Schedule Template Editor. NextPatient will review and sync your template on the next sync interval, or you can visit a particular date in NextPatient and select ‘Sync Interface’ to force an immediate sync.
Block via Appointment Type
The office can also block a slot by putting in a blocked appointment type.
In the scheduler, click an open slot, however instead of entering a typical Appointment Type, you will select the Block option
If the staff try to use a Block appointment type where precision templates are in place, it will add the appointment as a new slot and does not take the existing slot provided by the template. (As shown in the image below.)
To prevent this, the “block” appointment type or its equivalent needs to be added to the template rules as an allowed appointment type to be used in the template.
If it happens in a non precision template slot it will take the slot, effectively blocking it from online scheduling.
