Online scheduling has become increasingly popular in recent years, and for good reason. In a dental practice, online scheduling can save time and increase efficiency for both the practice and its patients. By allowing patients to schedule appointments online, your practice can:
Reduce phone calls
Save time on administrative tasks
Focus on patient care and other tasks
Improve patient satisfaction by providing more flexibility and convenience
Important notes:
If you are unable to access any of these features or make changes, you have not been granted permission in your user profile. Contact an admin team member in your practice to enable access. Click here to learn how to update user permissions.
In order to take advantage of the most current updates to Online Scheduling, you must be on the most recent version of the Engagement Bridge. Click here to learn how to update your bridge.
With online scheduling, patients can schedule appointments at any time, without having to call during office hours. They can also receive reminders and confirmations via email or text message, which can help reduce the number of missed appointments.
We recommend starting your Online Scheduling journey by watching our webinar! We'll show you how to leverage Engagement Online Scheduling in Dental Intelligence to increase the number of visits in your practice.
Watch the short video below to learn more about Engagement Online Scheduling:
In this article, we'll provide an overview of:
If you don't have Online Scheduling enabled in your Engagement Module, CLICK HERE to request a demo!
Engagement Online Scheduling Settings
Setting up your Engagement Online Scheduling settings is crucial for the smooth operation of the practice and for providing the best possible care for patients.
Learn how to get started with Engagement Online Scheduling below:
Access Settings from the Online Scheduling tab in the left side menu of Engagement
Select General Settings
Next, follow the prompts to set up the following details:
Provider Availability
Insurance Authenticator
Patient Insurance Network Status
Click here to learn more about enabling Engagement Online Scheduling settings.
Set Up Practice-Level Services
Once you've enabled Engagement Online Scheduling settings, the first step in setting up online scheduling is adding practice-level services.
Important note: If you have a Bridge Version of 110 or higher, this online scheduling process can be set to push the appointment into the schedule automatically. If you have a lower Bridge Version, this will appear as an appointment request and will not automatically push the appointment onto the schedule. Click here to learn how to update your Engagement Bridge.
To learn more about appointment requests, click here.
Watch this short video to learn how to set up services:
Click here to learn more about setting up practice-level services.
Add Online Scheduling Widgets to Your Site
From Engagement Online Scheduling settings, navigate to the Widgets tab. Click on the Create Widget button. This will take you to a screen where you can customize your widget.
Provide an internal name for your staff and a button name that will be visible to patients on your website.
Select a custom scheduling link from the dropdown menu
Once you've customized your widget, you'll need to choose how you'd like it to be positioned on your website:
Click Create. Once created, you will see a list of all practice widgets:
Click here to learn more about setting up online scheduling widgets.
Access Your General Online Scheduling Link
Within Engagement Online Scheduling, you have the ability to send patients a general practice link so they can see all of the service types your practice offers.
To access your general online scheduling link:
Click on Engagement Settings by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right corner
Navigate to Services, then click on the Resources tab
Click on the Copy icon next to the Online Scheduling link
Once the link has been copied, you can send the link to patients via any of the following options:
A direct message
A formatted email
As a stored template
Click here to learn more about sending out a general scheduling link.
Click here to learn more about message templates.
Custom Scheduling Links
Create Custom Scheduling Links
In Engagement's Online Scheduling, you can create Custom Scheduling Links that enable you and your team to send individual scheduling links for specific service types, allowing more control over what each patient is able to schedule.
Watch this short video below to learn more about creating custom scheduling links:
Click here to learn more about how to create custom scheduling links.
Sending Patients Custom Scheduling Links
Note: Prior to sending a Custom Online Scheduling link, there must be a custom scheduling link already created. Click here to learn more.
Click Online Scheduling from the left side menu, then choose Settings
To see all of the custom scheduling links available to your practice, click on the Custom scheduling links tab
Click on the Copy icon next to the link name
Once copied, you can paste the link into a patient message with one of the following options:
A direct message
A formatted email
As a stored template
Click here to learn more about sending custom scheduling links.
Add/Remove Patients to the Blocklist
In some instances, it may be necessary to prevent a patient from requesting an appointment online. With the Engagement Online Scheduling Blocklist, you can add patients to the list by their phone and/or email.
Click here to learn more about adding patients to the Blocklist.
Manage Patients with the Action Items Dashboard
The Action Items dashboard will help your practice manage patients with differing needs. Here you will see various lists of patients requiring appointments, including those who require immediate attention, those who are past due for hygiene visits, those with outstanding treatment, and those with missed appointments.
Watch this short video below to learn more about navigating the Action Items dashboard:
Click here to learn more about the Action Items dashboard.
Online Scheduling Patient Experience
Offering online appointment scheduling is a great way to give patients flexibility and control over their appointments. They can find and book appointments at their own convenience and get their appointment reminders and paperwork without ever needing to make a phone call!
Online Scheduling through Engagement also gives the practice complete control over which procedures, providers and operatories can be booked online. This has a direct integration with your practice management software, so all of the appointment information is automatically entered for you.
Watch the short video below to learn more about the online scheduling patient experience:
Click here to learn more about the online scheduling patient experience.
Tracking Online Scheduling
Tracking the performance of online scheduling efforts is essential for the financial growth and success of dental practices. By using a tool like Dental Intelligence's Online Scheduling performance dashboard, dentists and their staff can gain a comprehensive understanding of their practice's scheduling operations, which can help them to identify areas for improvement and optimize their performance.
As long as online scheduling is enabled for your practice, the online scheduling performance dashboard can be accessed from the lefthand navigation in Engagement.
Scheduled appointments will show statistics on new and returning patients from the date range you have chosen. The Performance dashboard allows you to view scheduled appointments for both new and returning patients, providing a clear picture of patient demand, which can inform staffing and scheduling decisions.
Note for multi-location users: You can compare appointment data between the multiple locations that you have access to. Learn more here.
You will also see insurance most commonly used by new patients, which gives you an idea of your patient demographic and tailor the your services to fit their needs. This section also includes a pie chart that breaks down most commonly used insurance companies with new patients.
URL activity allows for monitoring of patient engagement with specific links. The data displayed includes the number of clicks on the link, the number of clicks that resulted in scheduled appointments, and the patient classification (new or existing). Export this data in a CSV file via the icon located on the right-hand side of the screen.
For improved tracking of your URL activity, assign each link with a descriptive name that relates to the location from where it originates. This can be done in settings when creating custom service type links. Learn more here.
Click here to learn more about tracking online scheduling in the Performance dashboard.