Scheduling appointments for new patients

You can schedule an appointment for a patient that has not been seen at your office before.

To schedule an appointment for a new patient

1. On the Schedule menu, click (or tap) Calendar.

   The Calendar page opens.

2. Navigate to a day or week.

   

3. Do one of the following:

   • Click (or tap) an open time slot.

     

   • On the Actions menu, click (or tap) Create Appointment.

     

   The Appointment Information panel opens.

   

4. Verify that the patient does not already exist in your practice database:

   1. Click (or tap) in the Search existing patient/household box.

   2. Start typing a patient's first name, last name, chart number, or phone number (at least the first four digits). Continue typing as needed to narrow the search results list.

      Note: You can include inactive patients in the search results by setting the Include inactive patients switch to On.

   3. Do one of the following:

      • If you do not find the patient, proceed to the next step.

      • If the patient and no other members of the household have patient records, you can add a household (multiple patient records with the same primary contact). On the results list, click (or tap) the Create new household option, add the household members, and then click (or tap) Save. After creating those patient records, schedule an appointment for any of those patients as you would for an existing patient.

      • If the patient already has a patient record, click (or tap) that patient name, and then schedule the appointment as you would for an existing patient.

5. On the results list, click (or tap) New patient appt.

   

   The options for the new patient's appointment become available.

   

6. Enter the patient's name, birth date, select the procedures that are to be performed, and set up the other options as needed.

   Set up the following options:

   • Patient - Finish typing the patient's first and last name.

   • Gender - Select the patient's gender: Male, Female, or Other.

   • Birthdate - Enter the patient's birth date.

   • Status - By default, all new appointments have Unconfirmed selected, but you can select a different status if necessary. The corresponding status icon appears on the appointment (for example, Unconfirmed is a question mark ).

   • ASAP - Select this check box if the patient wants to be contacted if an earlier date and/or time becomes available. With this option selected, the patient will show on the ASAP List. With this option selected, the patient will show on the ASAP List, and an ASAP icon appears on the appointment.

   • Needs Follow-up - Select this check box if any of the procedures for this appointment require you to follow up with the patient after his or her visit. The patient will show up on the Patient Follow-up list after his or her appointment.

   • Premedicate - Select this check box if the patient prefers to be medicated before any of the procedures are performed or if any of the procedures require premedication.

   • Procedure(s) - Click (or tap) in the box, begin typing procedure code, multi-code, or description, continue typing as needed to narrow the results, and then select the appropriate procedure from the results list. To select other procedures, repeat this process.

     

     When you are searching for a procedure, procedures appear in the results list not only according to your search criteria but according to the selected filter.

     

     Select one of the following procedure filters as needed:

     • Carrier procedures - Only the carriers' allowed procedures are available. If the patient has any active insurance plans attached to his or her record, and if the selected Provider is contracted with any of the patient's carriers, Carrier procedures is selected by default.

     • Location procedures - Only the location's allowed procedures are available. If the patient is not covered by an insurance carrier that the provider is contracted with, Location procedures is selected by default.

     Note: Carrier procedures is available only if the patient has any active insurance plans attached to his or her record, and if the selected Provider is contracted with any of the patient's carriers. Location procedures is available for any patient.

     Important: If you schedule an appointment using a multi-code that includes some procedures that are not allowed by the the location or any of the patient's carriers, those procedures will not be attached to the appointment.

     Note: If you select a procedure that is associated with a recare type, that recare type is attached to this patient's appointment automatically.

     On the Appointment Information panel, a recare procedure that is attached to an appointment has a green stripe. A non-recare procedure does not have a colored stripe.

     

     Note: To remove a procedure from the appointment, click (or tap) the corresponding Remove button .

   • Other - Enter a reason, other than that of the selected procedures, for the appointment.

   • Operatory - Select an operatory from the list. If you selected a time slot in step 3 while viewing by operatory, an operatory is already selected, but you can select a different one. Alternatively, to quickly change the operatory, click (or tap) and hold and then click (or tap) an open time slot in a different operatory.

     Note: The provider's default operatory (if one has been set up) will be selected automatically if you are viewing the schedule by provider.

   • Appointment Provider - Select an appointment provider from the list. If you selected a time slot in step 3 while viewing the schedule by provider, a provider is already selected, but you can select a different one. Alternatively, if you are viewing the schedule by provider, to quickly change the provider, click (or tap) and hold and then click (or tap) the column of a different provider. Only providers who have access to the current location are available. The exception to this is when a provider is associated with the appointment and no longer has access to the current location; that provider is available in the list unless you select a different provider and then save the change.

   • Other Provider - Select a secondary provider, such as a hygienist, for the appointment from the list. A colored box (determined by the provider color assigned to this provider) appears on the appointment. Only providers who have access to the current location are available. The exception to this is when a provider is associated with the appointment and no longer has access to the current location; that provider is available in the list unless you select a different provider and then save the change.

   • Date - The date being viewed on the schedule is already selected by default, but you can change it. Click (or tap) in the box to select a different date. Alternatively, if you are viewing the schedule by week, to quickly change the date, click (or tap) and hold and then click (or tap) an open time slot on a different date.

   • Time - Click (or tap) in the box, and then enter a time. If you selected a time slot in step 3, the time is already entered, but you can change it. Alternatively, to quickly change the time, click (or tap) and hold and then click (or tap) a different open time slot.

     Tip: You can enter a time using various formats. For example, you can type 08:30, 8:30a, or 8:30 AM; 8a or 8am; 13:30, 1:30p, or 1:30 PM; or 1p or 1pm.

   • Length - By default, the length of the appointment is determined by the location's default appointment length, but you can change the length as needed. The end time of the appointment changes accordingly.

   • Note - Enter a note regarding the appointment. To insert the current date where the text cursor is positioned in the field, click (or tap) Insert Date. If there is an appointment note, a note icon appears on the appointment.

   • Contact Info - On the Contact Info tab, you can view or update the patient's contact information, contact preferences, and automated reminders preference (this option is available only if the patient is the primary contact for himself or herself or anyone else and has a supported mobile phone number). Any changes that you save from the appointment will be reflected in the patient's record.

     

     The patient's primary contact also appears.

     

     Tips:

     • To change the primary contact person for the patient, click (or tap) the Edit button . In the search box, begin typing the contact's name, continue typing as needed to narrow the results, and then select the appropriate name from the list of matching results. Or, to make the patient whose appointment you are viewing the primary contact, click (or tap) Switch to "Self" at the bottom of the results list.

       

     • To assign the primary phone number of the patient's primary contact (if different from the patient) as the primary phone number of the patient on the appointment, click (or tap) the Copy Up button . To assign the patient's primary phone number as the primary phone number of the patient's primary contact (if different from the patient), click (or tap) the Copy Down button .

   • Rel. Appts - On the Rel. Appts tab, you can view the appointment information for other members of the patient's household who have appointments scheduled on the same day as this appointment. For your reference, the number of related appointments, if any, appears next to the name of the tab.

     

   • Med. Alerts - On the Med. Alerts tab, you can add medical alerts to the patient's record as needed.

     

7. Click (or tap) Save.

   Note: A patient record with minimal information is created for the patient.