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Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I find an available appointment?
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Example:
You have received a phone call from a patient who wishes to book an appointment with a particular provider, and want to search the appointment book for a vacant time slot.
Options
- View the appointment book for that provider, and look for available slots that suit the patient.
- Create an appointment on the clipboard, which automatically creates an entry in the Hold List. You can then use the Appointment Search function in the Hold List to find a suitable single appointment. See Using the Appointment Search Window.
- If you need to co-ordinate multiple patient appointments the procedure is slightly different - see Co-ordinating multiple patient appointments.
To create an appointment in the clipboard and the Hold list
- Double-click the Clipboard to open the Edit Appointment window.
- In the Edit Appointment window, enter or select the patient's name.
- If the provider name is not defaulted, select the provider, and if known, the type of service.
- Click the Save button to create an appointment on the Clipboard and an entry in the Hold List.
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How do I recall patients for an appointment?
The procedure below will guide you through the most common recall method: to send an SMS message to patients who have a mobile or SMS Home number in their patient record, and a letter to those who do not.
Patients will each receive only one SMS message or one letter.
If you need more information, or you wish to use other recall methods, please see the "Managing Recalls" section.
To recall patients for an appointment
Step 1: Create a recall list.
- From the Administration menu, select Manage Recalls...
- If any monthly total recall messages are displayed, click OK
to close them.
Step 2: Select the patients to be recalled:
- When the recall lists window displays, double-click the recall list.
- The list of patients in the recall list will be displayed. (Usually, you would contact them all, but if there are any you do not wish to be in the list, click the checkbox at the left-hand end of the line to remove them).
Step 3: Select and configure the SMS recall method:
- At the bottom right-hand corner of the window, click on the SMS button:
- The 'Contact by SMS' dialog is displayed:
If you wish send family SMS's together, tick the 'Group by family' checkbox. - Click the button. The 'Contact Patients' window is displayed:
- Tick the checkbox next to "Who have been contacted ... times", make sure it says "0 times".
(This will ensure those patients who have already been contacted are not contacted again). - If you wish to limit the recalls to just those for a particular provider, or just a particular recall type, select the appropriate boxes, otherwise accept the other defaults.
- Click the button when done.
Step 4: Stagger SMS: what you choose for this option depends on how many patients were in your original list.
- If the list is short, then select "Send all SMS straight away".
- If the list contained many patients, you can click "Stagger SMS sending", and edit the delivery times so that your receptionist isn't swamped with lots of patient reply calls all at once.
- Click the button when done.
Step 5: SMS Details
- If the defaulted Provider isn't the one the patient appointments are with, click in the 'Provider' field and either type the appropriate code, or use the (list) or (up/down) buttons to select the code.
Generally, merged information related to a specialist wouldn't be required for a recall, but if this is to appear in the SMS, select the appropriate code in this field.
The SMS template to be used for recalls can likewise be selected.
Category and Description are used on the Contacts tab and elsewhere in EXACT for easy identification of patient contacts (so that you can see what an SMS, letter, email, etc. are about without needing to open the items).
Click the button when done.
Step 6: Edit the SMS text and details:
- If you wish this message to be sent as a 'Flash' message to phones that are Flash-enabled, click the checkbox. (This will mean the message is displayed immediately on the recipient's phone without them selecting it).
- Edit the message text if necessary. For example, because the merge fields may make the message longer than the 'Approximate Length' indicated, you may wish to change some of them to actual values so you get a better idea of actual length. In the message above, you could replace [practice.name] and [location.phone].
You may also wish to add extra information relevant to the recall, such as the preferred times to call the practice.
Step 7: Send the message.
Once you have finished editing the message and clicked the button, the recall messages will be either sent immediately, or - if you have set up staggered recalls - queued for sending at scheduled times. If the latter, you can see them in the Email Outbox, by clicking on the Email outbox icon icon on the top right of the EXACT screen:
- If you wish to view more info about the SMS, you can hover your mouse cursor over the message to display a tooltip with the message contents.
