Making changes to an appointment

It’s simple to move, edit or cancel an appointment – you can choose the method that works best for you and the situation, either through the menu or directly within your diary.

See how to add new appointments.

Amending an appointment from the menu

• Click the three dots next to the + symbol on the top right of the screen to access the Manage menu (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views) and then click Appointments
• You’ll see a list of all the appointments that have been made and can search for a specific patient by clicking in the search filter and typing in part of their name
• You can also filter your list by:
  • Resource = the practitioner seeing the patient
  • Using the Appointment start date and Appointment end date fields to narrow the window of search
  • Status – choose from:
    • Arrived
    • Cancelled
    • Complete
    • Confirmed
    • DNA
    • In progress
• Use the icons in the Action column:
  • Pencil = Edit – you can make changes to the appointment type, location, date and start times
  • Calendar with pencil = Update status – you can change the appointment status
  • Dustbin = Delete

Amending an appointment from the diary

• Navigate to the required appointment using your diary view of choice (Month, Week, Work Week or Day)
• You now have some options:
  • Click the appointment and the details will appear on the right-hand side of the screen – from here you can:
    • Delete the appointment
    • Update the status e.g. show the patient has arrived or was a DNA
    • Reschedule – make the necessary changes
  • You can drag and drop the appointment to another space in your diary when using the Week, Work Week or Day views.
    • Click and hold the appointment and drag it to where you want it e.g. move from 8.30 am on Wednesday to 4.30 pm on Friday
    • Let go of the mouse button to complete the move
    • You can also quickly extend or contract an appointment by left clicking the top or bottom edge and dragging it up or down depending on whether you need to lengthen or shorten it

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Adding and managing your sessions

Whether you need to add an ad-hoc session to your diary or have it recurring on a regular basis, it’s easy to add fixed time when you’re available to see patients at a particular location. You can view the sessions you’ve added in a list or in scheduler view, which shows how they fit into your working week.

You’ll need to make sure you’ve completed your set up first – click the guides below to find out how.

General diary settings

Appointment settings

Adding

• Click the + symbol on the top right of the screen
• Click Session
• If you’re a practice with multiple practitioners, choose from the dropdown options – the name of a single practitioner will already be populated
• Give your session a name that you’ll understand
• Choose the Specialty and Subspecialty from the options available (taken from your PPR profile if you’ve got one)
• Choose the relevant Location
• Click Next
• Choose the types of appointments you want to make available in the session – for multiple choice just keep ticking your options and click outside the dropdown box to move on to the next step. If you only choose one you’ll see the default duration time which you can amend
• Add the start and end times using the pickers or typing in directly by clicking in the box again or pressing the Esc key on your keyboard
• Add a start date either by typing in the date or by clicking on the diary icon and picking it
• Choose the recurrence:
  • Don’t Repeat – this is for a single ad-hoc session
  • Daily
    • You can choose the interval between each recurrence e.g. 1 for every day, 2 for alternate days etc
    • You can apply the session to your work week – which you should have already set up in your General diary settings
  • Weekly
    • Choose the day(s) of the week and the interval between each recurrence e.g. 1 for every week, 2 for every fortnight etc
    • For speed you can apply the session to your work week and adjust the day(s) it relates to
  • Monthly
    • Choose the interval between each recurrence e.g. 1 for every month, 2 for every two months etc
    • Choose if you want it on the same date each month e.g. the 1st, or pick a set day and week e.g. the third Monday
• Choose when you want the recurrence to end:
  • By clicking the End by radio button and typing a date into the box or clicking the calendar icon – you can quickly change the year and month by clicking the current month at the top of the calendar
  • By clicking the End after radio button and typing in how many times you want the session to appear in your diary
• Click Next
• Add any notes
• Review the details on the right-hand side of the page – click Back if you need to make any changes
• Click Save

Managing

Click the three dotted Manage menu on the top right of the screen (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views) and click Sessions.

This will open in Scheduler view on the current week but by moving the toggle at the top right you can view a simple list. If you have multiple diaries, you’ll need to select the relevant Resource (the practitioner) from the dropdown menu.

You can also add a session from this screen by clicking Add Sessions.

Scheduler view

Use the backward (<) and forward (>) arrows next to the date to move backwards and forwards to see the sessions available for the selected week. Simply click on the date to navigate to the month you want to look at and then click on the required week in the calendar.

