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Manage Online Appointment Portal

Faris Peerukannu Mohamed Kasim
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CareStack enables patients to book appointments online in two ways: by requesting an appointment from the practice to finalize, or by directly booking an appointment without any assistance. However, the practice has to set up the online appointment portal from the system.

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Let's get started!

To access the Online Appointment Settings:

  • Navigate to the System Menu > select Online Appointments.

Note: For first-time users, an intro screen will appear with a Call to Action button. To proceed, click Enable Online Appointment Portal.

Online Appointments: Home Page Basics

Watch this video for a quick overview.

a. Setup Guide

Let's explore the Setup Guide, organized into four tabs.

  • Appointment Reasons
  • Insurance Carriers
  • Branding and Design
  • General Settings.
    • To return to the Home page from any other sections, click the Home button at the top left.

b. Single URL to Manage All Locations

You can utilize a single unified link to manage all locations of a multi-account practice or DSO.

  • To copy the account-level URL, click Copy URL under the Single URL to Manage All Locations section.
  • To preview the link in a new tab, click Open URL.

c. Deposit Fee

Let's explore all about the Deposit Fee feature.

  • To reduce the number of cancellations and no-shows, you can Enable the Deposit fee feature.
  • The deposit fee is an advanced fee collected from the patients to confirm their online appointments.
  • Any deposit fee collected from the patient will be available as unapplied credits on the patient's account.

  • The workflow selection (direct booking or request appointment) depends on whether the patient is new or returning.
  • Request for Appointment is recommended for new patients, while returning patients can use Direct Booking, where deposit fees apply if configured for that location.

  • You can configure different deposit fees for each location, which is important as treatment costs may vary based on factors like the location's reputation, provider expertise, and available equipment.
  • To manage the Deposit Fee at the location level, ensure that account-level Deposit Fee is enabled.
  • Scroll down to locate the Location Level Configuration section.
  • Switch the toggle button to Enable or Disable Deposit Fee for the intended locations.

  • Deposit fees set for each location are displayed dynamically on the online appointment portal, with the amount updating based on the selected location.

d. Location Level Configuration

On the bottom part of the page, you can enable or disable locations using the corresponding Toggle button under the Location Level Configuration section.

  • The user will be able to view only the location(s) they have access to. 
  • To copy the location-level URL, click Copy URL on the enabled location.
  • To preview the location-level link in a new tab, click Open URL.

e. Help Articles

  • On the right, under the 'Stuck Somewhere?' section, click the links to open related user guides in a new tab for help with the online appointment portal configuration.


Add Appointment Reasons to Your Booking Portal

Watch this video for a concise summary.

Appointment reasons are used to allow patients to differentiate between various types of appointments, such as new patient consultations, routine check-ups, or emergency visits. These reasons are created by the practice to match the services they offer and are tailored at the location level.

To add appointment reasons, perform the steps below.

  • Click Appointment Reasons.

To add reason at the account level:

  • Click +Add Reason on the Account Settings tab.

Enter the required details to add the appointment reason. Refer to the descriptions below.

  1. Appointment Reason: Specify the reason for the appointment.
  2. Appointment Description: Explain the reason in fewer words.
  3. Production Types: Select the production type as configured.
  4. Patient Category: Select the patient category, whether new or existing.
  5. Appointment Mode: Select the mode of appointment, whether In-office or Tele-appointment.
  6. Deposit Fee: Enter the amount of deposit fee to be collected from the patient.

  • Click Save.

Note: The Deposit Fee will not appear on the Add Appointment Reason modal if it is disabled at the account level.

Note: In the online appointments, Appointment Reasons can be mapped to multiple production types in a single time slot. This allows patients selecting an appointment reason to see all the production types linked to it and choose from any of the available production types scheduled in that time slot.

Once you have added the Appointment Reason,

  • A toast notification will appear on the top right stating, 'Appointment Reason updated successfully'.
  • The newly added appointment reason will appear on the top of the grid.
  • The appointment reason will be displayed on the Online Appointment Portal.

Edit the Appointment Reason

To edit the appointment reason details, 

  • Click Edit for the corresponding appointment reason.

