1. OceanMD
  2. Online Booking
  3. Set Up Online Booking

Set Up Online Booking

Online booking is configured in three major steps: appointment types, provider schedules and booking links.

Print Guide
Follow
  1. Your EMR and Ocean Online Booking: What you need to know

    Prerequisites

    • Your Ocean Site must be integrated with your EMR using Ocean Cloud Connect.
    • Your EMR Schedule(s) must be activated for use in Online Booking under a 'Patient Engagement Licence (Plus)'. To do this, please refer to the following article: Adding Ocean Licences.
    • Your Ocean Site must have a validated Directory Listing. Details from the Directory Listing are used to populate your clinic's information on the confirmation page and/or email to the patient.

    The Scheduler

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro
    By default, Ocean will display all empty time slots in your EMR for online booking. There are several ways you can make slots unavailable for online booking.
      • Set Booking Time and Clear Booking Time. Using the Set Booking Time and Clear Booking Time to indicate bookable time slots in your schedule. Unavailable time slots will be denoted with a violet "x" in the PS Suite schedule.
      • Booking Filler Appointments. Time slots with patients assigned are unavailable for online booking. You can also block off a time slot by putting a description in the "Details" field of the time slot in your PS Suite schedule - such as "no online booking", "lunch", "meeting", etc. When the "Details" field is filled, Ocean will see that slot as unavailable.
      • PS Suite Appointment Types. For advanced restrictions, such as a maximum number of a certain appointment type per day, or different availability based on the type of appointment being booked, you will be required to use EMR Appointment Type Mapping along with creating placeholder Appointment Types in PS Suite. You must include "online booking" or "/ob" in the title of these placeholder appointment types.

    Warning for PS Suite users:

    Ocean does not recognize background text and colour from the PS Suite scheduler. Time slots marked with only background text or colour using the 'Recurrent Text & Colour' feature in PS Suite will be seen as open, bookable time slots to Ocean. Do not attempt to block off time slots in the schedule by changing the slots using this feature.

    Telus does not make these background colours available to third-party systems like Ocean, so the online booking engine is unable to determine their existence. As far as Ocean can see, a slot with a blue background with no appointment is the same as a slot with a white background with no appointment.

    Primary Providers

    Ocean can apply restrictions for online booking based on the patient's provider - for example, if only Dr. Kavanagh's patients should be able to book online into Dr. Kavanagh's EMR schedule. Clinics may set primary providers differently in their EMR - please see below to learn which fields Ocean looks at for each EMR.

    A note on searching providers in your EMR.

    In PSS: Click Appointments to open the EMR scheduler. In the top menu, click Providers -> View One Provider to view a list of all providers in your EMR.

    In Med Access: Click the dropdown menu under Provider or Resource to view a list of all providers in your EMR.

    In Accuro: Press F2 to open the Provider Management window.

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

    • Ocean has the ability to evaluate the following provider fields from the patient's chart in PS Suite:

      • • Patient's MD/NP
      •  
      • • Family MD/NP
      • • Primary Provider
      • • Other Provider
    • Note: The provider's name(s) in the above field(s) field must match the name(s) in the User's First Name and Surname in the Edit Users Dialog.
  2. Set Up Appointment Types Available for Online Booking

    The first step is to configure all Appointment Types for all providers who will be using online booking. These Appointment Types will become available when configuring your Booking Schedules.

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

    1. Navigate to Your Online Booking Settings

    • Log in to the Ocean Portal, and 'Menu' and click 'Online Booking'.
    • Click 'Settings' in the top right corner.
    • Next to the Appointment Types heading, click 'Configure'.