• The details will appear on the left in the Sessions column – if you’ve got more than one session with multiple appointment types you may need to scroll down to see all the details of each session:
  • Icons for info or action
  • Name of session
  • Active dates
  • Time
  • Location
  • Type of appointments
• Icons:
  • Circular arrows = Only shows if your session is recurring
  • Pencil = Edit – you can make changes to the location, start and end times, start and end dates, recurrence etc
  • No entry = Make the session Inactive – please note that you won’t be able to activate this again
  • Dustbin = Delete

List view

This gives you a complete list of all the sessions in a grid layout, with the same information (apart from the type of appointments). Use the icons in the Action column:

• Pencil = Edit – you can make changes to the location, start and end times, start and end dates, recurrence etc
• No entry = Make the session Iinactive – please note that you won’t be able to activate this again
• Dustbin = Delete

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Making an appointment

You can easily add an appointment by using the menus or directly in the diary.

Adding an appointment directly in the diary

An appointment can be added wherever you want by simply double clicking into the diary. Follow the same steps as below, depending on whether the appointment is in- or outside a session. The only difference will be that the date, start and end times will already be populated. The end time will change depending on the type of appointment required.

Adding an appointment from the menus

You can access this functionality in two ways:

• From the Add menu by clicking the + symbol at the top right of the screen and then clicking Appointment
• From the three dots Manage menu next to the + symbol on the top right of the screen (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views) then:
  • Click Appointment
  • Click Add Appointment

You can now find an available slot and add an appointment either within a session or anywhere in the diary. To find out how to set up your sessions check out our guide.

Find a slot outside a session

• Toggle Find a session to the off position (this is the default) – the right-hand side of the pane will change to show your diary for the next week including sessions and any other appointments already booked outside a session
• Type in part of the patient’s first or last name – this searches your patient list and will return all matching results. If the patient isn’t in your database you’ll need to add them into your patient list first and then make the appointment
• Choose the type of appointment – you’ll need to make sure you’ve set these up first. Check out our guide on Appointment settings
• Choose the relevant Location – if you’re looking for a specific session, toggle on Find a session at the top of the pane (see below)
• Use the forward (>) and backward (<) buttons at the top right of the pane to scroll through the coming weeks until you find a suitable time or click on the date and choose a week from the calendar. Click Today to quickly get back to this week
• Click the time required – even if this is outside your normal working hours
• Alternatively, you can enter the start date and time by clicking in the box and typing or by clicking the calendar icon – the end date and time will automatically be updated
• Click Next
• Type in the Reason for visit if you know it – the diagnosis or symptom the patient is suffering from
• Add any notes
• You can also add one or more instruction that you’ve already set up – this is detailed in our guide on Appointment settings or you can add a new one at this stage
  • Click Add Instruction
  • If you’ve already written some, toggle Search existing templates to the on position, choose from the dropdown options and click Add
  • If you’d like to add a new instruction now, simply give it a name and add the text – if these are directions to your location toggle Add as a location direction to the on position – click Add
  • You can repeat this step as many times as you need to
• If a translator is required, toggle Translator needed to the on position and choose the language required
• Review the appointment details on the right-hand side of the pane – you can click Back if you need to make any changes
• Once everything is correct click Save

Find a slot within a session

• Toggle Find a session to the on position – the right-hand side of the pane will change to show you the the current week
• Type in part of the patient’s first or last name – this searches your patient list and will return all matching results. If the patient isn’t in your database you’ll need to add them into your patient list first and then make the appointment
• Select the session from the dropdown options – the available slots for that session will show on the right-hand side of the pane
• Choose the type of appointment – you’ll need to make sure you’ve set these up first and have added them to the session. Check out our guides on Appointment settings and Sessions
• Use the forward (>) and backward (<) buttons at the top right of the pane to scroll through the coming weeks until you find a suitable time within the required session – or click on the date and choose a week from the calendar. Click Today to quickly get back to this week
• Click the time required which will turn green
• Click Next
• Type in the Reason for visit if you know it – the diagnosis or symptoms the patient is suffering from
• Add any notes
• You can also add one or more instruction – how to set these up is detailed in our guide on Appointment settings or you can add a new one
  • Click Add Instruction
  • If you’ve already written some, toggle Search existing templates to the on position, choose from the dropdown options and click Add
  • If you’d like to add a new instruction now, simply give it a name and add the text – if these are directions to your location toggle Add as a location direction to the on position – click Add
  • You can repeat this step as many times as you need to
• If a translator is required, toggle Translator needed to the on position and choose the language required
• Review the appointment details on the right-hand side of the pane – you can click Back if you need to make any changes
• Once everything is correct click Save

