How to book a patient in
From an empty calendar to a saved appointment — three routes to the same dialog and four warnings worth understanding before you click Create Appointment.
Booking appointments is something you repeat a dozen times a day, so it is worth walking through once to the end and seeing where Heltio warns you and where it refuses. Every route leads to one dialog — New Appointment. The only difference is whether the slot is already filled in.
How to do it
All three routes in step 1 end in the same form, and its layout does not depend on which one you chose. Under one is the first section — the patient, the practitioner and the service type, which are steps 2 and 3. Under four is the Create Appointment button you finish with in step 5.
Open the New Appointment dialog
Three routes, one dialog:
- Click an empty slot in the calendar grid — the date, time and practitioner fill themselves in. This is the fastest route and usually the only one you will use.
- Click New appointment at the reception desk or in the Quick actions tile on the dashboard. The dialog opens with an empty slot.
- Press the N key in the calendar grid view. The shortcut stays silent while the cursor is in a form field or another dialog is open.
Point at the patient, or create one on the spot
The Patient field searches by surname and by phone; the hint reads Name or phone…. When there is no such person you see No patients found. and a + New patient button.
You create a new patient without leaving the dialog. The New patient details section has First name, Last name, Phone and Email. The names are required, the contact details are not — but with no phone and no e-mail address that person will get no appointment reminder.
Choose the practitioner and the service type
Practitioner is the list of people seeing patients at this clinic. Service type comes from the service catalogue and fills in the duration and the price — underneath you see the Price for this appointment, and where that person has their own rate, the Practitioner rate label.
Set the time and read the slot markers
You fill in the Date, the Start time and the Duration. The time list marks the awkward entries for you: (outside hours) means outside that person's schedule, (slot busy) that they already have another appointment then.
Choosing such a time does not lock the form straight away. Heltio shows a warning, and only the save decides whether it goes through. If you are looking for anything free at all, the Suggested free slots section offers the nearest openings.
Add a note and save
Notes take whatever the practitioner should see — the reason for the visit, a request from the patient, a message from reception. This is not a medical record; that is created later, in the workspace.
The Create Appointment button finishes the job. Heltio acknowledges with Appointment booked.
Check the appointment is really there
The appointment should be visible in three places: in the calendar grid at the right hour, on the appointment list, and in the visit history on the patient record. If the patient has a portal account, they will see it under Appointments.
When something does not work
This time slot overlaps with another appointment
What this means: The person you chose already has an appointment at those hours, and the clinic does not allow appointments to overlap.
Outside working hours — you'll be asked to confirm a reason when booking.
What this means: The time falls outside that person's schedule, and you hold the permission to force a booking.
This time is outside the practitioner's working hours.
What this means: The same thing, but without the permission to force a booking.
Start time must be in the future.
What this means: The date and time you chose have already passed.
No rooms available — appointment created without a room assignment
What this means: The clinic assigns rooms automatically, but at that hour they are all taken.
Who has access
Clinic Admin Receptionist PractitionerBookings can be made by the clinic administrator, reception and the practitioner. Booking outside working hours needs a separate permission — without it, instead of the reason dialog you will see Cannot book outside working hours — contact admin.
Related
- How to schedule a series of visits — when the patient comes every week.
- Booking an appointment — the full description of the dialog and every field.
- Service catalogue — where the duration and the price come from.