    2. Appointment Type Configuration

    Enable/Disable EMR Appointment Type Mapping
    EMR Appointment Type Mapping is a feature that allows Ocean to book patients into your EMR and assign one of your pre-existing EMR Appointment Types to the booked appointment.
    When enabled, you will see the "EMR Appointment Type" column, where you can indicate the corresponding type of appointment that will be booked into your EMR schedule. In the example above, you can see that when a patient selects the "Initial Person Visit" Label, the patient will actually be booked into the EMR schedule using the "New Patient Visit" appointment type from the EMR.
    When EMR Appointment Type Mapping is used, you can also customize powerful restrictions for each type of appointment such as the maximum number per day of each type, and even restrict the types of appointments that can be booked into certain time slots throughout the day. Read more about EMR Appointment Type Mapping for online booking.
    Add Appointment Type
    This button will add a new row to the appointments table. There is no limit to the number of appointment types you can create.
    Label
    Refers to how the patient will see the appointment when booking online. We recommend giving each of your Appointment Type Labels a distinct name.
    Appointment Duration
    The duration is the length of the appointment that will be booked into your EMR schedule, in minutes.
    Location
    Select between "On Site", "Virtual", or "Offsite".
    If "On Site" is selected, the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing will be shown to patients on the booking confirmation page and within the confirmation email.
    If "Virtual " is selected, the booking confirmation page and confirmation email will not include the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing, and the following note will be appended instead: "Please do not go to the clinic for this appointment".
    If "Offsite" is selected, the booking confirmation page and confirmation email will not include the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing, and the following note will be appended instead: "Do not go to the clinic for this home visit appointment".
    Medium
    This setting allows you to select the Medium for your appointment.
    When the 'Location' is set to 'On Site', the 'Medium' will default to 'In Person'.
    When the 'Location' is set to 'Offsite', the 'Medium' will default to 'Home Visit'.
    When the 'Location' is set to 'Virtual ', three 'Medium' options are available: 'Telephone Call', 'Virtual Visit Video', or 'Unspecified'.

    For PS Suite users only: You can choose between only the 'Telephone Call' or 'Virtual Visit Video' mediums. This will book your patient into your PS Suite schedule with the chosen Medium. The specific field in PS Suite where this will be reflected in shown below.

    EMR Appointment Type
    Only available when 'EMR Appointment Type Mapping' is enabled.
    This allows you to select the specific EMR Appointment Type that patients will be booked into your EMR schedule with.
    If you've recently added a new appointment type to your EMR or if you notice a discrepancy in the EMR appointment types listed, try running a full schedule sync in Cloud Connect.

    For Accuro and OSCAR Pro Users

    At this time, Ocean cannot book appointments in your EMR and assign a "Reason" from the drop down field on the appointment.

  3. EMR Appointment Type Mapping

    EMR Appointment Type mapping is required if you would like to use appointment type restrictions.

    Mapping your appointment type(s) that you create in Ocean to the Appointment Types found in your EMR allows Ocean to book patients into your schedule, and assign one of your pre-existing EMR Appointment Types to the appointment that is booked in your schedule.

    This is helpful so that when a patient books into your schedule, you can easily recognize the type of appointment they booked when looking at your EMR schedule. You can also take advantage of powerful restrictions, such as enforcing a maximum number of appointments per day of each type, or even designate bookable slots in your EMR schedule for each type of appointment.  

    Important notes about Appointment Type Mapping

    Please note that if you decide to map to EMR appointment types, you must map all appointment types - you cannot leave any unmapped.

    If you change the name of your appointment type in your EMR after completing you initial configuration, please revisit your Appointment Types configuration page in Ocean and verify that all appointments are correctly mapped. Ocean may not recognize the change in the EMR appointment type name, so it's always best to double check your appointment type configurations to ensure your Appointment Type Mapping is accurate.

    Additionally, Accuro and OSCAR Pro users must note that at this time, Ocean cannot book appointments in your EMR and assign a "Reason" from the drop down field on the appointment.

    1. Navigate to Ocean's online booking settings.

      • Login to the Ocean Portal. Click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Online Booking". Click the "Settings" button in the top right corner.
      • Next to the Appointment Types heading, click Configure.

    2. Enable EMR Appointment Type Mapping.

      • On the left side of your screen, click the button Enable EMR Appointment Type Mapping. This will enable it, and a fourth column will be added to the appointments table named "EMR Appointment Type".
      • Use the blue Add Appointment button and configure the appointment(s) you would like to make available for online booking. Ensure each appointment is given a duration (in minutes).
      • For each appointment type that you create in Ocean, you must select an EMR Appointment Type from the dropdown. This dropdown menu displays the list of Appointment Types found within your EMR. The EMR Appointment Type you choose here is the type of appointment which the patient will be booked into your EMR schedule with. For example, the screenshot on the right indicates that when a patient chooses the “New Issue (Quick Visit)” label during their booking, it will be booked into your EMR schedule using the “New Patient Intake” EMR appointment type.
      • Ensure you do not leave any items blank in your table. When you are finished, click the blue Save button in the bottom left.

