Product overview
Appointments
Describes how scheduled appointments are booked and held, and how they connect to visits and the clinicians who will see the patient.
An appointment holds a slot for a patient before they arrive. It records who the patient is booked with, and it converts into a visit when they come in. Gate books and manages every appointment.
What an appointment holds
An appointment is a scheduled slot for a patient, held as a light record apart from the visit. It carries the patient, the kind of visit it is for, the slot, and the staff the patient is booked with.
The patient record the slot is booked for.
Outpatient, inpatient or day-care.
The slot the patient is booked into.
The clinician the patient is booked with.
The staff expected to see the patient.
The consultant and care team come from the hospital model, so a slot lands with staff who are on shift. The section on duty rosters sets out how cover is held.
Booking and holding a slot
A slot is booked from the patient app, a phone call, or a clinician booking ahead. A booked slot means the patient may come that day. A site employee confirms it, and a confirmed slot means the patient is expected.
If a slot has to move, you reschedule it. The platform appends the new time and keeps the booking, so the run of times stays as a record. The status holds steady across a reschedule.
From appointment to visit
When the patient arrives, press Admit on the appointment. The admit dialog opens prefilled from the slot: the patient, the consultant, and the care team. You complete the admission the usual way, and the appointment converts into a visit in the Registered state. Read registering a patient for that flow.
When a slot passes
A booked or confirmed slot that stays unactioned is marked as missed on the day after the scheduled date. A missed slot closes, and staff book a fresh appointment for another day. Marking a missed slot is a scheduled step, so it stays consistent across the desk.
Common questions
Does an appointment create a visit on its own?
An appointment holds the slot. The visit opens when you press Admit on the appointment, and the appointment then converts to completed and points at the new visit.
What happens when I reschedule?
The platform appends the new time and keeps the booking status. The earlier times stay on the record as the history of the slot.
Does an emergency need an appointment?
An emergency opens directly at the front desk. Appointments cover outpatient, inpatient and day-care visits that are arranged in advance.
Read the visit lifecycle to follow the visit an appointment opens.