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Manage Online Appointments and Track Potential Patients

Faris Peerukannu Mohamed Kasim
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Online appointments in CareStack allow your patients to create appointments online, either by requesting an appointment for your team to complete the booking (Appointment Request) or by directly booking themselves without the need for team intervention (Direct Scheduled Appointments).

Let's explore how to manage online appointments effectively.

Topics Covered

  • Direct Scheduled Appointments
  • View an Appointment Request & Schedule an Appointment
  • Manage Appointment Messages
  • Track Potential Patients
  • Permissions

Watch this video for a concise summary.

To view direct scheduled online appointments, perform the following steps:

  • Click Online from the Homepage.

  • Select the Direct Scheduled tab. 

Here you can see all direct scheduled appointments and their details.

  • The details include the Appointment Created Date, Appointment Time, Patient Name, Mobile Number of the Patient, Provider, Practice Location, Operatory, Production Type of the booking, Patient Category, and Appointment Mode (In-Office or Tele-Appointment).  
  • Click on the Patient Name to view the Patient Snapshot and access the related details and quick links. 
  • To locate the intended appointments easily, utilize the filters on the grid.

Note: Your location will be selected automatically by default. To view direct scheduled appointments of all locations, remove the Location filter.

To view the appointment in the scheduler:

  • You can click on the Preferred Time to navigate to the exact time slot in the Scheduler, Or
  • Click on the three-dot menu.
  • Click View In Scheduler. 

Explore this video for an in-depth walkthrough.

You have to complete the appointment booking for an appointment request. To view all appointment requests and schedule an appointment, follow the workflow given below.

  • Click Online from the home page.

  • Select the Appointment Request tab.
  • Here you can view all appointment requests from the online portal.
Note: Family appointments requested together are shown as a group. Appointments will be removed from the group once they are confirmed or deleted.

To view the appointment in the scheduler:

  • Click the Preferred Time to directly navigate to the scheduler.

OR

  • Click the three-dot menu on the intended appointment request.
  • Click View In Scheduler.

Note: When the requested time slot is already booked, a warning modal will appear prompting users to either choose a different time slot or proceed to the scheduler.

  • The scheduler will open up with the requested time slot. Click 'Click to Book Appt (Appointment)'.

  • The Add New Patient slide-out will appear.
    • Enter details for the new patient. If not, you can select an existing patient.
  • Click Save Patient.

  • Once the patient is added or selected, confirm the Appointment Details.
  • Click Book Appointment.

  • The appointment will be reflected in the Scheduler.

Watch this video for a comprehensive walkthrough.


To view and take action on appointment pending appointment messages, perform the steps given below.

  • Click Online from the Homepage.

  • Select the Appointment Message tab.
  • Click Pending.
  • Here, you can see appointment messages sent by the patients from the online portal.

You can review the following information on the grid:

  • Received Time: Filter and view the date and time when the appointment message was received.
  • Name: View the name of the patient.
  • DOB (Age): Date of Birth of the patient.
  • Gender: Gender of the patient.
  • Phone: Phone Number of the patient.
    • Click the Call quick link to initiate a call with the patient.
  • Email: View the email address of the patient.
  • Location: View the location where the message was received.
  • Preferred Appt. Time: The preferred appointment time of the patient.
  • Patient Category: View whether the sender is a new or existing patient.
  • Notes: Check out if any relevant notes were added to the message.

Once you have viewed the message and taken action:

  • Click on the three dots menu, where you have three possible actions.
    • View In Scheduler: Click this option to open the scheduler and navigate to the patient's preferred appointment time.
      • You can book an appointment for the new patient by creating a new patient profile.
    • Mark as Done: Click this option to mark the message as done. This indicates an action has been taken on the message.
    • Delete: Click this option to remove the message from the list.

  • To view previous appointment messages, select the History tab.
    • Here you can view all appointment messages that were marked as done or deleted.

Watch this video for a complete understanding.

When patients visit the online appointment portal and leave without making a booking, their information including the contact number is captured as potential patients.

To track and take action on potential patients, perform the steps below.
  • Click Online on the left hand side of the Dashboard.

  • Select the Potential Patients tab.
Tip: The count of potential patients will be displayed on the tab.
  • Select the Pending sub-tab, where you can view all the pending potential patients.

  • Utilize the filters such as Date, Phone, and Location to narrow down the list.

  • You can select No Location option from the Location filter to view patients who have not provided a location. By default, both No Location and the User's Permitted Locations are selected.  
    • If a patient has provided the contact number and not proceeded to select a location from the account level URL, the entry will be tagged as No Location.
    • If they use a location-specific URL or select a location from the account-specific link, the entry will be tagged to that location.

  • To add Notes to a potential patient, click on the pencil icon.
    • Enter the Notes and click Save.
    • The notes will appear on the grid under the Notes column.

  • To contact the potential patient, click Call.
  • If an action has been taken on a potential patient, click Mark as Done.
    • Once the potential patient has been marked as done, the patient will be moved to the History tab. 
  • Click Reject to remove a potential patient from the grid.

  • To view previous Potential Patient, select the History tab.
    • Here you can view all appointment messages that were marked as done or deleted.

Watch this video for a quick walkthrough.

To enable permissions for the Online Appointment:

  • Navigate to the System Menu > select Practice Settings > Administration > Profiles.

  • Click Manage Permissions for the intended profile.

  • Select Online Appointment.
  • Under Online Appointment, select the permissions for Online Appointment Hub and Online Appointment Settings, as required.
    • Online Appointment Hub: To set the user's preference in the Online Appointment Hub that allows them to view and take action on direct scheduled appointments, online appointment requests, and messages. 
    • Online Appointment Settings: To set the user's preference to view and edit online appointment settings.

  • Click Save.

Note: Hover over the 'i' icon to view a description of each item.

  • On the Confirm Action modal that appears, click Yes to proceed.
  • A toast notification appears on the top right stating, 'Profile updated successfully'.
  • To access the View In Scheduler option users have to set permissions under Manage Permissions > Scheduling > Scheduler.

Practices can use this simple guide to manage online appointments and track potential patients with ease.

Click here to explore the complete list of permissions and their descriptions. 

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