    Where to find EMR Appointment Types

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro
    • From the PS Suite Dashboard, navigate to Settings > Preferences. You will be asked for your PSS user password to access preferences.
    • Select Appointments from the left and Types from the tabs at the top. This will display your current Appointment Types found within PS Suite. To create new types, you can press the "Add..." button on the right hand side if needed.
    • For clarity, these Appointment Types are applied to individual appointments in your EMR schedule using the “Type” field on each appointment as shown below.
  4. Set Up Booking Schedules

    The next step in the online booking configuration is to set up your Booking Schedules in Ocean.

    The next step in the online booking configuration is to set up your Booking Schedules in Ocean:

    • Log in to the Ocean Portal, open the 'Menu', and select 'Online Booking'.
    • Click the 'Settings' button.
    • Next to the 'Booking Schedules' heading, click 'Configure'.
    • Click 'Add Schedule'.

    • Select the EMR schedule that you would like to create a Booking Schedule for in Ocean.

      Note: Only EMR Schedules which have been activated for use in Ocean Online Booking under a 'Patient Engagement Licence (Plus)' are available for selection.

    • Consult the EMR-Specific Settings/Configuration Options section below for details on each setting and configuration option available within the Booking Schedule.
    • Click the'Save' button at the bottom of the Booking Schedule.

    EMR-Specific Settings/Configuration Options

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

    Schedule Settings

    EMR Schedule Name
    This field displays the name of the EMR Schedule that you are configuring for use with Ocean Online Booking.
    EMR Time Slot Interval
    This refers to the provider schedule's time slot interval in your EMR.

    Default Configuration

    Patient Facing Schedule Name
    This is the name that will appear to patients when selecting this Booking Schedule. This will also be the name for this specific configuration of this Booking Schedule in your online booking configuration.
    Allow patients to book within these template slots
    Select the template slots that Ocean may book into. Time slots in your EMR that are not templated will also be bookable by Ocean. Note that additional appointment suggestions/template slots may be bookable based on appointment type restrictions.
    Appointment Types
    Click the blue "Add Appointment Type" button to select the Appointment Type(s) that you created earlier. This step allows you to indicate the types of appointments that patients can select when booking into this Provider schedule.
    You can use the up and down arrows on the Appointment Types to customize the order in which they are presented to patients.
    *Note: If EMR appointment type mapping is on, you can enable appointment type restrictions here. Read more about appointment type restrictions.
    Who is allowed to book into this schedule?
    All patients- any patient can book into your schedule.
    Patients with Selected Providers- use this setting to restrict patients who have certain providers to book into this schedule. For example, if Dr. Doug Kavanagh would only like his patients to book into his schedule, he would select Dr. Doug Kavanagh from the drop down list of providers, and specify the proper field(s) to evaluate in the patient's chart.

    For clarity, the "Primary Provider" setting in Ocean evaluates the "Primary Provider" field in the Med Access chart.

    The "Family Doctor" setting in Ocean evaluates the "Family Provider" field in the Med Access chart.

    The "any Care Team Member" setting in Ocean evaluates all of the following fields in the Med Access chart: Primary Provider, Family Provider, Secondary Provider

    Booking Window

    The 'Only allows same day bookings?' setting allows you to configure your Booking Schedule to only accept same-day appointments.

    The 'Prevent bookings less than' setting allows you to configure the minimum number of days and/or hours that patients can book in advance ("last minute" bookings).

    The 'Prevent bookings more than' setting allows you to configure the maximum number of days and/or hours that patients can book into the future.

    Day/Time Restrictions
    Set recurring times in the provider's schedule that aren't available for online booking. For example, you can select all days of the week, from 12pm - 1pm to ensure Ocean doesn't display appointment time slots over the lunch hour to be booked online.

    Advanced Settings

    The advanced settings area contains your Booking Forms. Advanced Ocean users can customize these Booking Forms to additionally screen patients, or gather more information during their booking process.

    Pre-Booking Form (Standard)

    The 'Pre-Booking Form (Standard)' is completed by patients at the time of selecting their desired Appointment Type (i.e., after choosing a Booking Schedule).

    Note: The 'appointmentType' item reference in this booking form is used to display the appointment types that are available for a patient to select. Editing this form item may cause unexpected behaviour or errors.

