Unless otherwise stated, the tools and functions described in the following sections are common to both single and multi-column appointment books

Customising the Appointment Book Appearance

Users with appropriate security access can customise the appointment book appearance to optimise viewer interpretation.

1. Click Configure > Appointment Book... to display the Appointment Book window:
   
   

   Open

   
   Open

   

2. Click the Appearance Options button to open the Appointment Book Appearance window:
   
   

3. Change the parameters at right and view your changes in the dynamic graphic display at left (see parameter explanations below).

4. Check that you haven't used the same colour for conflicting options, such as white for both 'Available time' and 'No Category', and then click OK when finished.

Week View Options:

Day View Options

To select Normal View Appointment Fields

To select Wide View Appointment Fields

To use a picture as a background

Click the 'picture' radio button and use a graphic such as a photo, texture, sketch, logo, etc. as a background.

The graphic must be accessible on your computer/network via the Browse button.

The graphic is displayed at 100% size, so if small it will be 'tiled' (the available space will be filled with multiple 'tiles' of the same image).

If it is larger than the space it is to be displayed in, it will be cropped (truncated) to fit, from the right and bottom of the graphic.

A small sample of the chosen graphic displays in the box next to the Browse button.

Tip: If you choose to use a graphic for the background, choose one that is not too 'busy', or if you can, edit the picture using a graphics program to reduce the contrast, increase the brightness, or reduce the colour depth, to give it a pastel effect. Alternatively, use a 'texture' graphic or other subtle background.

Online Booking Icons

Online Booking icons display in the top right corner of the appointment:

Appointment Colour Status

Overview

Each appointment book user can configure a set of coloured appointment statuses to visually differentiate appointment book blocks according to the patient stages of care within the dental practice.

Configurable stages of care by colour are: Booked > Confirmed > Late > Arrived > Seated in chair > Treatment complete > Checked out | FTA (Failed to Arrive).

This visual indication extends to the length of stay timer so that with a glance at the appointment book practice personnel can immediately see each patient's stage of care and how long the patient has been waiting at that stage.

The booked provider for an appointment can be indicated by means of a vertical colour bar.

Features

Benefits

Clear visual display

With a glance at the appointment book the EXACT user can see the stage of care of a patient and how long the patient has been waiting at that stage:

Improved responsiveness to patient needs translates into better customer service

Practice personnel quickly identify where patients have been waiting for long periods and are better able to respond to their needs.

More streamlined practice workflow

Being comprehensively aware of the patient stages of care enables all practice personnel to better collaborate in streamlining the practice workflow.

Requirements

EXACT version 11.3 SP5 or later

Limitations and exclusions:

• The status timer refresh is from 1-2 minutes. This is because EXACT uses the system time to calculate and appointment book, and this has an internal refresh timer. If the system time and refresh timer are in synch the timer will refresh at 1 minute, and at worst it will refresh at 2 minutes.

• The Timer is not present on the appointment card tool tip.

• Appointment Colour Status is not supported by Single column appointment book (single provider view) and the Week view.

• The booked provider identifier will only display for a Dentist when using the co-duties workflow and the other provider is a Hygienist.

• The double booking colour setting takes precedence over any status configuration setting.

Using

With Appointment colour status correctly configured the primary colour display for the appointment book as a whole is by status / stage of care:

Given the appropriate security settings, each EXACT user can configure the appearance settings of their appointment book. Users can configure the changing colour of the appointment cards according to the appointment status (stage of care) to provide a clear representation of a patient's stage of care.

To use the Colour Status Display

The status icon and the appointment colour show the Status / stage of care 

IMPORTANT:

These colours are over-ridden by the double booking colour setting, which always takes precedence.

All practice workstations that are configured for Status view will see the changes made by other workstations.

A Provider colour indicator shows the booked provider for the appointment.
The colour is the same as the appointment colour set for the Provider.
For co-duties the dentist identifier takes precedence over the hygienist, so only the dentist identifier will display when there is an overlap in the appointment.

