How To... & Reference articles

Sessions are a group of a particular set of Appointment Types at a particular location. e.g. a Clinic Session, or an Operating Session.

Ideally you should have a different Session Type for each hospital you operate at, and for each location that you consult at.

In addition to this you may distinguish sessions between the Day Surgery Unit and the main theatre at the same hospital. This will make it easier to identify operating time on your calendar. You can also use Session Types to specify that only Followup appointments and Post Operative appointments are to booked.

To add a New Session Type

Setup - Appointments - Session Types

Select 'New'.
Enter the data as applicable for the session type that you are creating.
Select 'OK' to save the new Session Type.

Heading

Type the Heading for the Session Type, e.g. CLINIC.

Colour

Select the colour that the Session Type is to display in on the Calendar.

Type

If the Session Type you are adding is an Operating Session, check the Type box. This allows you to record more detail at the time of making the appointment e.g. the operation name and the anaesthetist. The Public Session allows you to identify a session at a public facility.

Facility

If you have address codes set up belonging to a category that is marked as a Clinic / Operating Session then select the relevant entry from the drop down list. This enables you to use merge fields in Form Letters that utilise the facility details. This avoids the needs to have different admission letters for each hospital, or to cut out text as the appropriate details can automatically be included in the letter without the need for operator intervention.

Free time

If you require the Session to be divided into appointment time slots, enter the number of minutes for the time slot here, e.g. 15, otherwise leave it blank.

Warning

If you require a warning message to appear every time you make an appointment in this Session Type, type the text of the warning in this field. This is particularly useful when you consult at a number of different locations and staff are to be reminded of the location so appointments are not inadvertently booked into the wrong location.

Template

If bookings are to be made in a structured way you can set up a template. Refer below for more detail.

Repeat

If you want the template repeated to the end of session tick this field.

Inactive

If the Session Type is no longer required (and it cannot be deleted because it has been used), check this option to mark the session as inactive.

Import /Export

Sessions are linked to a surgeon (sub-contractor) and can be imported or exported from other databases.

Valid Types

Appointment Types need to be validated to a session (or sessions).

Select the Appointment Types that are valid for the Session Type being added (or edited).

SMS Messages (Appointment)

An Appointment confirmation message can be sent (immediately) at the time of making an appointment. This differs from the Appointment Reminder SMS that is sent out a set number of days prior to the appointment.

Applicable for this session	If an SMS message is to be sent immediately the appointment is made, check this option. You will still have the option to not send an SMS message on an appointment by appointment basis.
Default Text	The default text that will automatically be sent displays.
Custom Text	Additional custom text can be added to the default text. Enter it here as applicable for the Session Type. Remember that you can use the F9 Merge Codes so that the appropriate information is populated in the outgoing message.
Sample Message	A sample message displays what will be sent, together with the number of characters. Every 160 characters (including the default and expanded text) is charged as a separate message. SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is therefore appropriate to abbreviate if applicable.

SMS Messages (Appointment Reminder)

An Appointment Reminder can be queued at the time of making an appointment. This differs from the Appointment Confirmation message above which is sent immediately that the appointment is made.

Applicable for this session	If an SMS message reminder is to be queued at the time that the appointment is made, check this option. You will still have the option to not queue a reminder SMS message on an appointment by appointment basis at the time that the appointment is made.
Default Text	The default text that will automatically be sent for the queued message displays.
Custom Text	Additional custom text can be added to the default text. Enter it here as applicable for the Session Type. Remember that you can use the F9 Merge Codes so that the appropriate information is populated in the outgoing message.
Sample Message	A sample message displays the text of what will be sent, together with the number of characters. Every 160 characters (including the default and expanded text) is charged as a separate message. SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is therefore appropriate to abbreviate if applicable.
Send	Enter the number of days prior to the appointment the queued reminder message is to be sent. At the time of making the appointment, the reminder message will be queued for this date.