    Post-Booking Form

    The 'Post-Booking Form' is completed by patients after they have successfully booked their appointment (i.e., when the booking confirmation page is displayed).

    Note: Patient responses to the Post-Booking Form will only be collected if a patient clicks the “Finish” button after completing the entirety of the Post-Booking Form.

  5. Appointment Type Restrictions

    Appointment Type restrictions can only be applied if EMR appointment type mapping is on.

     

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR PRO

    Note: Appointment Type restrictions can only be applied if EMR Appointment Type mapping is on.

    If you decide to map to EMR Appointment Types, you will have access to appointment specific restrictions. These powerful restrictions allow you to customize the number of each type of appointment that can be booked on each day of the week, the frequency in which a patient can book each appointment type, and even restrict booking to only certain slots in your EMR schedule. These can be used individually, or you can combine their functionality.

    PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

    Only book in time slots with the following [EMR term] applied
    Using this restriction will allow you to set specific time slots, appointment suggestions or template slots in your EMR schedule that will only accept bookings of a certain appointment type. This is helpful if you have a type of appointment that should only be available for patients to book at a certain time of day, such as limiting only “Mental Health” appointments to be booked from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays.

    For a step-by-step guide on how to use this restriction, please see how to restrict the types of appointments that can be booked into a certain time slot. 
    Book a maximum of ## visits per day on [day of the week]
    Using this restriction will allow you to limit the number of appointments of this type that are booked on a particular day. To add more days, click the Add Restriction button. For example, you may choose to only allow 5 “Virtual Visits” on Mondays.
    Prevent patients from booking another [Appointment Type] appointment within ## days
    Using this restriction will force the patient to book their next appointment a certain number of days after their last appointment of the same type. For example, you could apply this restriction to a “Physical” appointment type and prevent patients from booking another “Physical” appointment within 365 days. When this restriction is enabled, patients can book only 1 future appointment of the respective type.
  6. Alternate Configuration*

    This step is optional. This setting is used to configure a single Booking Schedule in multiple different ways.

    Note: This step is optional. This setting is used to configure a single Booking Schedule in multiple different ways.

    Alternate Configurations allow you to create multiple Booking Schedule configurations in Ocean, for a single EMR Schedule.

    This can be helpful for a variety of reasons. For example, if a provider occasionally hosts a specialty clinic (e.g., flu shot clinic) and wants a unique Booking Link for those specialty appointments only, they could configure their default schedule to accept their “regular” appointments, and create an Alternate Configuration of their schedule to accept specialty appointments only (flu shot appointments).

    Note: Multiple Alternate Configurations can also be hosted on a single Booking Link.

    To reduce confusion during setup, we recommend setting a unique "Patient Facing Schedule Name" for each configuration of the same Booking Schedule, such as “Dr. Kavanagh” for the default configuration, and “Dr. Kavanagh - Flu Shots” for the Alternate Configuration.

    1. Navigate to Ocean's Online Booking Settings.

      • Login to the Ocean Portal. Click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Online Booking". Click the "Settings" button in the top right corner.
      • Next to the Booking Schedule you would like to create an Alternate Configuration for, click "Edit".

    2. Create and Configure your Alternate Configuration.

      • Next to the Default Configuration heading, click 'Add Alternate Configuration'. Scroll down to find the new Alternate Configuration heading and settings below.
      • In the 'Name of this configuration (not visible to patients)' field, enter a descriptive name for this alternate configuration version. This name is not visible to patients. We using an intuitive name that you can easily recognize in the future.

      • In the 'Patient Facing Schedule Name' field, enter a name for the schedule that will be displayed to patients at the time of booking online.

        Note: If hosting multiple Booking Schedules on a single Booking Link, each schedule configuration must have a unique 'Patient Facing Schedule Name'.

      • By default, your Alternate Configuration will inherit all of the settings from the Default configuration on your Booking Schedule.

        To change settings for an Alternate Configuration, click the "Change" button under each setting heading to adjust it.

        For example, you can press "Change" under the "Appointment Types" heading to specify the type(s) of appointments that can be booked, such as a "Flu Shot" appointment for a flu shot clinic.

      • Click the "Save" button in the bottom left corner.
  7. Set Up Booking Links

    The final step is to configure your Booking Links. This will provide you with a URL for your patients to book their appointments online.

    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.

    Prerequisites

    • Ensure you have already configured your Appointment Types and Booking Schedule(s) before configuring your Booking Links.