A Status Timer (hours:minutes) shows how long a patient within the practice has been at the current status. The in-practice statuses are Arrived, In Chair and Treatment Complete.
The timer is visible in the coloured appointment block but not in the tooltip (the information display that appears when you mouseover the appointment block).
The timer will stop after 12 hrs and will no longer be displayed on the appointment.

If you drag (move) an appointment, the colours are retained to retain the status and provider. See Appointment retention guidelines for details.

The functionality is supported in multiple appointment book views:

The Appointment Colour Status is not supported in the appointment book Single Provider View and Week View.

Appointment Statuses, Icons and Triggers

Each appointment has a Status box in the top left corner, with status indicators of the patient's current stage in the appointment workflow:

If a patient does not arrive there is also a Failed to Arrive (FTA) icon:

Each time the status is clicked, it cycles through the following status items:

• A telephone handset icon indicates that the patient’s appointment has been confirmed; this option can be switched off in the configuration of the appointment book if not required.

• A hollow square icon indicates that the patient has not yet arrived.

• A stick figure icon indicates that the patient has arrived for their appointment.

• The patient in the chair icon indicates that the patient’s records are open in the surgery.

• A tick icon indicates the appointment has been completed and the patient is checked out. (Appointments are automatically updated as completed when the provider charges or TC’s the patient from the surgery).

These icons are especially significant for practices that use the appointment workflow to track and process patients through the practice.

Status Triggers

These statuses are triggered as follows:

Although the appointment workflow is a partly automated process, from EXACT v12.2 it is possible to manually set appointment statuses.

Resetting the appointment Status

Requires EXACT v12.2 or later. It is possible to manually reset or change a patient's appointment workflow status to either

• Booked (not yet in the workflow)

• Arrived (has been processed through reception and is now awaiting clinical treatment)

• In the Chair (being treated in the Clinic - only the assigned Provider can change the patient to this status)

• Complete (has been treated and is now in reception being processed through departure)

• Checked Out (completed the workflow)

To reset the patient appointment status

Right-click the appointment and select the reset status from the context menu:

(the options may vary depending on stages in the workflow and permissions)

IMPORTANT: When you reset the appointment status EXACT resets its expectation of where that patient is in the practice and what actions are applicable to that patient's current stage of the workflow.

Select Reset Appointment Status to set the patient to Booked.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: Booked

EXACT expects that this patient has not yet arrived in reception.

Select Mark as Booked to set the patient to Booked.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: Booked

EXACT expects that this patient has not yet arrived in reception.

Select Mark as Arrived to set the patient to awaiting treatment in the clinic.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: Arrived

EXACT expects that this patient has been through the Arrivals process and is queued, awaiting treatment by the Provider.

The Provider sees this patient as a queued icon, waiting for treatment.

(valid Provider only) Select Move Patient to Chair to accept the patient into the clinic:

A patient can only be moved to the chair by the Provider to whom that patient has been assigned in the appointment book, so only that Provider will see this option to Move to Chair.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: In the chair

EXACT expects that this patient is in the chair being treated by the Provider.

Select Mark as Complete to mark the clinical treatment phase as complete for this patient.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: Complete

EXACT expects that this patient has been treated and moved to Reception, and pops up the patients Departure Task List, where applicable.

Select Mark as Checked Out to mark the reception departure phase as complete for this patient.

You'll see the status icon in the appointment change: Checked out

EXACT expects that this patient has been processed through departure and left the practice.

Appointment retention guidelines

"Retention" here refers to cases where an appointment is moved, cut, copied or opened, and whether in these situations the booked provider rules and the colour status rules are kept intact.

NOTE: In actions with past appointments there is no retention.

Retention for Booked Provider Identifier Colour

i.e. In what circumstances is this vertical coloured bar retained:

Retention for Colour Status Rules

i.e. in what circumstances does the whole appointment block retain its colour:

Configuration

Configuring Booked Provider Colour Display

Many practices historically coloured appointment blocks by Provider. When coloured by Status (stage of care) there is an option for a vertical colour indicator that identifies the Provider for the appointment:

Configuring this indicator requires

• Enabling the indicator by checking (ticking) a checkbox, and

• Setting an appointment colour per Provider in the Provider File

To enable Booked Provider colour display

1. Go to Configure > Appointment Book:

    

2. In the Appointment Book Setup screen, select the Appearance Options button :

    

3. In the Appointment Book Appearance screen, under the Appointments section, check (tick) the checkbox for Display booked provider identifier:

    

4. Select OK and Close out of the configuration screens.

5. (You will need to restart EXACT to enable the settings, whether at this point or after further configuration).

