Scheduler: Add Appointments

There are three ways to create an appointment in Scheduler: Add Appointment, Select a Time, or Find Availability.  

• Add Appointment: Use the + Add button to schedule an appointment with a specific Resource and patient.  
• Select a Time: Click on an available slot in the Calendar view to schedule an appointment at the Location and with the Provider selected in the left sidebar. 
• Find Availability: Use the Find Availability button to search for open appointment slots using your desired criteria (e.g., Resource, Date Range, etc.).

Accessing the Scheduler 

Navigate to the Schedules tab and choose Scheduler.  

Add Appointment 

Let’s review how to create an appointment.  

1. From any view in the Scheduler, click + Add.
    
2. Let’s complete the New Appointment details.
3. Use the Location field to set the location for this appointment, this field will auto-fill if you only have access to one location.  
4. Next, select the Appointment Type. These are the appointment types available for the location selected. These are custom to your location/organization and can be updated in Scheduler Settings as needed. 
5. The Duration will default to the duration set when creating the Appointment Type but can be manually updated. 
6. Enter the appointment date. 
7. Set the Start Time. The End Time is automatically added based on the Duration.
8. The Appointment Subject field allows you to name the appointment. The name entered here will appear, along with appointment type, anywhere the appointment appears.
9. Next, update the Recurrence if this appointment will occur more than once. By default, the appointment will be created as a single appointment.
10. Select one or more Patients from the drop-down. This list displays patients for the entire organization, not just the location selected. As a result, you can easily schedule appointments for patients previously treated at a different facility (discharged or active) and tie those records together by creating a Pre-admission chart in their new treatment location. Leave this field blank if you are creating a non-patient appointment.
    • Important
      Pre-Admission charts will only be created for patients being scheduled in a new location within a Master instance. You won't receive a pop-up when scheduling a patient in a new location within a single instance. Additionally, if a patient has been discharged and has no other active chart, you can still select them, but you will be prompted to create a new preadmission chart for that patient.
    • Add Patients Contact: Check this box to include contacts (guardians, family members, etc.) tied to the patient chart in the appointment invite. Select one or as many as you need. This functionality is helpful for scheduling Family Sessions.
      1. Important: Contacts must have email addresses on file to receive telehealth session invites, and only contacts set as Guardians or Guarantors can receive appointment communications (aside from Telehealth invites).
11. Alternatively, use the Create New Patients link to add a patient that does not exist in the EMR yet. If you use this option, it will open the New Patient Registration window. Click on refresh next to the patient dropdown and the new patient you just created is available to schedule
12. Next, use the Resource drop-down to assign one or more Resources to the appointment. Remember, only active Kipu users who have also been assigned a Resource Schedule for this location will appear in the list.
    • You can select multiple Resources and specify when they need to be in the appointment using the Start Time and End Time fields. 
    • If you attempt to schedule an appointment outside of a resource's set working hours, you will get a warning informing you that you have done so, but you will still be able to save and create the appointment.
13. Use the Rooms drop-down to select a specific room for this appointment. This method is often used to indicate where a session will take place. If you select a room number, it will appear in the list view. Click here to learn more about setting up Rooms for scheduler. 
    
    The room will also be visible on the appointment card.
    
14. Use the Telehealth Visit toggle to make this appointment a Telehealth session. Select the host from the Session Host drop-down. If you’ve added more than one Resource to the appointment, you can designate the host and an alternate.
15. Finally, click Save to schedule the appointment. Alternatively, click Draft to save the appointment as a draft so you can revisit it later.    

Pre-admission Chart 

Let’s review the process for scheduling an existing patient in a new location. Please note that the Pre-admission Chart process only applies to organizations in a Master Instance. 

1. If you add an appointment for a patient that doesn’t exist in the location but does exist within your organization, you’ll receive a Pre-admission Chart popup.
2. Choose Yes to schedule the appointment. Once scheduled, the appointment will have an indicator showing that the patient’s details are incomplete. For a complete list of appointment icons and their meanings, check out this article.  
3. Once you complete the patient’s chart, this indicator will automatically be removed.  

Note: If a pre-admission chart is archived, any current and future Scheduler appointments will be automatically removed.

Select a Time

To schedule an appointment, simply click on an available slot within the Calendar view. This opens the Create Appointment screen and automatically fills in the Locations(s) and Provider(s) selected in the left sidebar. For example, if two providers are selected, both providers will be included in the appointment. You can make adjustments as needed. 

When scheduling appointments for an individual provider, you can see the provider's availability and the type of appointment you can schedule with them. Simply click on an open slot to schedule.

Find Availability 

The Find Availability option allows you to use criteria to search for available appointment slots. Find Availability is especially helpful when you want to schedule an appointment for the next available provider or schedule an appointment with date flexibility. You can choose to find availability for a single appointment (standalone) or for a recurring series of appointments (recurrent).

For a detailed walkthrough of the Find Availability process, check out this article.