    To set up a Booking Link:

    • Log in to the Ocean Portal, open the 'Menu', and select 'Online Booking'.
    • Click the 'Settings' button.
    • Next to the 'Booking Links' heading, click 'Configure'.
    • Click 'Add Booking Link'
    • Consult the 'Booking Link Settings/Configuration Options' section below for details on each setting and configuration option available within the Booking Link.
    • Click the 'Save' button at the bottom of the page.
    • After saving, the URL for your Booking Link will be generated at made available under the 'Booking Links' heading within the Online Booking Settings page.
    •  

    Booking Link Settings/Configuration Options

    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.

    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'.
    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 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."

    A Note About Embedding Online Booking Links and Using iFrames

    It is recommended that you do NOT embed your online booking page in an iFrame. Embedded iFrames frequently do not load or layout properly in mobile browsers, which may lead to usability and reliability problems for you and your patients.

  8. Review the Guide to Online Booking

    Refer to the Guide to Online Booking to learn how to get the most out of your online booking configuration!

    Now that you have finished the set up, check out the Guide to Online Booking to learn about advanced configuration and workflow options!

Your EMR and Ocean Online Booking: What you need to know

Prerequisites

  • Your Ocean Site must be integrated with your EMR using Ocean Cloud Connect.
  • Your EMR Schedule(s) must be activated for use in Online Booking under a 'Patient Engagement Licence (Plus)'. To do this, please refer to the following article: Adding Ocean Licences.
  • Your Ocean Site must have a validated Directory Listing. Details from the Directory Listing are used to populate your clinic's information on the confirmation page and/or email to the patient.

The Scheduler

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro
By default, Ocean will display all empty time slots in your EMR for online booking. There are several ways you can make slots unavailable for online booking.
    • Set Booking Time and Clear Booking Time. Using the Set Booking Time and Clear Booking Time to indicate bookable time slots in your schedule. Unavailable time slots will be denoted with a violet "x" in the PS Suite schedule.
    • Booking Filler Appointments. Time slots with patients assigned are unavailable for online booking. You can also block off a time slot by putting a description in the "Details" field of the time slot in your PS Suite schedule - such as "no online booking", "lunch", "meeting", etc. When the "Details" field is filled, Ocean will see that slot as unavailable.
    • PS Suite Appointment Types. For advanced restrictions, such as a maximum number of a certain appointment type per day, or different availability based on the type of appointment being booked, you will be required to use EMR Appointment Type Mapping along with creating placeholder Appointment Types in PS Suite. You must include "online booking" or "/ob" in the title of these placeholder appointment types.

Warning for PS Suite users:

Ocean does not recognize background text and colour from the PS Suite scheduler. Time slots marked with only background text or colour using the 'Recurrent Text & Colour' feature in PS Suite will be seen as open, bookable time slots to Ocean. Do not attempt to block off time slots in the schedule by changing the slots using this feature.

Telus does not make these background colours available to third-party systems like Ocean, so the online booking engine is unable to determine their existence. As far as Ocean can see, a slot with a blue background with no appointment is the same as a slot with a white background with no appointment.

Primary Providers

Ocean can apply restrictions for online booking based on the patient's provider - for example, if only Dr. Kavanagh's patients should be able to book online into Dr. Kavanagh's EMR schedule. Clinics may set primary providers differently in their EMR - please see below to learn which fields Ocean looks at for each EMR.

A note on searching providers in your EMR.

In PSS: Click Appointments to open the EMR scheduler. In the top menu, click Providers -> View One Provider to view a list of all providers in your EMR.

In Med Access: Click the dropdown menu under Provider or Resource to view a list of all providers in your EMR.

In Accuro: Press F2 to open the Provider Management window.

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

  • Ocean has the ability to evaluate the following provider fields from the patient's chart in PS Suite:

    • • Patient's MD/NP
    •  
    • • Family MD/NP
    • • Primary Provider
    • • Other Provider
  • Note: The provider's name(s) in the above field(s) field must match the name(s) in the User's First Name and Surname in the Edit Users Dialog.

Set Up Appointment Types Available for Online Booking

The first step is to configure all Appointment Types for all providers who will be using online booking. These Appointment Types will become available when configuring your Booking Schedules.

