Home Forums Updox scheduling confirmation?

We recently went 'live' with online scheduling with updox and was assuming that there would be an email confirmation sent to the patient after they schedule online? I did notice that if you refresh the appointment tab after making an appointment in updox, it lists the appointments and gives you the option to email the appointment. When I click on this, it emails an attached file is which is for ical, not an actual email that states they made an appointment. I went back into updox scheduling rules and even clicked the notification box but it still didn't send an email. What am I doing wrong? Only work around now is when we see the confirmation in the updox inbox, I am forwarding it to the patients email address.

This is a feature that Updox removed do to request by some users. They said some customers stated it was confusing. There was a box that you checked if you wanted the system to automatically send a confirmation email.

I am actually quite flabbergasted that anyone would say that. The standard is, whenever you do something online (purchase, schedule, etc) you receive a confirmation email. Heck, AppointmentQuest actually allows you to have the system send an Acknowledgement AND a Confirmatiion (Acknowledgements are for customers who schedule their own appointments so they know the request for appointment was received. The appointment would still need to be confirmed by staff if you wish).

The only way to get that back in will be if enough users complain about it not be available. I'd suggest sending the request directly to Updox. Just click on the Help button in Updox and send in the suggested improvement.

My other two issues with the scheduler are 1) that we use online scheduling for new patients. Yes, it can be done if you are careful. But Updox won't let them schedule the appointment without having a portal account. I'd like them to be able to schedule, and send us their demogrpahics, but not have the account until they have had their first visit. They said this would be a major change, so I do hope other people would like to do this and tell them so. It would be better that Zocdoc.

2)Currently, an internal user can make an appointment for any time, regardless of the appointment rules. That means that your medical assistant can mistakenly schedule that H&P for Saturday at 8PM. I would like to have the internal users have to follow all scheduling rules, but have the presence of an Administrative Override Button to allow an administrator the break the rules and schedule whenever they wish. Other scheduling systems do this.

Thanks Wayne, I will provide my feedback that at least there needs to be an email that they made an appointment. I'm ok that we don't have to confirm an appointment internally before it is 'official' (we did use that feature with appointmentquest)

I really like using the scheduler for new patients, because it forces them to have a portal account right from the start. We have had all of our new patient forms posted on the portal website for several months for them to complete online and submit, so now they are already there when registering as a new patient and thus makes our process a lot simpler now.

Confused about folks being able to schedule anytime in AC? Did you set up the schedule parameters in AC admin section to match the updox schedule parameters? Once we did that, you can't sign up for a time outside of the schedule in AC. They could override a blocked time in the middle of a day potentially.. but not sure about beyond that. For example, my physician doesn't work on Friday mornings- so in AC the schedule doesn't start until 1pm so no one could make an appointment for earlier? Weekends aren't available either to schedule?

Amy

We like having the patients quickly signed up also, but we've had bad experiences (not with UPdox). We've had patients register for a portal but not make and appointment, and then demand prescription refills or referrals having never seen us. Of course we denied the requests, but I like to prevent the conflicts. That's why I'd like a new patient to be able to schedule, and yes they must input all of the information but not receive a portal account until we approve it ... once they complete their first visit. This just helps emphasize that there is no doctor-patient relationship yet. Additionally, if a new patient is trying to schedule the appointment, you really want them to be able to select the date and time of the appointment first, and then have them input their information. They will be put off if they have to give all the information before even seeing if there is an opening.

Of course, we could depend on Zocdoc for this but I really don't like that service too much.

Not in AC, in Updox. The idea, at least for me, is to use Updox for the scheduler since it is online and the features it has built in (like reminders & programability). But in Updox, currently, an Internal person can schedule an appointment for any time regardless of the scheduling rules. This would allow the MA to accidentally schedule the appointment for Sunday Morning from within Updox.

Does the UPDOX scheduler send a reminder email to the patient before the appointment? We currently use BOOKFRESH which is user friendly, sends confirmation and reminders (though it is not as robust of a scheduler as AppointmentQuest). We were considering a transition to the UPDOX scheduler but will hold off until the reminder issue is resolved. Reminders are critical for keeping our rate of no shows low.

Updox does send reminders. You can actually have it send up to 3 reminders, the last only 4 hours before the appointment.

I just notice that Updox has added back in the option to send a Confirmation Email if someone schedules an appointment in Updox. That's Great!

I'd like to see them add:

1) The ability for New Patients to schedule an appointment. While they would need to input some registration information (name, address, DOB, Insurance carrier and Id #) it should NOT generate a portal account. They many not show up for that first visit.

2)When a patient cancels an appointment, the system should generate a message stating so. This can be sent to the EMR with a message to the doctor which can then be saved to the chart. This can be very important, especially if it is one of the patients with a chronic illness (e.g., diabetes, hypertension)and you want documentation that they cancelled their appointment.

[quote=Wayne][quote=meldog] We've had patients register for a portal but not make and appointment, and then demand prescription refills or referrals having never seen us. quote]

My insurance company says it is important to specify in your new patient docs that just because they filled out paperwork does not mean they are an official patient - until they have been examined by the doctor.

While we always operate that way, I don't have that statement in there. Seems like it would be a good idea for me to add it to our policies.

But as far as the portal is concerned, we used to get those portal trolls when we had RelayHealth and it said that. It actually had a statement that the portal was for use only by persons who had seen DrC before. But new folks would still try that. I mean, they hadn't even scheduled an appointment and would send in an Rx request.

*Please note: individuals seeking treatment from our office are not considered active patients until the practice has completed an assessment of the individual at an office visit and thereafter notifies the individual of being accepted as a patient. Please understand that simply making an appointment or filling out paperwork is not adequate to establish a patient-physician relationship.


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We just started up today with online scheduling as well! This is really a great feature! I can send lab results to a patient and ask them to set up a f/u appt in the portal, and they can do it immediately when they get my message, right there in the portal! We are hoping this will cut down on the calls that come in all day. When patients go to voicemail, they will also hear that an appt can be rescheduled or set up through the portal. I hope this will really reduce the load on my receptionist and allow her to focus on greeting patients.