Set Up Booking Links

The team-based booking link offers three optional settings that can be enabled to support different booking workflows: One-Time Bookings, First Available Appointment, and Grouped Schedule.

Booking Link Name

Enter a descriptive name for your Booking Link. This name will only be visible in the online booking configuration page in the Ocean Portal. It will not be seen by patients. An example name could be “Dr. Kavanagh’s Online Booking Link” if only Dr. Kavangh’s schedule is hosted using this link. If multiple Booking Schedules are being hosted on this single link, you may use a more generic name such as “[Your Clinic Name] Online Booking Link”.

Linked Directory Listing

Select the Directory Listing to be associated with this Booking Link. Contact information from the Directory Listing will appear on the confirmation page and confirmation email sent to patients once an appointment has been successfully booked. The logo from the selected Directory Listing will be visible on the online booking landing page.

Who can book into this link?

Restrict your online booking link to only allow patients with an existing chart in your EMR to book, or allow brand new patients (no existing chart in the EMR) to book online. To learn more about how brand new patients can book online, please refer to this article: Can brand new patients book appointments online?

Authentication Type

Choose if patients should authenticate using their Health Number, or an Alternate ID*.

Note: Ocean does not support new patient chart creation using Alternate IDs.

One-Time Bookings

This setting is enabled by default. It allows clinics to send an existing patient a unique booking link that can be used once and expires according to the appointment window configured in the template. One-time booking links are useful for appointments that should not be publicly available, such as initial consultations or specialist appointments. Create a One-Time Booking Link template before using this setting: Creating Templates for One-Time Booking Links.

Note: One-Time Booking Links can only be sent to patients who have a patient chart in the EMR.

First Available Appointment

When enabled, First Available allows patients to see the earliest available appointment for each Booking Schedule or Grouped Schedule when choosing where to book. This is helpful when patients do not need a specific provider and want the soonest available appointment.

When enabled, Ocean will also display the number of additional time slots that are available over the next 10 days.

Note: If no appointments are available within the next 10 days, Ocean instructs patients to proceed to the next step in the booking sequence to review appointments beyond the next 10 days. If no appointments are available at all (i.e., including and beyond the next 10 days), patients will not see any availability in the booking calendar and will be unable to book an appointment.

Alternate ID Label*

If Alternate ID is chosen as the Authentication Type, enter the label that will be displayed to patients during check-in (e.g., "Student Number").

Bookable Schedules

Select the Booking Schedule(s) that will be available for patients to book using this link.

If your Booking Schedule has an Alternate Configuration(s), each configuration version will be listed independently for you to select. You can host multiple Alternate Configurations within a single Booking Link, as long as each alternate configuration has a unique 'Patient Facing Schedule Name'.

Grouped Schedule

Optionally configure a Grouped Schedule to combine up to ten individual Booking Schedules into a single schedule choice for patients to select during the booking flow. It allows patients to book into a clinic, service, or provider group—such as a walk-in clinic, urgent access clinic, or flu shot clinic—rather than selecting an individual provider. When a patient books, Ocean randomly assigns them to one of the included Booking Schedules while respecting the availability and restrictions configured for each schedule. See below for how to add a grouped schedule.

Introductory Message

Optional. This message will appear on your online booking link's landing page. You can choose to provide a welcome message to patients, or even additional information about online booking at your clinic.

You can apply basic formatting including bold, italicized, and underlined text, as well as bulleted or numbered bullet lists.

Include iCal calendar event file

Select whether an iCal event file is included in the appointment email notification sent to patients. The booking confirmation page will also display options to download the iCal event file or add the appointment to their calendar. When set to 'No', the calendar option is not available.

Use appointment duration for iCal event file

This setting appears when 'Include iCal calendar event file' is set to 'Yes'. Choose whether the iCal event file includes the appointment duration. When set to 'No', the iCal event file only includes the appointment start time.

What action message should the patient be shown when there are no schedules available for them to book into?

Optional. This message will appear to patients when they are ineligible to book into the Booking Schedule(s) hosted on this booking link.

If 'Default' is selected, patients will see the following message: "Sorry, we are unable to process your check-in. There are no appointment schedules available to use for online booking. Please contact the office in the usual manner to book an appointment."

If 'Custom' is selected, you can add your own instructions to the end of the message: "Sorry, we are unable to process your check-in. There are no appointment schedules available to use for online booking. [your custom message here]"

If 'None' is selected, patients will see the following message: "Sorry, we are unable to process your check-in. There are no appointment schedules available to use for online booking."