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

1. Navigate to Your Online Booking Settings

  • Log in to the Ocean Portal, and 'Menu' and click 'Online Booking'.
  • Click 'Settings' in the top right corner.
  • Next to the Appointment Types heading, click 'Configure'.

2. Appointment Type Configuration

Enable/Disable EMR Appointment Type Mapping
EMR Appointment Type Mapping is a feature that allows Ocean to book patients into your EMR and assign one of your pre-existing EMR Appointment Types to the booked appointment.
When enabled, you will see the "EMR Appointment Type" column, where you can indicate the corresponding type of appointment that will be booked into your EMR schedule. In the example above, you can see that when a patient selects the "Initial Person Visit" Label, the patient will actually be booked into the EMR schedule using the "New Patient Visit" appointment type from the EMR.
When EMR Appointment Type Mapping is used, you can also customize powerful restrictions for each type of appointment such as the maximum number per day of each type, and even restrict the types of appointments that can be booked into certain time slots throughout the day. Read more about EMR Appointment Type Mapping for online booking.
Add Appointment Type
This button will add a new row to the appointments table. There is no limit to the number of appointment types you can create.
Label
Refers to how the patient will see the appointment when booking online. We recommend giving each of your Appointment Type Labels a distinct name.
Appointment Duration
The duration is the length of the appointment that will be booked into your EMR schedule, in minutes.
Location
Select between "On Site", "Virtual", or "Offsite".
If "On Site" is selected, the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing will be shown to patients on the booking confirmation page and within the confirmation email.
If "Virtual " is selected, the booking confirmation page and confirmation email will not include the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing, and the following note will be appended instead: "Please do not go to the clinic for this appointment".
If "Offsite" is selected, the booking confirmation page and confirmation email will not include the physical address of the clinic provided in your Directory Listing, and the following note will be appended instead: "Do not go to the clinic for this home visit appointment".
Medium
This setting allows you to select the Medium for your appointment.
When the 'Location' is set to 'On Site', the 'Medium' will default to 'In Person'.
When the 'Location' is set to 'Offsite', the 'Medium' will default to 'Home Visit'.
When the 'Location' is set to 'Virtual ', three 'Medium' options are available: 'Telephone Call', 'Virtual Visit Video', or 'Unspecified'.

For PS Suite users only: You can choose between only the 'Telephone Call' or 'Virtual Visit Video' mediums. This will book your patient into your PS Suite schedule with the chosen Medium. The specific field in PS Suite where this will be reflected in shown below.

EMR Appointment Type
Only available when 'EMR Appointment Type Mapping' is enabled.
This allows you to select the specific EMR Appointment Type that patients will be booked into your EMR schedule with.
If you've recently added a new appointment type to your EMR or if you notice a discrepancy in the EMR appointment types listed, try running a full schedule sync in Cloud Connect.

For Accuro and OSCAR Pro Users

At this time, Ocean cannot book appointments in your EMR and assign a "Reason" from the drop down field on the appointment.

EMR Appointment Type Mapping

EMR Appointment Type mapping is required if you would like to use appointment type restrictions.

Mapping your appointment type(s) that you create in Ocean to the Appointment Types found in your EMR allows Ocean to book patients into your schedule, and assign one of your pre-existing EMR Appointment Types to the appointment that is booked in your schedule.

This is helpful so that when a patient books into your schedule, you can easily recognize the type of appointment they booked when looking at your EMR schedule. You can also take advantage of powerful restrictions, such as enforcing a maximum number of appointments per day of each type, or even designate bookable slots in your EMR schedule for each type of appointment.  

Important notes about Appointment Type Mapping

Please note that if you decide to map to EMR appointment types, you must map all appointment types - you cannot leave any unmapped.

If you change the name of your appointment type in your EMR after completing you initial configuration, please revisit your Appointment Types configuration page in Ocean and verify that all appointments are correctly mapped. Ocean may not recognize the change in the EMR appointment type name, so it's always best to double check your appointment type configurations to ensure your Appointment Type Mapping is accurate.

Additionally, Accuro and OSCAR Pro users must note that at this time, Ocean cannot book appointments in your EMR and assign a "Reason" from the drop down field on the appointment.

  1. Navigate to Ocean's online booking settings.

    • Login to the Ocean Portal. Click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Online Booking". Click the "Settings" button in the top right corner.
    • Next to the Appointment Types heading, click Configure.