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General settings

You can access General settings in one of four ways:

1. If you’re accessing Appointments for the first time a splash screen will appear – follow our guide and then click Set up
2. Click the Diary Settings button at the top of the diary screen
3. Click Diary Settings from the three dots Manage menu on the right of the screen (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views)
4. Press Alt+Shift+S

Practice hours

This is where you set when you’re available to see patients. You won’t be adding locations at this stage, simply the days of the week and your working times. The default settings are 9 am-5 pm Monday to Friday.

• Unclick the days of the week that you don’t want set – as you do this the working times for that day will disappear
• Amend the working times for each day by either clicking the current times or the clock icons in the start and end boxes. You can add multiple start and finish times by clicking + Add More e.g. a morning session from 08:30 to 11:00, an afternoon session from 14:00 to 16:00 and an evening session from 18:30 to 20:00

These values will become your Working week.

Holidays

This setting is so you can automatically block out the bank holidays in your diary. Choose from the following options:

• England & Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland

Click Save Settings on the top right.

Keyboard shortcuts

• Alt+Shift+S = General diary settings
• Alt+Shift+D = Diary view | Day
• Alt+Shift+W = Diary view | Week
• Alt+Shift+M = Diary view | Month
• Alt+Shift+T = Today (only available in Day view)

Once you’ve finished click Save Settings on the top right of the screen.

You should now go to Appointment settings to add all your appointment types.

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Initial set up

If you’re subscribed to our Lite or Pro plan you’ll get instant access to Appointments and can start straight away. If you’re using Basic you’ll need to subscribe to ICE first. Medical secretary sites with multiple practitioners will need to switch to each practitioner separately before opening the diary.

Getting started

Log into ePractice and click on Appointments in the main menu on the left-hand side and a new window will open in your browser. You’ll still have access to all other areas of ePractice as normal but the diary, session creation and appointments are handled from here.

• A splash screen will appear asking you to add the relevant practitioner diaries
• If you’re a practice with multiple practitioners you’ll be able to see all the practitioners linked to your site – choose your practitioners and click Add
• Review the list – you can remove a practitioner by clicking the cross against the name or search for more to add by clicking on the Search bar
• Click Add when you’ve finished – this is the only step required for a single practitioner site

You can now set up your diary preferences by clicking Set up or click Skip to do this later. See our guide on General diary settings to find out how.

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Adding and managing periods of unavailability

You’ll always need to block out time in the diary – that could be for catching up on admin, going to a meeting or having time off on holiday. We’ve made it much easier to add times when you’re not going to be available to see patients.

Adding

There are two ways to add a new unavailability:

• From the Add menu by clicking the + symbol at the top right of the screen and then clicking Unavailability
• From the the three dots Manage menu next to the + symbol on the top right of the screen (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views) then:
  • Click Unavailability
  • Click Add Unavailability

However you access it you can then add the details.

• If you’re a practice with multiple practitioners, choose from the dropdown options – the name of a single practitioner will already be populated
• Choose the relevant Location
• Choose the start and end dates and times – there are two options:
  • Click in the boxes and type
  • Click the icon and pick the date and add the time – click OK
• Choose a reason from the dropdown list:
  • Admin
  • Holiday
  • Meeting
  • Other
• Add any notes e.g. address of where your meeting is or flight details etc
• Click Add

Managing

• Click the three dotted Manage menu on the top right of the screen (visible on all screens except for Month and Agenda views)
• Click Unavailability to view any times you’ve already blocked out
• To help find a specific unavailable session you can type the reason e.g. holiday, admin or the location name in the Search box – if you’re a practice you’ll first need to filter by practitioner
• Using the icons in the Action column you can make changes to an unavailable session at any time by clicking the pencil icon or click the dustbin icon to delete it

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Appointment settings

This is where you set up your default appointment types and can also add handy instructions that can easily be sent with your appointment confirmations, saving you time.

