Question
How can I set up automatic or manual processing of online bookings and cancellations?
Solution
HotDoc Bookings lets you control how online bookings and cancellations are added to your appointment book.
When a patient makes a booking or cancels an appointment via HotDoc, what happens next depends on the processing option you choose:
- Automatic processing: the booking or cancellation is applied straight to your appointment book.
- Manual processing: the booking or cancellation is sent to the HotDoc Sidebar, where staff must review and action it before it appears in the appointment book.
Which settings are right for my practice?
In general, we recommend using automatic processing to make things as efficient as possible for your staff and patients.
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For online bookings, the settings can be configured separately for new and existing patients, allowing you to apply different approval rules if needed. For cancellations, automatic processing can be overridden for specific appointment types. Please see: How to view specific appointment type cancellation settings? |
Choose automatic processing if:
- You don’t need to review bookings before they appear in the appointment book
- You want bookings and cancellations applied immediately
- You want to minimise manual admin
Choose manual processing if:
- You need to review or approve bookings before they’re applied
- You want more control over how bookings are handled
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You can regularly monitor the Sidebar
| When manual processing is enabled, bookings and cancellations will only appear in the appointment book after they’re actioned from the Sidebar. |
Once you've determined which settings will be best for your clinic, click the appropriate link below for further information.
To configure your appointment settings:
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Log in to your HotDoc Dashboard here.
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From the menu on the left-hand side, go to Bookings > Settings:
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In the top section on this page, you can choose to automatically approve appointments by ticking the checkboxes.
Keep the checkboxes unticked if you would prefer to manually process your appointments via the HotDoc Sidebar.
Note: You can choose to enable for existing patients and new patients separately.
- Click the green Save button.
To configure your cancellation settings:
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From the menu on the left-hand side, go to Bookings > Settings.
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Scroll down until you see Automatically accept cancellations.
Keep the box unchecked if you would prefer to manually process your cancellations via the HotDoc Sidebar.
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If you uncheck the Cancellations checkbox, you will be asked, "Are you sure you want to manually approve cancellations?"
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Select Yes, I'm sure if you're happy to proceed.
- Click the green Save button.