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By default, a practitioner’s online availability is based on the open sessions we sync from your clinical software or the availability added directly into the dashboard, depending in which practice management software you are using.However, you can also customise which available time slots you want to offer online, as well as which appointment types can be booked during those times.
You can do this by adding Exclusive sessions, Custom appointment type sessions and/or Hidden sessions, which can be created in the Availability Calendar. These features can solve for cases such as:
- When a practitioner wants to limit the availability of specific appointment type but still wants to offer other types without restrictions (e.g. only New Patients in the afternoons, but Existing patients can book anytime)
- When a practitioner only performs a specific appointment type during a specific session time (e.g. Only Telehealth appointments on Mondays as the doctor works from home, excluding other appointment types. However, Telehealth appointments can be booked on all other days as well).
- When a practitioner wants to restrict an appointment type to only be booked during a specific session time, so that it cannot be booked in any other session time. (eg. Procedure appointments can only be booked on a Monday, as the doctor only has access to this room on a Monday, and also wants to exclude all other appointment types).
- When you need to block certain slots from being visible online (e.g. the doctor is sick and won't be taking any patients this week)
This article will explain the options to customise a practitioner's online availability and the instructions to set that up in the dashboard.
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Custom appointment type sessions: how to limit a specific appointment type's availability without affecting other types
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These sessions will allow you to limit an appointment type to be available online only on specific days and times. All the other appointment types will remain available unless they have their own custom sessions. |
Once they are created, they will be displayed in the Availability Calendar. You can check this in your dashboard under Bookings > Availability, as shown here.
They will also be visible within the Practitioner's settings:
Please note:
- By adding a custom session you are restricting that appointment type to only be bookable on that day/time. If you want to offer this appointment type on other days and times, you must create new custom sessions or exclusive sessions for those other days too.
- Custom sessions will be overwritten by Hidden or Exclusive sessions if they are created for the same time.
- If an appointment type has Custom sessions and also Exclusive sessions on a different day, that appointment type will be bookable on both days.
Exclusive sessions: how to restrict a session to be available only for specific appointment types
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These sessions will allow you to choose which appointment types you want to offer on a specific timeframe, automatically excluding other appointment types. |
When creating an exclusive session, you are limiting the session itself to only offer specific appointment types and exclude any unselected ones. However, the chosen appointment types will continue to be available on any other days of the week, unless custom sessions are added for the same appointment type and session/time period.
Exclusive sessions can only be added in the Availability Calendar, following the steps here: How to create an Exclusive session in the Availability Calendar.
They will also be displayed in the Availability Calendar. You can check this in your dashboard under Bookings > Availability, as shown here.
They will also be visible within the Practitioner's settings, but they can only be edited in the Availability Calendar:
Please note:
- Exclusive sessions limit the session to specific appointment types. If you also add custom sessions to the selected appointment types for any other days, those appointment types will then be available during both the exclusive session and also the custom sessions
- Exclusive sessions overwrite custom sessions.
Exclusive & custom appointment type sessions: Restrict an appointment type be available during a specific session time only.
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Adding an exclusive and custom appointment type session will allow that appointment type to only show online on the specific day/times. The selected appointment types won't be available online for any other session times, and all other appointment types won't be bookable during this exclusive/custom session time. |
You will need to add both an exclusive session and a custom appointment type session for the same appointment types and dates that the practitioner wants to offer.
For example, if the practitioner only wants to offer Telehealth appointments on a Monday between 9-5pm, you will need to add an exclusive session and a custom appointment type session from 9-5pm on Monday for Telehealth appointments.
This ensures face to face appointments are not offered on Monday, and that patients cannot book a Telehealth appointment on any other day.
Hidden sessions: how to block slots from being bookable online
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These sessions will allow you to hide time slots from being offered online even if they are available in your book. |
If you have available slots that you don't want patients to book online, you will need to add a Hidden session. This feature blocks the session itself, so no appointment types will be available during that time.
Hidden sessions can be added in the Availability Calendar or within the Hidden Session area under Bookings. To check the steps, please see: How to block a practitioner's availability using 'Hide Sessions'
Once they're created, they will be displayed in the Availability Calendar. You can check this in your dashboard under Bookings > Availability, as shown here.
| Hidden sessions overwrite both Exclusive and Custom appointment type sessions. |
Genie
The custom sessions feature allows you to restrict HotDoc appointment types to be booked into specific schedule types in Genie. This feature can solve for cases such as:
- When a Practitioner only performs a specific appointment type on a given time or date (e.g. consultations in the morning and procedures in the afternoons)
Please see the steps below to learn how to customise a practitioner's sessions to better reflect how and when they want to see their patients.
- Login to your HotDoc Dashboard and select Bookings > Appointment Type and Edit next to the appointment type that you would like to limit to a certain schedule type:
- Scroll down to the Custom Schedules section and select the Limit available times to Genie Appointment Schedules check box:
- Next select all available schedule types that you would that appointment type to be bookable in and hit Save:
| Note: You can also customise this at a practitioner level via Bookings > Practitioner Setup > Edit Practitioner > Edit Appointment type |