Background
Add a New Appointment Rule
Rule Cycles
Copy an Existing Appointment
Edit an Existing Appointment Rule
Delete an Appointment Rule
Create Common Block Out Rules for Statutory Holidays
Background
Note: This help file is applicable to Super Users only. For more information, see Super User.
Appointment rules is a way of defining the times that a clinician is available for consultations and other services in the clinic. These times are usually recurring, as part of a set schedule. There are 2 types of personal Appointment rules:
- Personal Appointment Rules: defining the times that a clinician is available at the clinic
- Personal Block Out Rules: used to block recurring days and times for clinicians
In addition, POS-wide rules can be created by using Common Block Out Rules, for example for annual statutory holidays.
Appointment rules are created, copied, edited and deleted by Super Users as needed.
Add a New Appointment Rule
New appointment rules can be added for new and or existing staff
Steps:
1. Click on Maintain which will drop down
2. Click on Appointments which will drop down
3. Click on Rules
The Appointment Rules management view contains a list of all the staff who has an appointment rule set up at the clinic.
Note: New staff will not appear on this list until they have at least one rule assigned to them
4. Highlight the staff person that you want to add a rule for
5. Click on New Appointment Rule.
A New Personal Appointment Rule box will open
a. Click on the Name of the rule box to give the new rule a descriptive name
b. Click on drop down to set the days you want this new rule to apply. Highlight the day
c. Click Add
Note: Repeat step b and c if more days need to be added to the week cycle
d. Give the rule a Begin Time and an End Time
Note: Ensure the Clinician and POS that this rule applies to are correct
e. Click on the ellipses in Type to open Select Contacts window
f. Click on the correct Type to highlight
g. Click OK
h. Click Save
Note: Some Type have a duration default eg. Break has a 15-minute default duration. By clicking No, this will override the default duration and keep the Rule Time as it was set.
Confirmation of the rule, check the Appointment Rules management view and also confirm on the Appointment view in Profile EMR
Rule Cycles
Allow you to create customized instruction for how frequently and when rules should repeat.
Follow steps 1 to 5 in Add a New Appointment Rule
Steps:
a. Click on the Name of the rule box to give the new rule a descriptive name
b. Set an Activation from date by clicking in the date field. There are cases where a rule needs to end by a certain date. This is done by clicking the box next to date, which end the rule at midnight of that day
c. Set the Rule Time by filling in the Begin Time and End Time
d. Click on the ellipses in Type to open Select Contacts window
e. Click on the correct Type to highlight
f. Click OK
g. Set the unit of time (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Once) by clicking on one of the radio buttons in the Rule Cycle
h. Add the In as an interval of repeat
i. Click on drop down to set the days you want this new rule to apply. Highlight the day
j. Click Add
Note: follow Steps i to j e for adding in more days of the week to the week cycle before clicking Save
k. Click Save
Click the refresh button to see the new recurring rule
Copy an Existing Appointment
Used when several staff members can have the same Appointment Rule in their schedules. The rule is written once and copied as many times as necessary
Follow steps 1 to 5 in Add a New Appointment Rule
Steps:
a. Right click over the rule to be copied
b. Choose Duplicate Rule from the menu
c. Click into Name of the rule Remove duplicated (which is automatically added to all copied rules)
d. Change the name in the Clinician field to the name of the person that you want to have this rule
e. Click Save
f. Click X to close window
Check the to make sure that the rule is there by looking in the Appointment Rule management screen and the Appointment view in Profile EMR
Edit an Existing Appointment Rule
Once set, can go back and make changes to Appointment Rules.
Follow steps 1 to 5 in Add a New Appointment Rule. Find the staff member that needs their rule to be edited
Steps:
a. Find the rule that needs to be edited. Double click to highlight
b. Click on any section and make the appropriate changes to the Name of the rule, Rule Cycle, Rule Time, Rule
c. Click Save
d. Click X to close window
Changes will be visible in the Appointment Rules screen
Delete an Appointment Rule
Clinician’s list of appointment rules can become large and confusing, fulling up with outdated rules. Rules can be deleted as needed
Steps:
a. Right click over the rule to be deleted
b. Choose Delete from the menu
c. Warning box appears. Click Yes to delete the appointment rule
The appointment rule was removed from the Appointment Rule view. You may also check the Appointments view in Profile EMR to confirm.
Note - To improve system performance, expired appointment rules from two years prior to the clean-up date will be removed on an annual basis.
Create Common Block Out Rules for Statutory Holidays
A common block out rule is used to ensure that a specified date is blocked for the whole POS and will not be accidentally used to book appointments. The main use for common block out rules is for clinics who are not open on Statutory Holidays.
Helpful Hints!
- The designated super user at your POS should create themselves an annual reminder to create a year's worth of Stat Holiday common block-out rules for your POS
- Once the first set of Stat Holiday common block out-rules have been created, you may simply (1) Edit and change the date to the following year, or (2) Duplicate and change the date to the following year.
- To find the previous year's Stat Holiday common block-out rules, change view filter to Rules for Current POS (Includes Expired) and expand the Commons Rules folder
Steps to take to enter a Stat Holiday common block-out rule:
- Go to Maintain/Appointments/Rules from the main menu. The Appointment Rules window opens.
- Click the down-pointing arrow next to the new rule icon. Select New Common Block Out Rule.
- Fill in the fields for:
Rule Name: (for example) 2025 STAT Christmas Day
Activate from and to dates: Same date
Rule Cycle: Daily
Rule Time: Typically 0:00-23:59
Priority: 100
POS: Enter Current POS Code ***Important!***
If this field is left blank, the common block out rule will apply to ALL POSes
4. Click Save button
Profile EMR User Help File: Appointment Rules – Create Common Block Out Rules for Statutory Holidays