To set the colour per Provider for the booked provider colour display

1. Go to File > Providers...

2. In the Provider File, select a Provider (in the example below, "RGP") and select the Appointments tab.

3. Select an Appointment Colour and then select the Save button :

    

4. Repeat for all required Providers.

5. (You will need to restart EXACT to enable the settings, whether at this point or after further configuration).

Configuring the Status Timer for Appointments

Optionally add a Status Timer (hours:minutes) to the appointment book for these Statuses / stages of care while the patient is physically within the practice: Arrived, In Chair, Treatment Completed.

This timer starts as the patient enters the status.

NOTE:

The status timer refresh is from 1-2 minutes. This is because EXACT uses the system time to calculate and appointment book, and this has an internal refresh timer. If the system time and refresh timer are in synch the timer will refresh at 1 minute, and at worst it will refresh at 2 minutes.

The Status Timer is not present in the appointment card tool tip that displays when you move your mouse cursor over the appointment block.

To configure Appointment Status Timer

1. Go to Configure > Appointment Book:

    

2. In the Appointment Book Setup screen, select the Appearance Options button :

    

3. In the Appointment Book Appearance screen, under the Appointments section, check (tick) the checkbox for Display status timer:

    

4. Select OK and Close out of the configuration screens.

5. (You will need to restart EXACT to enable the settings, whether at this point or after further configuration).

Configuring Appointment Colour Status

The procedure is to first configure a colour per Status, then go to User Settings and for each user colour the day view by means of the Status option.

IMPORTANT: Colour statuses are overridden by the double booking colour setting, which always takes precedence.

To configure Appointment Colour Statuses

1. Go to Configure > Appointment Book:

2. In the Appointment Book Setup screen, select the Appearance Options button :

    

3. In the Appointment Book Appearance screen, select the Statuses Setup button:

    

4. For each Status, click the Set Colour... button and select a colour from your standard Windows Colours Selector:

    

5. Select OK > OK and Close out of the configuration screens.

6. (You also need to go to the User Settings to configure the primary colour appearance of the Day View as "Status")

7. (You will need to restart EXACT to enable the settings, whether now or after further configuration).

Configuring the Day View by Status per User

NOTE: All practice workstations that are configured for Status view will see the changes made by other workstations.

To configure Status as the primary Appointment Book display per user

1. Go to Configure > User Settings... select a User, and for Colour day view select the Status option in the drop down menu:

    

    

   This applies the Day View Appointment Book Appearance colour settings for Statuses for this user.

2. Select the Save button at the top of the screen.

3. Restart EXACT to enable the settings. All practice workstations that are configured for Status view will then see the changes

Tool Tips

Hover the point of the cursor over any appointment within the view week area to display a tool tip. This will inform you who the patient is, the treatment that they are booked in for, and the length of the appointment.

This example shows a tool tip displayed for a future appointment, and showing that automatic reminder email and SMS messages have been sent.
For example, these can be set up in the email wizard to be sent (as below) an hour before the appointment time.

Note also the contact icons (circled in red below).

The next example shows a tool tip where the automatic email and SMS reminders were not successful, in this case because the email server was activated less than 25 minutes before the appointment. Once again, there are no icons showing (circled in red):

This third example shows the tool tip and icons displayed when email and SMS reminders have been successfully sent:

Patient Chris Griffin (1) was sent an email reminder.

Zena Wolfe (2) - for whom the tool tip is displayed - was successfully contacted via email and SMS.

The bottom patient (3) was also successfully reminded of his appointment via email and SMS.

Telephone Icons

Three telephones, each initially grey in colour, are shown on the right hand side of each appointment in the View Day area when the appointment is booked. Click on the telephone icon to change the colour from grey to its required colour.