- If you hover it over the graphic in the
column, a tooltip will tell you when it is scheduled to be sent. - If you hover it over the graphic in the
column, a tooltip with the system status will be displayed. (In this example, there is an error because the connection to the gateway is not set up correctly).
Step 8: Select patients to whom recall letters should be sent.
Go back to the recall list (it should still be displayed on screen). There should now be an icon in the 'Contacts' column for those patients who were selected to be recalled by SMS:
SMS appointment reminder sent to recipient
SMS message received by gateway (not yet delivered)
SMS delivery failed (where SOE is the SMS provider; password is wrong, insufficient credit, etc.)
SMS status unknown (TXTConnecxions / Icetrak / 4Production)
SMS failed or not sent to gateway. (With SOE as the SMS provider, if you are using staggered recalls, and there is a 
clock symbol in the column this icon means that the SMS is waiting to be sent at the scheduled time.)
SMS status unavailable (other SMS providers)
- For the remaining patients, the 'Contacts' column will be empty. These are the ones to whom a letter will be sent.
- Click the 'Write to the selected person' button:
The 'Contact by Letter' dialog is displayed:
- Click the 'Group by Family' checkbox if you wish to have family member's letters printed together (for inclusion in one envelope), otherwise leave the default settings, and click the button.
- When the 'Contact Patients' dialog is once again displayed, tick the checkbox next to "Who have been contacted ... times", to make sure it says "0 times". (This will ensure those patients who have already been contacted by SMS are not contacted again).
- If you wish to limit the recalls to just those for a particular provider, or just a particular recall type, select the appropriate boxes, otherwise accept the other defaults.
- Click the button when done. The Document Details window is displayed.
Step 9: Document Details dialog - as with the SMS message, there are merge fields that are provider-specific, so you may need to select the appropriate provider.
- From the templates displayed, choose the appropriate one for a recall letter.
- If you need to edit the details, click the
button to edit the document. The document will be opened in Presentation Manager if it is installed. - When the recall letters are ready to send, click the
button to print them. If you need labels for the envelopes, you can click the Print Labels button 
to access the 'Print Mailing Labels' dialog.
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Where has my View Week gone?
Q: When I open my appointment book, the Week View pane at the top isn't showing. Where has it gone, and how do I get it back?
A: It is still there, just hidden. This can happen if you (or someone else) maximised the Day View' area, so it is over the top of the Week View area.
To re-display your View Week pane
- Ensure that the appointment book is maximised by clicking the button at the top right-hand corner of the appointment book:
- Move your mouse cursor anywhere over the bar at the top of the Day View area, so that it changes from a pointer into a cursor like this (see highlighted area below):
- Drag down the screen until the Week View area is the size that you want it to be.
To resize the Activity Tab area
- Click the
button to display the tabs. - Drag the border between the Day View area and the Activity Tabs:
TIP: The appointment book settings are saved per user. The next time you log in, the book should appear the same as when you logged out.
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Where has my appointment book toolbar gone?
If the Appointment Book window is not maximised, it is possible for it to occupy the whole screen and yet for the bottom of it to not be visible, so it appears that the toolbar has disappeared.
To re-display the Appointment Book toolbar
Check the top right-hand corner of the window - if it looks like this, it is not maximised:
Windows 7 Windows XP
Click the 'maximise' button shown circled above; the appointment book will be maximised, with the frame 'clipped' to the sides of the window, and the toolbar will be visible again.
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How do I delete a patient appointment?
Appointments are usually deleted from the appointment book by dragging them with the mouse to the Bin 
, which is located in the bottom of the appointment book.
You can drag Appointments to the Bin from either the Clipboard or the View Day area.
View deleted appointments by double-clicking the Bin.
To Drag an Appointment to the Bin
- Click the appointment and hold your finger on the left mouse button.