  2. Enable EMR Appointment Type Mapping.

    • On the left side of your screen, click the button Enable EMR Appointment Type Mapping. This will enable it, and a fourth column will be added to the appointments table named "EMR Appointment Type".
    • Use the blue Add Appointment button and configure the appointment(s) you would like to make available for online booking. Ensure each appointment is given a duration (in minutes).
    • For each appointment type that you create in Ocean, you must select an EMR Appointment Type from the dropdown. This dropdown menu displays the list of Appointment Types found within your EMR. The EMR Appointment Type you choose here is the type of appointment which the patient will be booked into your EMR schedule with. For example, the screenshot on the right indicates that when a patient chooses the “New Issue (Quick Visit)” label during their booking, it will be booked into your EMR schedule using the “New Patient Intake” EMR appointment type.
    • Ensure you do not leave any items blank in your table. When you are finished, click the blue Save button in the bottom left.

Where to find EMR Appointment Types

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro
  • From the PS Suite Dashboard, navigate to Settings > Preferences. You will be asked for your PSS user password to access preferences.
  • Select Appointments from the left and Types from the tabs at the top. This will display your current Appointment Types found within PS Suite. To create new types, you can press the "Add..." button on the right hand side if needed.
  • For clarity, these Appointment Types are applied to individual appointments in your EMR schedule using the “Type” field on each appointment as shown below.

Set Up Booking Schedules

The next step in the online booking configuration is to set up your Booking Schedules in Ocean.

The next step in the online booking configuration is to set up your Booking Schedules in Ocean:

  • Log in to the Ocean Portal, open the 'Menu', and select 'Online Booking'.
  • Click the 'Settings' button.
  • Next to the 'Booking Schedules' heading, click 'Configure'.
  • Click 'Add Schedule'.

  • Select the EMR schedule that you would like to create a Booking Schedule for in Ocean.

    Note: Only EMR Schedules which have been activated for use in Ocean Online Booking under a 'Patient Engagement Licence (Plus)' are available for selection.

  • Consult the EMR-Specific Settings/Configuration Options section below for details on each setting and configuration option available within the Booking Schedule.
  • Click the'Save' button at the bottom of the Booking Schedule.

EMR-Specific Settings/Configuration Options

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

Schedule Settings

EMR Schedule Name
This field displays the name of the EMR Schedule that you are configuring for use with Ocean Online Booking.
EMR Time Slot Interval
This refers to the provider schedule's time slot interval in your EMR.

Default Configuration

Patient Facing Schedule Name
This is the name that will appear to patients when selecting this Booking Schedule. This will also be the name for this specific configuration of this Booking Schedule in your online booking configuration.
Allow patients to book within these template slots
Select the template slots that Ocean may book into. Time slots in your EMR that are not templated will also be bookable by Ocean. Note that additional appointment suggestions/template slots may be bookable based on appointment type restrictions.
Appointment Types
Click the blue "Add Appointment Type" button to select the Appointment Type(s) that you created earlier. This step allows you to indicate the types of appointments that patients can select when booking into this Provider schedule.
You can use the up and down arrows on the Appointment Types to customize the order in which they are presented to patients.
*Note: If EMR appointment type mapping is on, you can enable appointment type restrictions here. Read more about appointment type restrictions.
Who is allowed to book into this schedule?
All patients- any patient can book into your schedule.
Patients with Selected Providers- use this setting to restrict patients who have certain providers to book into this schedule. For example, if Dr. Doug Kavanagh would only like his patients to book into his schedule, he would select Dr. Doug Kavanagh from the drop down list of providers, and specify the proper field(s) to evaluate in the patient's chart.

For clarity, the "Primary Provider" setting in Ocean evaluates the "Primary Provider" field in the Med Access chart.

The "Family Doctor" setting in Ocean evaluates the "Family Provider" field in the Med Access chart.

The "any Care Team Member" setting in Ocean evaluates all of the following fields in the Med Access chart: Primary Provider, Family Provider, Secondary Provider

Booking Window

The 'Only allows same day bookings?' setting allows you to configure your Booking Schedule to only accept same-day appointments.

The 'Prevent bookings less than' setting allows you to configure the minimum number of days and/or hours that patients can book in advance ("last minute" bookings).

The 'Prevent bookings more than' setting allows you to configure the maximum number of days and/or hours that patients can book into the future.

