Using the new diary: step by step

Each clinician has a column. The number in brackets in the column heading is how many appointments they have that day. The time runs down the left.

• Shaded, striped blocks are booking zones set up in Diary Schedules (for example Checkup or New Patient). The zone’s name is shown at its top.
• Lunch and other set breaks are shown in light blue.
• Each appointment card shows its time, the patient, the summary in square brackets and the patient’s journey stage (for example <NP>).

Click a card to select it; it gets a red outline. A small i appears in its top right corner, which opens the appointment’s details.

The Diary actions panel on the left holds the tools: New appointment, Snap to zones, the lists of appointments waiting to be moved, recalls, Diary events (meetings, reservations) and Diary tasks.

Click a heading’s + to open it. Click « at the top to fold the panel away and give the diary more room.

Practice Week Diary shows the whole week for each clinician. Days a clinician does not work are narrow columns marked Not in, and time outside their working hours is marked Outside working hours.

When a slot is too busy to show every appointment, you see a +5 (or similar) chip. Click it to list the hidden appointments with their time, patient, type and status, then click one to select it.

Use Select Clinician(s) in the toolbar to choose whose week you see.

Drag down across the free slots in a clinician’s column, from the start time to the end time, and let go. The time you dragged is held for you while you choose the patient.

In the window that opens:

• type the patient’s surname (or click Forename) and click the patient,
• add a Summary (it shows on the card) and any comment,
• check the Type,
• click OK.

You can also right-click an empty slot and choose Book appointment here, or use New appointment in Diary actions and click a slot.

Drag the appointment to its new time, or into another clinician’s column. When you let go, the diary asks you to confirm and shows the old and new times:

• Move moves it,
• Move and Notify moves it and sends the patient the change,
• Cancel leaves it where it was.

Moving to another clinician names the new clinician in the question. You can drag past the top or bottom of the diary; it scrolls for you.

Point at the bottom edge of the card; the pointer changes to a resize arrow. Drag the edge down to make the appointment longer or up to make it shorter, then click Yes to confirm. The start time stays the same.

If the diary cannot save a move or a change of length (for example the connection drops), you see Appointment not moved or Appointment not resized and the card goes back to where it was. Nothing is changed, so simply try again.

Right-click the appointment and choose Delete Appointment, then Yes. To keep a record that the patient cancelled, choose Cancel Appointment instead.

Right-click an appointment for everything you can do with it, including:

• Goto Appointment, Patient Record and Patient Photograph,
• Create Task…,
• Patient Has Arrived and Confirm Appointment,
• Move Appointment (puts it on the list of appointments to move),
• Change Time and Change Duration without dragging,
• Cancel Appointment and Delete Appointment,
• Compliance.

Right-click an empty slot to Book appointment here or Add diary note.

On a keyboard, select a card and press Shift+F10 (or the menu key) to open its menu.

Click Magnify appointments in the toolbar (or press M). Now, when you point at an appointment, a large copy of the card appears with all its details: time, length, clinician, type, summary, status, the patient’s age and journey stage, contact details and who booked it and when.

This is handy on a busy day when cards are small. Click the button again (or press Esc) to turn the magnifier off.

Without the magnifier, click the i on a selected card (or press i) to see the same details. Press Esc to close them.

Booking zones are the times a clinician keeps for a type of appointment, such as Checkups in the morning and New Patients after lunch. Snap to zones books a whole zone with one click.

• Click Snap to zones in Diary actions. The panel says Snap to zones: click a zone to book it.
• Point at a zone: it is outlined and labelled with the clinician, time and length.
• Click it. The booking window opens with the zone’s appointment type already chosen.
• Choose the patient and click OK. The appointment fills the zone exactly.
• Click Done when you have finished.

A click outside every zone books nothing. To set up zones, see Diary Schedules.

In a treatment plan, click Place appointment in diary on one of the plan’s appointments. The diary opens with the plan’s appointments listed on the left, in plan order, and the next one ready to place.

• Point at a slot: the outline shows how long the appointment is.
• Click (or drag) to place it. The next appointment is then picked for you.
• Use Find a slot to search for a free time.
• Placing it in another clinician’s column asks whether to book it with them instead.
• Click Finish when you are done. Any you have not placed stay on the plan for later.