- Keeping the mouse button down, move the mouse so that the cursor is over the Bin.
- When the lid on the Bin opens
, release the mouse button. - A warning will appear for you to confirm you want to delete this appointment.
- Click ‘Yes’ to delete the appointment or ‘No’ to return to the previous window.
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How do I set up blocks in the Appointment Book?
- Double-click using the right mouse button in the ‘View Day’ area where you want to add the Block or Clinic. This will display the following window:
- Click the
button in the ‘Type’ field to make your selection. - Enter a description, (e.g., “Meeting”, “Emergency time”, etc.)
- Enter the ‘Start’ and ‘End’ times.
- Enter the start date; this defaults to today's date, but may be overwritten as required.
- If this is not a "one-off" block, and is to be repeated on a regular basis, click in the "Repeat Interval" checkbox. This will activate the "Days" box for you to enter an appropriate number, and the "End Date"; this defaults to today's date, but may be overwritten as required.
- Enter the ‘Appointment Category’ field if you are adding a Clinic. If you are adding a Block, you will not be able to select an Appointment Category.
If this clinic is just for a single payor, click the "Payor" button instead, and select the appropriate payor from the drop-down menu.
If this is a private clinic, click "Private" instead. - A Block or Clinic can be added to all Providers’ appointment books, e.g., when blocking off bank holidays.
To do this, place a tick in the ‘Add to All Providers’ checkbox to block the time off for everyone in the appointment book. - Click the ‘OK’ button to add the Block/Clinic to the appointment book or click ‘Cancel’ to return to the previous window.
There are also two methods to delete a Block or Clinic. The method you choose will depend on whether you want to delete just one Block/Clinic for a selected day or multiple repeats of a Block or Clinic.
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How do I change an appointment time or length?
To change an appointment time
Do one of the following:
- Double-click on the appointment to edit the details, and change the date and time of the appointment
- or -
- Drag it to a new time in the appointment book.
- or -
- Drag it to the clipboard, and from there to a new time.
To alter an appointment length
Do one of the following:
- Drag the bottom border of the appointment up or down to make it shorter or longer.
- or -
- Double-click on the appointment and edit the details.
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How do I set up a Family Appointment?
IMPORTANT: Prior to using this function ensure you have entered information into the Family Members section of the Patient Details tab.
TIP: When booking family appointments you can select the members of the family that you would like to book into the appointment.
To book a Family Appointment
- To open the Edit Family Appointment window either
Select an appointment time and double-click to bring up the Edit Appointment window, from where you can click the Create Family Appointment button:
- or -
Click the +1 button at the bottom right corner of the Hold List and then click the Create Family Appointment button in the Edit Appointment window that displays:
>> 
2. In the Edit Family Appointment window, locate the first member for the appointment by entering their name into the Sort By field:
All family members will be automatically selected to attend the family appointment:
3. Use the >> button to remove family members that are not to be booked into this appointment.
4. Enter information regarding the Service, Category, Room, Provider, Time, Total Length, and optionally type Notes about the appointment.
5. Click the Save button
6. If saving back to the Hold List, drag into an available appointment slot
7. When the family comes in for the appointment,
The family members will appear individually in the Arrivals tab allowing you to indicate which of the family members have arrived for the appointment by checking the checkbox against each patient (this will then activate the correct number of stick people to appear at the door in the surgery).
8. (If using Appointment Workflow) When you click the Family appointment as Arrived, the appointment workflow Arrivals Task List will show family members individually, allowing you to deal with outstanding issues (such as Medical History Update) per patient.
9. (If using Appointment Workflow) When the family appointment is completed, the Departure Task List will show each family member, again allowing you to deal with outstanding issues (such as Collect Mobile number) per patient:
As family appointments are completed (once they have been seen in the surgery), you will need to check which - if any - members of the family require any additional appointments. Follow the steps below to do this:
To book further appointments for family members
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