Set Up Booking Links

 

Booking Links provide you with a URL that your patients can use to book their appointments online. This URL is often placed on a website, or sent out via email to patients.

1. Ensure you have already configured your Appointment Types and Provider Schedules prior to configuring your booking links.
2. Login to the Ocean Portal. Click Menu and select Online Booking.
3. Next to the Booking Links heading, click Configure.
4. Click Add Booking Link and configure your booking link settings (see descriptions of each setting below).
5. Ensure you press Save when completed.
6. Copy your Booking Link's URL. You can promote this URL on your clinic's website, or in emails to your patients.

Name of Online Booking Link

Give your online booking link a name that makes sense to you. This will only be visible in the online booking configuration page in the Ocean portal, and will not be seen by patients. An example name could be “Dr. Kavanagh’s Online Booking Link” if only Dr. Kavangh’s schedule is bookable using this link. If multiple provider schedules are being hosted on this link, you may use a more broad name such as “[Your Clinic Name] Online Booking Link”.

Linked Directory Listing

Select the Directory Listing for this online booking link. Information from the contact information heading in the directory listing will populate the confirmation page and the confirmation email that patients will see when they have successfully booked an appointment online. The logo from the selected Directory Listing will appear to patients 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*.

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 Providers Schedule(s) that will be available for patients to book using this link. If your provider schedule has an alternate configuration, click on the dropdown arrow next to Default Schedule and select the appropriate Alternate Configuration. You can only select one Provider Schedule configuration per booking link.

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.

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 provider 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."