Schedule Appointments with Explore

Set Up Number of Hits - Enter the number of available appointment time slots that you want to appear in your list before Explore pauses for your input. You may need to experiment to determine the most effective setting. A number too low will pause too often and delay the scheduling process. A number too high will cause a lengthy initial process before any openings appear. See "Explorer Properties" for details.

1. Open Your Grid Scheduler - You can open this feature in multiple ways: Use the method that's most convenient for you.

   ViewPoint main menu - Daily Activities > Make Appointment.

   

   ViewPoint toolbar - Make Appointment or Grid Scheduler.

   

   ViewPoint shortcut menu (Option 1.) - Actions > Make Appointment. (Or, press Alt+A on your keyboard to open the Actions menu options.)

   

   ViewPoint shortcut menu (Option 2.) - Add-In > Grid. (You can press Alt+D on your keyboard to open the Add-In menu options.)

   

   Patient Folder - Click the next appointment date from the Patient tab of the patient folder.

   

   Keyboard Shortcut - You can also open the Grid Scheduler by pressing Ctrl+G on your keyboard while ViewPoint is active.

2. Initiate Explore - Click Explore on the Grid Scheduler toolbar, or double-click a patient name on your Needs Appointment list. If a patient record is already active, that patient's information will be loaded automatically. Otherwise, you use Fast Find (either typing information or swiping a registered reward card) to search for the patient to work with.

   

   Save & Appoint Option - You can also use the Save & Appoint feature when creating new patient folders to open Explore as soon as the folder is saved so that you can schedule an appointment for the new patient immediately.

3. Review Patient and Family Information - Review this patient's detailed appointment history, as well as any appointments that family members currently have scheduled at your office. Click a tab to view that section.

   Appointment History - Review currently scheduled appointments, as well as the history of appointments this patient has kept, missed, and changed. You must use appointment processing for this data to be accurate.

   

   Sibling Appointments - Review any appointments family members currently have scheduled at your office. This feature is useful for parents that want to schedule multiple appointments on the same day.

   

4. View Treatment Chart - Click Tx Chart at the bottom of the appointment details screen to toggle viewing the patient's treatment chart information.

   

5. Enter Search Options - Select the procedure, appointment length, appointment times, and other parameters that define the type of appointment slot you are looking for.

   

   Procedure - Select a procedure by typing the beginning of the procedure name in the text box, or using the scroll bar at the right side of the list.

   

   Open Start - Enable this option if you want Explore to search only for appointments that begin with a cell classified as an Open Start cell. This feature is useful, for example, if you like to start appointments at the hour, quarter hour, and half hour only. If you disable this option, Explore will look for appointments that begin at any time. The default Open Start setting for each procedure is maintained in your Procedure table, but you may enable / disable the field as needed for individual appointments.

   

   Use Doctor Time - Enable this option to limit the search to appointment openings with ample doctor time available for the selected procedure. To determine whether sufficient doctor time is available, Explore considers: 1) Doctor time already scheduled in columns assigned to the doctor specified for this appointment, AND 2) Doctor time already scheduled in columns not assigned to any doctor. (You assign your scheduling columns to specific doctors in your s, and you assign the amount of doctor time allotted for each procedure in your Procedure table.)

   

   Units - Enter the number of appointment cells to schedule. The actual length of time depends on the time interval represented by each grid cell. The default units field for each procedure is maintained in your Procedure Table, but you may modify it for individual appointments as needed.

   

   Start / End Times - Enter the earliest time to start the appointment in the Start field, and the latest appointment ending time in the End field. To remove a time already entered, click the field, then press the Delete key on your keyboard.

   

   Doctor / Office / Assistant - Select to search for appointment openings assigned to a specific orthodontist, office, or assistant, or choose to search all open appointment times. When you specify a doctor, office, or assistant, Explore also searches appointment openings that are not specifically assigned to anyone.

   

   Weeks - Enter the number of weeks from today to begin the search for available openings. The selected date on the calendar at the bottom of the window adjusts to reflect your choice. (See "Grid Scheduler Properties" for details about setting up your default Weeks value.)

   

   Date - In addition to entering a value in the Weeks field, above, you can use the calendar at the bottom of the window to select a specific date to begin searching. The currently selected date is blue. Dates that are colored light gray have grids created, and are ready for scheduling. Dates that are colored dark gray do not have grids created: If you select to schedule to one of these dates, Explore will create the grid for you, using the default template for that day. (See "Set Up Weekly Scheduling Templates" for details.)

