How to Schedule an Appointment

 Related Training
Scheduling Appointments Recorded Class

There are several locations from which you can schedule an appointment.
Note: If the need for an appointment is urgent, see How to Find the Next Free Slot in the Schedule.

From the Schedule/Diary Day View

To schedule an appointment from the Schedule Day View (US) or Diary Day View (UK):

1. From the Location or All Locations tab, click Schedule or Diary. The Schedule/Diary Day View is displayed.
   Note: If scheduling from the All Locations tab, you can switch between locations using the for drop-down list.
   
2. Navigate to the preferred date in the schedule.
   Note: 
   -- You can filter the chairs/columns to one or more specific providers. See How to Filter the Schedule/Diary Day View by Provider for more information.
   -- Click the < and > icons on either side of the selected date to navigate one day at a time. This function skips over dates that are marked as Closed. You can still manually enter or select a Closed day, if needed.
   -- A day that is marked as Closed is not skipped over if there are existing appointments scheduled on that date. The Closed date is skipped over only after the appointment(s) are moved to another date. 
   -- Click the Calendar icon to view the open dates for three months at a time. Then, click on the desired date.
   
   Tip:
   -- The current date is circled in blue.
   -- The selected date is outlined in orange. 
   -- Open dates have white backgrounds.
   -- Closed dates have gray backgrounds.
   Note: If the next/last Open day is more than three months from the currently selected date, then additional step-wise navigation is prevented, but you can still manually enter or select a date.
3. Under Actions, select Schedule an Appointment. The Patient Search feature is displayed.
4. Find and select the patient. The Appointment window is displayed.
   Note: Click an open space on the search result listing to open the Appointment window. If you click on the patient's name, further patient information is displayed in a pop-out window.
5. In the Search to add procedures field, add the procedures for the appointment.
   
   Note: The procedure list that is set as the default is displayed automatically. You can use the drop-down list on the right to select a different list of procedures to search from. For the UK, you can select a scheme to search from. See How to Use Multiple Procedure Lists / Fee Schedules for more information.
6. View the information in the Appointment Info tab and add or edit the items as needed. 
   Note: You can also expand the Appointments tab to see if the patient has any existing appointments.
   Tip: The Appointment Info tab of the window displays the appointment preferences for the patient if they have any set. See How to Set Appointment Preferences in the Patient Record for more information. 
7. Click Schedule Appointment.
8. Click-and-drag the appointment from the left side of the screen to the time slot on the Schedule.
   Note: 
   -- If you place the appointment on the calendar during a time where the patient is marked unavailable, a message is displayed warning you that the time slot is outside of the patient's defined preferences. 
   -- Sensei Cloud defaults an appointment’s provider based on the chair’s assigned provider (when direct booking). When you are booking an appointment and the appointment’s currently allocated provider conflicts with the chair’s assigned provider (when indirect booking or rebooking), you are prompted to confirm which provider to use.
   
   -- In rare cases where an appointment has an undefined provider and the chair has an assigned provider, you are prompted to leave it as unassigned or update to the correct provider.
   

For more information, see How to Find the Next Free Slot in the Schedule and How to Edit Schedule Details for a Selected Day.

From the Patient Tab

To schedule an appointment from the Patient tab:

1. From the Patient tab, click Home.
2. Under Actions, select Schedule Appointment.
3. In the Search to add procedures field, add the procedures for the appointment.
   Note: The procedure list that is set as the default is displayed automatically. You can use the drop-down list on the right to select a different list of procedures to search from. For the UK, you can select a scheme to search from.
4. View the information in the Appointment Info tab and add or edit the items as needed. 
   Note: You can also expand the Appointments tab to see if the patient has any existing appointments.
   Tip: The Appointment Info tab of the window displays the appointment preferences for the patient if they have any set. See How to Set Appointment Preferences in the Patient Record for more information. 
5. Click Schedule Appointment. The Schedule is displayed. 
6. Navigate to the preferred date in the schedule.
7. Click-and-drag the appointment from the left side of the screen to the time slot.

There is also an Appointment interface on the Patient Record > Home screen that enables you to view a snapshot of the patient's appointments, sorted by Previous, Pending, and Scheduled. 

The appointments are displayed in a list, including the Appointment Status (Scheduled, Confirmed, Checked Out, Seated, Cancelled, Broken, or Failed) and Appointment Info (Date, Time, Duration, Chair, Provider, Location, as well as Appointment Type when types are assigned instead of procedure codes, such as for Ortho and Oral Surgery practices).

You can select an appointment in the list to view additional appointment details. 

Select Appointment Details to open the Appointment card. If needed, you can update or schedule/reschedule the appointment.

From the Location Home Page

To schedule an appointment from the Location Home page:

1. From the Location tab, click Home.
2. Under Actions, select Book an Appointment. The Patient Search feature is displayed.
3. Find and select the patient. The Appointment window is displayed.
   Note: Click an open space on the search result listing to open the Appointment window. If you click on the patient's name, further patient information is displayed in a pop-out window.
4. In the Search to add procedures field, add the procedures for the appointment.
   Note: The procedure list that is set as the default is displayed automatically. You can use the drop-down list on the right to select a different list of procedures to search from. For the UK, you can select a scheme to search from.
5. View the information in the Appointment Info tab and add or edit the items as needed. 
   Note: You can also expand the Appointments tab to see if the patient has any existing appointments.
   Tip: The Appointment Info tab of the window displays the appointment preferences for the patient if they have any set. See How to Set Appointment Preferences in the Patient Record for more information. 
6. Click Schedule Appointment.
7. Click-and-drag the appointment from the left side of the screen to the time slot.

Note: If your practice has multiple locations, you can schedule an appointment that is not the patient's preferred location. When this occurs, an icon is displayed on the appointment tile and next to the Location field to alert you.  You can update the appointment to the preferred location, or continue scheduling at the non-preferred location. In those cases, you are prompted to confirm the action, and the icon remains with the appointment. (This feature must be enabled: Administration > Practice Settings > Notifications.)

From an Existing Appointment

To schedule an appointment from an existing appointment:

1. Select an appointment to view the details.
   
2. Click the Copy icon. A new appointment is created, using the patient, procedures, location, appointment type, duration, and assigned providers.
3. Modify the appointment details as needed before booking.
   Note: Anatomy details, such as tooth number or surfaces, are not copied to prevent inadvertent duplication of planned and completed work.

Existing Appointment Alert 

If you are scheduling an appointment for a patient that has existing pending or scheduled appointments, a message is displayed:

This message remains visible and you are unable to click anything else in the Appointment window until you click the X icon to close it. This is to ensure that you see the message and to prevent potentially creating a duplicate appointment for a patient.

When you have closed the message, you can expand the Appointments tab to view the patient's existing appointments and determine the necessary next steps.

The appointment list is sorted to show the scheduled appointments first, in order of the soonest upcoming appointments followed by any appointments in the future. 

Note: An alert icon is also displayed next to the Treatment Plans section if the patient has unscheduled treatment plan procedures. Expand this tab to select a treatment plan and view any unscheduled procedures. When you select a treatment plan, you can then click Add Group to Appt to add a group of procedures or Add to Appt to add individual procedures to the appointment.