The telephone icons can symbolise a variety of things with regard to the appointment, as defined by each practice. For example, they could be used:

• If the patient wishes to be reminded about the appointment.

• To identify the confirmation status (e.g. “Confirmed”, “Left message”, “Unable to contact patient”, etc.)

• As a reminder that lab work is required for this appointment.

SMS and Email Reminders

When a patient is sent an SMS or email message as a reminder about an appointment, an icon will appear alongside the telephone icons in the appointment, to indicate the message has been sent.

The icon for an SMS reminder appears like this:

A sent email reminder will appear like this:

When both an email message and an SMS message have been sent, it will appear like this:

For an SMS message, one of the following six icons may appear, depending on the status:

When both an email message and an SMS message have been sent, two icons will appear, side by side: the email reminder icon, and whichever of the SMS icons applies.

Using the Clipboard

The appointment length and patient name is displayed to the right of the Clipboard.

WARNING: Appointments held on the clipboard will not be saved when the Appointment book is closed, but you will see a warning on screen when you attempt to close the Appointment book.

Purpose:

The clipboard is a quick and useful tool to set patient appointments because it is easily accessible from many windows and screens. It enables temporarily storage of patient appointments until practitioners can locate appropriate time/date slots.

Updates in EXACT v12.2:

• Searches for clipboard appointment/s are now conducted with the modern Search functionality, so it is possible to search for a single appointment and hold other appointments on the list.

• It is possible to delete appointments from the clipboard list (it is no longer necessary to drag them from either the clipboard or the hold list into the Green Rubbish bin).

• It is possible to add and edit clipboard appointments.

To list appointments in the clipboard

From the appointment book:

• Drag an appointment to the clipboard (moves the appointment to the clipboard)

• Right-click > Cut to Clipboard (moves the appointment to the clipboard)

• Right-click > Copy to Clipboard and Edit (copies the appointment to the clipboard)

From Add Patient or Edit Patient window:

• Select the Copy to Clipboard button.

Clipboard actions:

Right-click the clipboard, appointment length or patient name to view a context menu.

List multiple appointments on the Clipboard and click to cycle through them.

Drag a clip to the appointment book to create a booking.

Run an appointment search for one clipboard-listed appointment.

Run a Search All for purposes of co-ordinated appointments.

Double-click to edit the appointment.

Note that Clipboard appointments are simultaneously listed in the Hold List from where the Hold list functions apply: Edit, Search, Create New.

To search for a an appointment slot from the Clipboard

1. Click the Clipboard icon / name repeatedly until you see listed the appointment for which you want to search.

2. Either

   • Click the Search icon:

      

     or

   • Right-click the clipboard > Search.

3. When the Search dialogue opens, follow normal Search procedures as covered in Using the Appointment Search Window.

To search for ALL clipboard appointment slots

Right-click the clipboard and select Search All from the context menu.

The Appointment Time Search window is the same as for the Hold List Search All feature.

To delete an appointment from the clipboard

Either

• Right-click the clipboard and select Delete from the context menu.

  or

• Drag the appointment to the bin:

   

   

To add a new appointment from the clipboard

1. Right-click and select +1 to open the Add / Edit Appointment window.

2. Create or edit the appointment details.

3. From this window click the Copy to Clipboard button.
   
   

NOTE: If an appointment listed in the Clipboard becomes deleted, invalid or completed, when you attempt to drag it to the appointment book you will see a message
'The corresponding planned treatment on the patient's chart tab has either been completed or no longer exists. Do you still wish to book this appointment?'
Click YES to still book the appointment and link it to the Chart tab. Click NO to not book the appointment.

Moving Appointments Using the Clipboard

SUMMARY: Move the appointment into the clipboard, find an appropriate gap in the appointment book, then drag it from the clipboard into that gap.

1. Move the appointment into the clipboard by:

   From the appointment book:

   • Drag an appointment to the clipboard (moves the appointment to the clipboard)

   • Right-click the appointment > Cut to Clipboard (moves the appointment to the clipboard)

   • Right-click the appointment > Copy to Clipboard and Edit (copies the appointment to the clipboard)

   From Add Patient or Edit Patient window:

   • Select the Copy to Clipboard button.

