How to let patients make their own Bookings online
The HealthTrack Online Booking system lets patients book directly into your Diary from your website without any staff input. They select the booking type, doctor, location, and date and time; the booking appears in your Diary automatically.
Before patients can book online, contact HealthTrack Support to have the feature enabled in your system.
Configuration
Three things must be configured before bookings can be offered online: booking types, locations, and providers. The Diary templates for any enabled combinations will determine the available time slots.
Booking types
Each booking type you want to offer online must be enabled individually.
- Go to Admin > Diary & Bookings > Booking Types.
- Select an existing booking type.
- Select Edit.
- In the Other Settings tab, select Enabled for Online Bookings.
- Select Save.
- Repeat for each booking type you want to offer online.
The Long Name of the booking type is what patients see when selecting their booking online.
Locations
Patients can choose which of your locations to book at. Enable each location you want to offer online.
- Go to Admin > Locations & Rooms > Locations & Rooms Manager.
- Use the Select A Location drop-down to choose a location.
- Click Edit.
- Select Enabled for Online Bookings.
- Optionally, enter a patient contact number in the Booking Phone No field.
- Click Save.
- Repeat for each location.
The Full Name and Primary Address of the location are shown to patients during the booking process.
Providers
Enable each provider (internal MO) you want patients to be able to book with.
- Go to Admin > Internal MO > Manage Internal MOs.
- Use the Change MO drop-down to select a provider.
- Click Edit.
- Select Enabled for Online Bookings (towards the top right).
- Click Save.
The provider's Name and Professional Title are shown to patients when they select a provider.
Customisation options
Go to Admin > Maintenance > Online Services Registration to access optional settings that control the patient-facing booking experience.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Disable 'Any Doctor' | Leave this checkbox cleared so that any available provider is booked. |
| Disable 'Any Location' | Leave this checkbox cleared so that any location is used. |
| Disable Referrals | Hides the referral upload option from the patient-facing booking screen. |
| Enable ASAP Booking | Adds an ASAP option so patients can request the next available slot without selecting a specific time. |
| Up Front Advisory | Can be enabled and customised - patients will then be presented with this information, and will be required to select a checkbox confirming it has been read. |
| Booking Outcome Message | Custom message shown to the patient after their booking is submitted. |
| Post-Booking Redirect URL | URL the patient is redirected to when they click Done on the booking confirmation screen. |
The Online Services Registration screen registers and configures your Online Booking service specifically, even though its name sounds broader. Your other HealthTrack online services (such as the Doctor Portal and Patient Connect) share the same cloud connection but are switched on in their own areas.
Publishing the booking link
Once configuration is complete, copy the booking URL and share it with patients.
- Go to Admin > Maintenance > Online Services Registration.
- Find Your Website URL on the screen.
- Click Copy to Clipboard.
- Paste the URL wherever patients access it - your website, letter templates, appointment reminders, and so on.
The patient's experience when accessing your Online Booking system is outlined in our article: What patients see when making an Online Booking.
How your online data stays in sync
When Online Bookings is enabled (shown in the System Status), HealthTrack sends a full copy of your online configuration (your enabled booking types, locations, providers, available time slots, and settings) to the online booking service. The online booking portal gets automatically updated when you save your settings on the Online Services Registration screen.
To save your settings on the Online Services Registration screen, press Edit and then Save. This will push the changes onto the online portal.
If a newly enabled provider, booking type, or location is not showing online
If you have selected Enabled for Online Bookings but patients cannot see the provider, booking type, or location online, check the following.
- Diary templates. A combination of provider, booking type, and location will only appear online if there are Diary templates that offer it. Without a matching template there are no time slots to publish, so the combination never syncs. Make sure the provider has Diary templates in place for that booking type and location. See our article How to setup recurring Diary Templates for how to set these up.
- Update the online portal via Online Services Registration. New changes appear online at the next re-sync. This happens automatically at 1 AM each night, or you can bring it forward by re-saving your settings on the Online Services Registration screen.
SMS verification and OPV
When a patient makes an online booking, they may be sent a one-time SMS code to verify their mobile number.
This online-booking verification code is separate from your appointment confirmation and reminder SMS. It only confirms the patient's mobile number during the online booking, and does not replace or affect confirmation or reminder messages.
Disabling online bookings
To stop offering a specific booking type, location, or provider online, clear Enabled for Online Bookings in the relevant configuration screen.
To disable online bookings entirely, go to Admin > Maintenance > Online Services Registration and disable the system. All data is removed from the internet immediately. If you re-enable it, the full dataset re-syncs.
