How to Create and Use Provider Working Hours Templates

Sensei Cloud gives you the ability to create templates for working hours and easily assign them to particular dates in a provider's schedule/diary from the Provider Schedule Planning (US) or Provider Diary Planning (UK) interface.

The new template functionality enables you to apply more complex, recurring or periodic working patterns to your Schedule or Diary, such as summer hours or limited hours during the holidays, for example.

From the Administration tab, select Templates > Working Hours Templates. The Provider Working Hours Template window is displayed. 

Creating Templates

To create a working hours template:

1. Under Actions, select Create New Template. The Create Provider Working Hours Template window is displayed. 
   
2. Enter a Template Name.
3. Enter a description for the template.
4. Click-and-drag to select a block of time in a Day column, or simply click in the schedule and select the Plus + icon. The Add Shift window is displayed.
   
5. Enter a Name for the shift.
   Note: It is recommended to include a short, but descriptive name that it is easy to identify when selecting templates to apply in Provider Schedule/Diary Planning. 
6. Enter a description.
7. Select a location from the drop-down list. This is the practice location that the Provider will be working at during the shift.
   Note: The block only applies for the selected Practice Location (when the template is applied in Provider Schedule/Diary Planning for that Practice Location).
8. Enter a Start Time.
9. Enter an End Time.
   Note: You have the ability to enter specific times for the Start and End Times, such as 7:10 AM or 2:45 PM, etc. 
10. Confirm you are adding the shift to the correct Day of the week.
11. Click Apply.
12. Repeat this process to add as many shifts as needed.
    Note: 
    -- You can edit the details of a shift by clicking the Pencil icon, making the necessary changes, and then clicking Update. 
    -- You can also remove a shift from the template by clicking the X icon.
    
13. Click Create.

Applying Templates

To apply a working hours template to a provider's schedule/diary:

1. From the Working Hours Templates screen, under Actions, select Apply templates, or you can select Administration > Scheduler > Provider Schedule/Diary Planning. The Provider Schedule Planning (US) or Provider Diary Planning (UK) window is displayed.
2. Select the appropriate provider and practice location from the drop-down lists.
3. Select the days in the calendar to apply the template to.
   Note: You can apply the template to a time period of up to 31 days at a time. However, you can separately select another time block and repeat the process. 
4. Under Selected Day Details, select Apply Working Pattern. The Provider Working Hours Pattern window is displayed.
   
   
5. Select a working hours template from the drop-down list.
   Note: 
   -- You can only select and add a Working Hours Template if that template has at least one block associated with the Practice Location selected in Provider Schedule/Diary Planning.
   -- Each date can only have one template applied to it at a time.
6. Click Apply. The templated days are displayed as solid blue, and a success message is displayed. You can see which template is applied to the selected dates from the Selected Day Details menu.
   

When a template is applied, the working hours for the provider are reflected in their assigned chair(s) in the Schedule/Diary for the selected date(s).

The template is only reflected in the Schedule/Diary Day View if the template has an associated block for the given Practice Location on the associated weekday and the provider is assigned to one or more chairs in the Practice Location. 

To remove the working hours template, select the date(s) that you want to remove the template from, and then under Selected Day Details, click Reset Selected Day(s). 

Note:

-- If a date is manually set as Closed, then this overrides the template rules.
-- If a date is manually edited to have unique hours, then this also overrides the template rules.
-- If the Provider is assigned to chairs and the template does not contain blocks for the Practice Location on the corresponding weekday, then the provider is not working (and chair will appear closed). 
-- Chairs with no assigned provider continue to reflect the Practice Location's defined Office Hours for the given date.
-- If the Practice Location is set to be closed on the given date, based on either manual deviation or by default office hours, then this overrides any defined Provider hours (default, unique, templated, or otherwise).