   

6. Begin Your Search - Click Find at the bottom of the window to begin searching for available appointment slots.

   

7. Select an Appointment - Your Grid Scheduler will list appointment openings in the Available Slots section of the window, up to the maximum "Number of Hits" setting in your Grid Properties editor. Click an appointment in the list to select it. If grid notes exist for the selected date, the Explore window expands to include the notes. (See "Manage Grid Bar Clipboards, Lists & Notes" for details about grid notes.). Click Appoint, or, double-click the appointment to continue to the appointment review screen.

   

8. Review Warnings and Notices - You may see one or more warning or notice as you schedule patient appointments. Be sure to review each message, and respond appropriately, to continue.

   Milestone Reminders - Your Display Milestone Reminders setting determines whether you are prompted to update milestone dates when you either schedule an appointment or open the treatment chart for a patient whose Next Dental Visit and/or Next Progress Report date is either today or in the past.  You can optionally award patient reward points for compliance when these dates are updated. See "Manage Milestone Reminders" for details.

   

   Alert Stop - If the patient has an alert trigger enabled for this feature, the Alert Stop pop-up window will appear when you initiate this feature for the patient. Review the alert information, then either press Enter on your keyboard, or click the box to continue. You can also click the Edit link to open the Alert editor for that patient.

   

9. Confirm Appointment Details - After finding the appointment time slot for a patient, and responding to any alerts and reminders, the Confirm Appointment Details window opens. You can then review and change certain appointment details, and process previously scheduled appointments to complete the scheduling process.

   

   Procedure - The selected appointment date and time, the selected procedure code, and the grid column being scheduled appear for your review. If you are scheduling manually, you can select a different procedure by typing the beginning of the procedure name in the text box, or using the scroll bar at the right side of the list. If you are using Explore, you have already selected a procedure and cannot change it. You cannot change the appointment date, the appointment time, or the column you are scheduling to.

   

   An appointment alert will appear on the appointment detail screen if the patient already has an appointment for the procedure being scheduled, or if the patient is on your Needs Appointment grid bar. In this case, when you schedule this appointment, you will have the option of removing the patient from the grid bar.

   

   Appointment Length - The number of Units indicates the number of appointment cells, or the appointment length, that you are scheduling. The default length for the selected procedure is found in your Procedure Editor. If you are scheduling manually, you can change this field; if you are using Explore, you have already selected the number of units, and cannot change it.

   

   Location / Personnel - The office, doctor, and / or assistant that will be scheduled for the appointment are shown. You can change these fields, if needed, unless the selected appointment slot is assigned to a specific doctor, office, or assistant.

   

   Enable / Disable Sooner if Possible - As you schedule a patient appointment, you can enable the Sooner If Possible option to place the patient on your Sooner if Possible list, making it easier for you to fill appointment slots that become open due to cancellations. See "Manage Grid Bar Clipboards, Lists & Notes" for details.

   

   Reminder - To add a reminder to the appointment you may: 1) Select a standard reminder from your list, 2) Type a unique reminder in the text box, or; 3) Use a combination of both methods by selecting a standard reminder, then editing the text as needed. Reminders appear in the patient folder and the Grid Scheduler, the patient Appointment History, and optionally on appointment cards (See "Appointment Reminders Table" for details.) 

   

   Process Other Appointments While Scheduling New Appointment - As you schedule a new appointment for a patient, you can process previously scheduled appointments directly from the appointment confirmation window. Note that only the earliest-scheduled appointment is available for processing here.

   

10. Appoint the Patient - When you are satisfied with the appointment details, click Ok.

    

11. Override Scheduling Conflicts - If your Grid Scheduler finds additional conflicting data between your selected appointment time, procedure, and patient, you must confirm that you want to override the assigned classifications before the appointment can be scheduled.

    Procedure Class Conflict - If the appointment is being scheduled to a grid cell with a different class or column assignment than the selected procedure, you must override the classifications before the appointment can be scheduled.

    Doctor, Office, Assistant Conflicts - If this appointment is being scheduled to a grid cell that is assigned to a different doctor, office, or assistant than those in the patient folder, you must confirm you action before continuing.

    

    

    Overbook Warning - If this appointment will be scheduled to one or more grid cells that already have an appointment scheduled, you are warned that you are about to overbook. Depending on your Grid Properties setting, you are either prompted to confirm that you want to overbook, or you are prevented from overbooking any cells. See "Grid Scheduler Properties" for details.

    

    Recall Appointment Processing - If the patient has one or more recall appointments assigned, you are asked how you would like to process ALL recall appointments assigned to the patient. (If you would prefer to process multiple recall appointments individually, select to Leave the recall appointments as you schedule this appointment. Then go to the Appointment History to process the Recall appointments as needed. See "Appointment History" for details.)

    

12. Respond to Auto-Events - Respond to Auto-Events triggered by the appointment, such as posting a transaction, printing a letter, or changing the patient's status. See "Appointment Procedure Table" for details.