Introduction

Patient Tool Buttons

Open

The tool bar is displayed across the top of the Patient file.

If you position the mouse cursor on the various icons on the tool bar, a label will appear explaining the button.

Service Field (and Quick Services)

The convenience of appointment book Quick Services

A Receptionist can quickly select the relevant service from the dropdown when creating or editing an Appointment.

The configured Quick Service can include a pre-loaded Appointment length, which is useful for a busy Receptionist.

TIPS: To prevent the quick service list from becoming long (and not very quick), it is advisable to remove those services that are no longer required in the Quick Service List.

Add appropriate services for particular circumstances. For example, if the practice has promotional campaigns for tooth whitening and oral check ups, add these services temporarily to the Quick Services for the duration of the campaigns.

To enter a Quick Service into a patient appointment

1. Double-click the appointment in the appointment book.

2. In the Edit Appointment window, click the Service dropdown and select a service.

    

3. Select the Save button.

SEE ALSO: Removing services from Appointment Book Quick Service

To enter Services into a patient appointment

Do any of the following:

• Use the Edit Appointment window Quick Service drop-down list:

   

• Use the Planned Treatment field: Double-click a planned treatment item to transfer the information into the Service field.

   

• Type in a service. Appropriate abbreviations or a short description to identify the reason for the appointment can be typed into the Service Field, e.g. TA for Tooth Ache, LC for lost Crown, etc. You will also need to set an appropriate Appointment Length.

When a service has been selected, the required time for the service will automatically appear in the Length box.

To increase/decrease the time allowed for the appointment, click in the Length Box and type in the new length. Time is entered in the format HH:MM. A 30-minute appointment would be typed as .30, and a 1 hour 20 minute appointment would be typed as 1.20. Alternatively you can use the arrows to increase or decrease the time in the box.

Category

This indicates the type or importance of the appointment. It is based on the service and is usually displayed automatically. It can be altered if necessary, using the scroll arrows, the

The appointment colour displayed in the ‘View Week’ area can also indicate the Category:

Dentist and Hygienist Fields

These fields show the patient’s usual providers, based on information entered when the patient was first registered in the program. The entries can be changed using either the arrows or the

button to display and select options.

Planned Treatment

The Planned Treatment section displays any incomplete treatment for the selected patient.
If the patient has planned treatment, double-click on an appointment to select this as the appointment to be booked. The Service, Category and Length details will then be automatically entered from the Plan.
With the appointment selected, you can increase or decrease the time allowed if required, using the method described in Service.

Time

This is the current scheduled time of the appointment.
You can manually over-type this if necessary, or adjust it using the arrow buttons.

If the appointment is created from the Clipboard this field will be blank until the appointment is dragged onto the View Day area.

Length

This is the length of time scheduled for this appointment, displayed in HH:MM format.

For example:

• A 30-minute appointment: :30 or 00:30

• A 1 hour 20 minute appointment: 1.20

To increase/decrease the time allowed for the appointment

Either

• Click in the box and type in the new length

• Use the arrows to increase or decrease the time.

Fee Estimate

This is the estimated fee of the selected appointment, based on the fees entered for planned services in the patient's charting.

When an appointment is linked to charting, the fee estimate is the fee for the linked chart appointment.

When the appointment is not linked to charting, the fee estimate is based on the appointment provider(s) private fees for the services listed in the appointment Services field.

This Patient's Appointments

This box is a summary of all the patient’s past, present, and future appointments. This area displays the appointment date, time, provider, treatment and status.

The status indicates whether the appointment has been ‘Failed’, ‘Cancelled’, ‘Completed’; or for a Future date.

Failed

Cancelled

Completed Future

Double-click an appointment in this window to automatically display this appointment in the ‘View Day’ area.

The Show Audit check box, if ticked, will display an audit of the patients’ appointments including appointment movements and deletions.

Highlight an Appointment on the ‘This patient’s appointments’ list to enable the following buttons:

Notes about this Appointment

These notes are used to communicate any details specifically about this appointment, between the provider and the person who is booking the appointment.

It could include information such as the patient was considering composite fillings instead of amalgam or that the patient broke their filling while eating a sweet.

Edit Notes about an appointment in the Appointment Book

Edit Notes about an appointment from the Charting tab (Provider)

Double-click on the appointment in the Treatment Area (bold black text):

The Edit Appointment window will open:

The notes will be visible at Reception (Appointment Book) and also attached to the particular appointment within the Treatment plan:

Notes about this Patient

These notes are used to record information about the patient that is important to know when booking appointments for this patient.

For example: “The patient is always late”, or “The patient is very nervous about coming to the dentist”.

These notes are displayed in the Edit Appointment Window every time an appointment is booked for the patient.