2. The Clipboard will now show an item clipped to it, with the appointment length and the patient name displayed to the right:

    

3. Find a new suitable date and time for the patient then drag the appointment from the Clipboard to the required date and time in the appointment book area, using the same method described above.

When there is an item on the Clipboard, you can double-click on the Clipboard to open the Edit Appointment window.

An appointment made using this method will be saved back to the Clipboard, ready to be dragged to the required date and time.

NOTES:

It is important to remember that appointments held on the clipboard will not be saved when the Appointment book is closed. A warning will appear on screen should you attempt to close the Appointment book while appointments are on the clipboard.

Make it a habit to keep the clipboard empty when practicable, and to move items from the clipboard to their destination as soon as possible.

If an appointment listed in the Clipboard becomes deleted, invalid or completed, when you attempt to drag it to the appointment book you will see a message 'The corresponding planned treatment on the patient's chart tab has either been completed or no longer exists. Do you still wish to book this appointment?' Click YES to still book the appointment and link it to the Chart tab. Click NO to not book the appointment.

Moving Appointments Without Using the Clipboard

1. Click the appointment and drag it to the new selected time.

   A message will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to move the appointment:

    

2. To complete the move, click Yes.

3. If the patient has a preferred provider listed in their details, and you drag the appointment to another provider's column, this message will appear:

    

   This is to alert you to the fact you are attempting to make an appointment with a provider other than their usual one.

4. Click Yes to make the new appointment, or No to cancel the move.

Deleting Appointments with the Bin

To delete an Appointment

From either the Clipboard or the View Day area, drag the Appointment to the bin:

The bin will animate to show the lid open:

To view deleted Appointments

Double-click the Bin to list the deleted Appointments:

Dragging an Appointment to the Bin

1. Click on the appointment and hold your finger on the left mouse button.

2. Keeping the mouse button down, drag the cursor to the Bin.

    

    

3. When the lid on the Bin opens, release the mouse button.

4. A warning will appear for you to confirm you want to delete this appointment.

5. Click ‘Yes’ to delete the appointment or ‘No’ to return to the previous window.

Opening a Patient Record with the Edit Patient Button

Use this button to open the patient file directly from the appointment book.

To open a patient record with the Edit Patient button

1. Select the patient by clicking once on their appointment in the View Day area.

2. Click the Edit Patient button located at the bottom of the View Day Area:

    

   This will open the patient file window where you can view and edit the patient’s details.

Processing a Payment from the Appointment Book with the Payment Button

Use the Payment button to process a patient payment directly from the appointment book.

To process a patient payment from the Appointment Book by means of the Payment button:

1. Select the patient by clicking once on their appointment in the View Day area.

2. Select the Payment button.

    

   This will open the Payments window where you can enter the payment details.
   See Patient Payments Window options and fields

Cancellation Button

1. Select the Appointment

2. Either

   1. Select the Appointment

   2. Select the Cancel button:

- or -

1. Right-click the Appointment

2. Select Cancel Appointment:

You may be prompted for a cancellation reason (if Enable Cancellation Reason is set in Configure > Appointment Books).

The cancelled appointment is removed from the Appointment book but remains visible within the Cancels tab from where you can easily drag it into a new time if required.

To re-instate a Cancelled Appointment

Locate the cancelled appointment within the Cancels tab and drag it into a new gap.

Print Buttons

The Print buttons are located at the bottom right of the appointment book and can be used to print either a list of scheduled appointments for the selected Providers and dates, or print appointment book details.

Print Appointment Book

In the Appointment book window, click on the Print Appointment List button or press CTRL-R.

This will call the ‘Print Appointment Book’ dialog, with the current book and appointment date defaulted. (If required, you can still change the date and book from the defaulted values). Initially, only appointment book columns that are displayed 'wide' are selected.

Print Dialog:

Print Preview:

Print Patient Appointment List

Purpose:

This option is useful to give to the patient before they leave the surgery, so they have a written copy of future appointments.

To print a list of appointments for an individual patient,

1. Click once on an appointment to select it.

2. Click the Print Patient Appointment List button or Press CTRL-P:

    

Print Dialog: