Schedule Appointments Manually

You can double-click an appointment time in your Grid Scheduler to manually schedule a patient appointment.

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. Select Appointment and Patient - Double-click the appointment slot you want to work with. See "Your Grid Scheduler" for details about selecting appointment dates. 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.

   You cannot schedule to a grid cell that already has an appointment, unless you have enabled overbooking. (See "Grid Scheduler Properties" for details.)

   

3. 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.

   

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. 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.

   

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

   

7. 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.)

   

8. 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.

More Information

Patient Reward Points - (Optional.) Use the Points for scheduling next appointment while in office field of the patient reward triggers options to enter the number of points to award patients that schedule their next appointment before leaving. These points are awarded when a new appointment is scheduled for a patient that is currently signed into your office. See "Patient Reward Trigger Editor" for details.