Other Appointments Book Buttons

New Patients Appointments

This functionality is identical for both Single and Multi-column appointment books.

New patients who require appointments need a patient record before an appointment can be made for them.

To make this process as brief as possible only the basic information is requested initially from the patient. This information includes the patient’s full name and contact phone numbers. More detailed information about the patient can be obtained when the patient comes in for their appointment.

Making an Appointment for a New Patient

1. Double-click on the Clipboard. This will display the ‘Edit Appointment’ window.

2. Click on the +1 button on the Tool Bar as pictured below:

    

3. This will display the Add Patient window:

    

4. Enter the required details and click the OK button to create the new patient record.

5. This will load the patient into the ‘Edit Appointment’ window with the details you have entered. You will notice the patient has a tick in the ‘1st Visit’ check box to identify this patient as a ‘New’ patient.

    

6. The appointment details can now be entered as normal and saved, you can then find a suitable time found for the patient’s appointment by dragging from the clipboard to a convenient appointment time.

7. When you book the patient into the appointment book you will notice a red star beside the patient’s name. This is the ‘New’ patient symbol so that when the patient arrives you know they are new and therefore need to complete a Medical History form.

    

Double Booking

This function is identical for both Single and Multi-column appointment books.

EXACT caters for booking more than one appointment in the same time-slot. These double booked times are clearly identified with the use of colour in the ‘View Week’ and ‘View Day’ area.

Booking an appointment during a Block is also considered to be double-booking a provider’s time, e.g. booking an appointment during a provider’s lunch break.

As the required time slot already has an appointment, double-clicking on the required time will display the first appointment and selecting another patient can very easily overwrite the existing appointment. Therefore to add another appointment at the same time it is recommended that the clipboard be used.

Double-booking an Appointment

Double-booked appointments are identifiable by bright colouring of the appointment block in the appointment book.

From EXACT version 11.3 SP5 onwards there is an option to configure Appointment Colour Status, where the appointment blocks are coloured according to the patient stage of care within the practice.

However, the double-booking takes precedence, so no matter the stage of care, if an appointment is double-booked it will show the configured double-booking colour.

To double-book an appointment

1. Double-click on the Clipboard to open the Edit Appointment window.

2. Select the required patient.

3. Enter the required appointment details (services, provider, length, notes etc.)

4. In the Appointment Time field type the time for the appointment, as shown below.
   (Remember to use am or pm at the end of the time, if using the 12-hour clock)

    

5. Click the Save button. The appointment will now be saved at the Time specified.

   You will notice that the View Week and View Day area will change to a different colour for the time these appointments overlap. This clearly identifies any double booking when looking through the appointment book (shown as bright green in the example below).

    

    

To double-book an appointment (alternative method)

If you can see the time to double book in the View Day area (such as 2.45pm in the above example), set up the appointment on the clipboard without entering a time and then drag it to the required appointment time.

Answering Patient Appointment Queries

This function is identical for both Single and Multi-column appointment books.

The appointment book can also be used very efficiently to identify a patients’ next appointment, the treatment scheduled for the appointment and the provider the patient is booked to see.

This makes calls from patients who have forgotten when their next appointment is very easy to answer.

To find out the time of a patient's next appointment:

1. Double-click on the Clipboard to open the Edit Appointment window.

2. Select the patient using your normal procedure.

3. In the top right corner is a list of all the patient’s appointments. The next appointment will be the one with a blank status box (as the patient would not have arrived, failed or completed this appointment).

4. If the patient wishes to cancel or move the appointment to a different day, double-click the appointment in this area and this will move the View Day area directly to this date and time.

    

Moving a Patient's Appointment

1. In the ‘Edit Appointment’ window, double-click on the appointment in the list that you want to move. The ‘Edit Appointment’ window will display the appointment details and the ‘View Day’ area of the Appointment Book will update to display this date and time.

2. Cancel the ‘Edit Appointment’ window and you should be able to see the patient’s appointment. From there you can drag the appointment to a new time (if it is to be moved to another available slot on the same day). Otherwise, move or copy this to the clipboard while you find a more suitable date and time.

Highlighted Appointments

Within the appointment book, View Day area, there will only ever be one patient with focus - with a bold black highlight line around their appointment.

This highlight makes the appointment active for associated actions in the appointment book.

To highlight a patient appointment simply click once on the background colour of the appointment.

To remove the focus from the selected patient, click anywhere else in the appointment book.

When an appointment is highlighted, selecting any buttons will open that patient’s record for that action. For example:

opens the Edit Patient window

opens the Patient Payments window

cancels the appointment (if confirmed)

prints the patient’s details

opens the Edit Appointment window.

For each of these windows or actions, the current details for the current patient/appointment will load