From the Calendar icon on the dashboard's navigation menu, you can create new appointments for anything you want to keep track of, whether it's blocks of time for specific tasks, or patient encounters. Simply click the + and enter the appointment details.

Calendar settings can be managed from the ... context menu next to the +. Read on for more configuration instructions, or check out this tutorial!

In Calendar settings, you have the ability to create appointment types based on the clinical services you provide, like Comprehensive Medication Reviews, immunization administration and counseling, acute diagnosis testing and treating, hormonal contraceptive consultations, and more.

Create a title for the service, provide a description to help patients understand what the service is and what they should expect, and select a duration. The URL will automatically complete based on the title. Then click Save.

If your organization has more than one location, you can select which locations provide the above services in any combination and you can select each location's hours of availability. These settings can be configured all at once by clicking the checkmark at the top or one by one by selecting the locations individually.

To set the location's hours, select "Edit Availability" from the Edit menu. The hours of availability can be a long block of time or multiple shorter blocks of time in a single day.

To set the location's appointment type availability, select "Edit Appointment Types" from the Edit menu. Simply select which appointment types are available at the identified location and click Save.

As a provider of these services, you can also set your hours of availability in your personal user settings.

Hover over the settings cog, then navigate to your name. Select the Availability tab and either set your schedule to match the availability of the Location at which you are a provider, or toggle to set different hours, including holiday or vacation overrides.

The Share buttons automatically copy the URL of that item to your clipboard so you can post it in any external resource where patients will want to find you. Depending on which Share button you use, a patient will be directed to a home page for either the location or the appointment type. Learn more about the patient experience here in the Open Scheduling article.

The Patient Scheduling feature allows patients to schedule appointments online for specific services at your pharmacy. Once you've setup all the appropriate appointment types and applicable locations, you can post the "Share" links (from either the appointment types or the locations or both) in all the places your current and future customers might find you online - your company website, Facebook or other social media page, or even share it with a local news outlet.

When the patient clicks your Share link, they'll navigate to your DocStation-hosted site to schedule an appointment. Regardless of the link they choose, they will be able to select and change the appointment type, the pharmacy location (if your organization has more than one), and the appointment time.

The patient will enter a few necessary demographic details, including name, DOB, address, phone, and email. Upon confirming their desired appointment type, time and location, they will receive a confirmation email and SMS text message. This will also trigger a Notification on DocStation to your pharmacy to inform you of the scheduled appointment.

From your Calendar, you will see and confirm (or link) the patient details in the appointment to a patient record in DocStation. DocStation will look for a match in your patient list, and if it can't find a match, you can simply import the details to automatically create a new patient record.

You can utilize this message or a separate thread to provide additional information to the patient regarding the visit.

When the patient arrives, you can navigate to their record from the appointment so that you can quickly and easily document any interventions performed, education provided, and produce any desired documentation, including an eCare Plan or a claim for medical billing.

Once the appointment booking is confirmed, the patient will receive an email and a secure SMS text message confirmation. These notifications will contain a link to review, modify, or cancel the booked appointment, and additionally, a link to send a message directly to the pharmacy team.

For increased security, the link will direct to a birthdate confirmation page where the patient must enter the birthdate on file before accessing the appointment details or the messaging feature.

When booked via the Patient Scheduling feature, the patient will also receive a text message reminder 24 hours before the scheduled appointment time.

If you choose to correspond further with the patient via this thread, the patient will receive a new text message with a link to the conversation with each message you send. The experience will mirror a typical texting conversation.

Once the appointment booking is confirmed, you will see a notification in Conversations and the new appointment block on the Calendar.

The Conversation notification will appear blank until the patient profile is synced on the Calendar, so it is best to review the Calendar block first. Once the patient profile is linked, the Conversation notification will update with the patients details, and you can send supplemental messages via that Conversation.

Looking for more details on how to use the Calendar and Scheduling features? Pop over to Chat and ask a question or get in touch at support@docstation.co.