Remove Production Type from Appointment Reasons

To remove a Production Type from Appointment Reasons,

  • Filter and select the intended Production Types.
    • Click Apply.
  • On the desired appointment reason you can either click Deactivate.

Or,

  • Click Edit for the corresponding appointment reason.
  • Deselect the Production Types in the dropdown. 
    • You can select a new one by checking the corresponding checkbox.
  • Click Apply.
  • Click Save.

Configure Location Settings for Appointment Reasons

  • Select the Location from the left.
    • The user will be able to view only the location(s) they have access to. 
Tip: Utilize the Search Bar to search for the intended location(s).
  • Click the Use Account Setting toggle button to enable it.

  • A toast notification will appear on the top right stating 'Online Appointment Settings updated successfully'.
  • Click Activate/Deactivate on the intended appointment reasons to enable or disable them for the selected location.
  • Click Edit to manage Production Types of active appointment reasons.
Note: You cannot add an appointment reason at the location level.

Add Insurance Carriers & Provider Associations

Explore this video for an in-depth walkthrough.

Let's explore how to map insurance carriers and provider associations to the online appointment portal.

Insurance Carriers

To add a carrier, perform the steps given below.

  • Navigate to the Insurance Carriers > Carriers > +Add Carrier.

  • Enter the Name of the new carrier.
  • Click Save.

  • A toast notification will appear on the top right stating, 'Carrier saved successfully'.

Provider Associations

To add a Provider Association, perform the steps below.

  • Select the Provider Associations tab.
  • Click +Add Provider Association.

  • Select the Provider and Accepted Carriers from the respective drop-downs.
  • Click Save.

  • A toast notification will appear on the top right stating 'Provider association saved successfully'.

Manage Branding & Design

Watch this video for a concise summary.

Practices can design their Online Appointment Portal home page with custom themes, colors, logos, and more. To manage the branding and design of your online appointment portal, perform the steps below.

  • Select the Branding and Design tab.
  • You can configure branding and design at the Account level and location level.
    • For Location Settings, the user will be able to view and edit the location(s) they have access to.

  • Click Edit.

  • Configure the following settings:
    • Portal Theme: Select the preferred color theme for your online appointment portal.
    • Enhance for Marketing: Select Yes to add a Logo, Marketing Banner, and a Patient Portal Link.
    • Logo: Choose the Account Logo or upload a Custom Logo as needed.
    • Marketing Banner: Add the Default image or a Custom image as a marketing banner. 
    • Link to Carestack Patient Portal: Click Yes to add a link to direct patients to the patient portal.
  • Click Save.
  • You can see a quick preview of the Front Page and the Second Page on the right.

  • To preview the configured theme on a new tab, click Preview.

Configure General Settings for Online Appointments

To configure general settings, perform the steps below.

  • Click General Settings on the left.
  • Click Edit.

Refer to the descriptions provided below for reference.

On the Basic Settings,

  • Patient Booking Workflow: Choose the setting to decide.
    • If Existing Patients should book directly from the patient portal or request the practice to book appointments for them.
    • If New Patients should book directly from the patient portal or request the practice to book appointments for them.

 

  • Tele Appointment: Select Enable to turn on the tele-appointment option.
  • Multi Appointment Booking: Select Enable to allow the patients to book multiple appointments at once.
  • Search for Providers: Select Enable to allow the ability to search for and select the providers while looking up for appointments in the Online Appointment Portal. 
  • Select Disable if you would like to restrict the provider dropdown.

  • If the Search for Providers is enabled, patients will find the All Providers dropdown on the Online Appointment Portal, and if disabled in General Settings it will not appear.
  • Show Description for App. Reason in Portal: Enable this option to display short descriptions alongside appointment reasons, helping patients choose the most appropriate appointment type. By default it will be disabled.

On the Patient Information Collection,

  • Select the set of information you want to collect from the patient such as Insurance Information and Additional Information.
  • Checkmark the 'Mandatory' checkbox on the required Patient Information criteria to mark them mandatory by default.
  • Click Save.

Practices can use this simple guide to learn the basics of setting up the online appointment portal in CareStack!

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