• Click the Diary Settings button at the top of the screen or use the shortcut Alt+Shift+S
• Click Appointment in the left-hand menu – the page is split into two sections – Appointment types at the top and Appointment instructions at the bottom

Appointment types

Here’s where you create and manage the different types of appointments used when booking patients into your diary. These are based on the Industry Standard Codes (ISCs) that are used in the background to identify what type of appointment is being invoiced to insurers. You can call your appointments whatever you want and have multiple versions of the same thing, although remember the name must be something that’ll be understood by anyone.

The list is in alphabetical order but to help you find the right one quickly, simply type part of the Appointment name in the search box.

To give you a head start, we’ve included 18 commonly used appointment types, with suggested durations – we’ve kept the name the same as the ISC. These are:

• Anaesthesia For Surgery – 360 mins
• Consultation with Minor Treatment – 60 mins
• Consultation, Follow up – 60 mins
• Consultation, Initial – 60 mins
• Consultation, Outpatient – 60 mins
• Initial telephone consultation with MSK Specialist – 60 mins
• Inpatient Consultation – 60 mins
• Physio O/P Consultation per 15 Minutes – 15 mins
• Physiotherapy Follow-up Remote Consultation – 60 mins
• Physiotherapy Initial Consultation – 60 mins
• Physiotherapy Initial Remote Consultation – 60 mins
• Physiotherapy, Follow Up Consultation – 60 mins
• Remote Consultation – 60 mins
• Surgeons Fee for Surgery – 360 mins
• Telephone Consultation over 15 Minutes – 15 mins
• Telephone Consultation up to 15 Minutes – 15 mins
• Video Consultation over 15 Minutes – 30 mins
• Video Consultation up to 15 Minutes – 15 mins

You can easily delete those you don’t want and edit the ones that you’ll use by following these simple steps. NOTE: You mustn’t use an appointment type that’s aligned to a specific professional ISC for another e.g. don’t use Physiotherapy Initial Consultation if you’re not a physiotherapist.

Editing or deleting an appointment type

At the top of the page underneath Appointment types you’ll see the pre-loaded list. To delete an appointment type simply click the dustbin icon in the Action column and then click Yes. Once deleted it can’t be reinstated and will need to be added again.

To edit an appointment type click the pencil icon in the Admin column.

• You can change the name in the Appointment type name (alias) box to anything you want
• Change the colour by clicking in the box and choosing an alternative
• Change the duration by highlighting the number and overwriting with the new value or use the up and down arrows that appear in the right-hand side of the box when you hover over it
• Click the Treatment setting box to choose the correct setting
• If you think you may want to use this appointment type in the future but want to remove it from your list for now, tick the inactive box – to include your inactive appointment types when you’re looking at your list just tick the Include inactive box and the top of the screen. Untick the box if you want to re-activate it
• Click Save

Adding a new appointment type

• Click Add
• Click the Appointment type box and type in the type of appointment you’re looking for e.g. consultation, physio or therapy and choose the relevant one from the list – you can try and narrow down the search by typing in more specific words
• The same name will show in the Appointment type name (alias) box but you can overwrite this to your own e.g. Consultation, Initial(E0000610) can be renamed Initial appointment (45 mins)
• You can choose a colour – an initial colour will be shown but you can change this by clicking in the box and choosing from the available options
• The Duration defaults to 30 minutes – you can change this by either highlighting 30 and overwriting with the new value or use the up and down arrows that appear in the right-hand side of the box when you hover over it
• When you click the Treatment setting box you’ll be given a list to choose from
• Click Save and it will be added to your list
• You can make changes to this appointment type at any time by clicking the pencil icon and following the instructions for Editing or deleting an appointment type
• If you’ve never used an appointment type you can delete it by clicking the dustbin icon

Appointment instructions

This is where you can write simple commonly-used instructions that can easily be included with your appointment confirmations – this’ll save you time as you won’t need to remember to add them to your main messages. You can also create instructions to give patients location directions.

• Click Add
• Give your instruction a Name e.g. Admission for operation or Initial consultation instructions
• Type the instruction in the Text box
• If it’s a Location direction make sure you toggle the button underneath the text box
• Click Save and it will be added to your list
• You can make changes to an instruction at any time by clicking the pencil icon or click the dustbin icon to delete it

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