Day/Time Restrictions
Set recurring times in the provider's schedule that aren't available for online booking. For example, you can select all days of the week, from 12pm - 1pm to ensure Ocean doesn't display appointment time slots over the lunch hour to be booked online.

Advanced Settings

The advanced settings area contains your Booking Forms. Advanced Ocean users can customize these Booking Forms to additionally screen patients, or gather more information during their booking process.

Pre-Booking Form (Standard)

The 'Pre-Booking Form (Standard)' is completed by patients at the time of selecting their desired Appointment Type (i.e., after choosing a Booking Schedule).

Note: The 'appointmentType' item reference in this booking form is used to display the appointment types that are available for a patient to select. Editing this form item may cause unexpected behaviour or errors.

Post-Booking Form

The 'Post-Booking Form' is completed by patients after they have successfully booked their appointment (i.e., when the booking confirmation page is displayed).

Note: Patient responses to the Post-Booking Form will only be collected if a patient clicks the “Finish” button after completing the entirety of the Post-Booking Form.

Appointment Type Restrictions

Appointment Type restrictions can only be applied if EMR appointment type mapping is on.

 

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR PRO

Note: Appointment Type restrictions can only be applied if EMR Appointment Type mapping is on.

If you decide to map to EMR Appointment Types, you will have access to appointment specific restrictions. These powerful restrictions allow you to customize the number of each type of appointment that can be booked on each day of the week, the frequency in which a patient can book each appointment type, and even restrict booking to only certain slots in your EMR schedule. These can be used individually, or you can combine their functionality.

PS Suite Med Access Accuro OSCAR Pro

Only book in time slots with the following [EMR term] applied
Using this restriction will allow you to set specific time slots, appointment suggestions or template slots in your EMR schedule that will only accept bookings of a certain appointment type. This is helpful if you have a type of appointment that should only be available for patients to book at a certain time of day, such as limiting only “Mental Health” appointments to be booked from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays.

For a step-by-step guide on how to use this restriction, please see how to restrict the types of appointments that can be booked into a certain time slot. 
Book a maximum of ## visits per day on [day of the week]
Using this restriction will allow you to limit the number of appointments of this type that are booked on a particular day. To add more days, click the Add Restriction button. For example, you may choose to only allow 5 “Virtual Visits” on Mondays.
Prevent patients from booking another [Appointment Type] appointment within ## days
Using this restriction will force the patient to book their next appointment a certain number of days after their last appointment of the same type. For example, you could apply this restriction to a “Physical” appointment type and prevent patients from booking another “Physical” appointment within 365 days. When this restriction is enabled, patients can book only 1 future appointment of the respective type.

Alternate Configuration*

This step is optional. This setting is used to configure a single Booking Schedule in multiple different ways.

Note: This step is optional. This setting is used to configure a single Booking Schedule in multiple different ways.

Alternate Configurations allow you to create multiple Booking Schedule configurations in Ocean, for a single EMR Schedule.

This can be helpful for a variety of reasons. For example, if a provider occasionally hosts a specialty clinic (e.g., flu shot clinic) and wants a unique Booking Link for those specialty appointments only, they could configure their default schedule to accept their “regular” appointments, and create an Alternate Configuration of their schedule to accept specialty appointments only (flu shot appointments).

Note: Multiple Alternate Configurations can also be hosted on a single Booking Link.

To reduce confusion during setup, we recommend setting a unique "Patient Facing Schedule Name" for each configuration of the same Booking Schedule, such as “Dr. Kavanagh” for the default configuration, and “Dr. Kavanagh - Flu Shots” for the Alternate Configuration.

  1. Navigate to Ocean's Online Booking Settings.

    • Login to the Ocean Portal. Click the "Menu" button in the top left corner and select "Online Booking". Click the "Settings" button in the top right corner.
    • Next to the Booking Schedule you would like to create an Alternate Configuration for, click "Edit".

  2. Create and Configure your Alternate Configuration.

    • Next to the Default Configuration heading, click 'Add Alternate Configuration'. Scroll down to find the new Alternate Configuration heading and settings below.
    • In the 'Name of this configuration (not visible to patients)' field, enter a descriptive name for this alternate configuration version. This name is not visible to patients. We using an intuitive name that you can easily recognize in the future.

    • In the 'Patient Facing Schedule Name' field, enter a name for the schedule that will be displayed to patients at the time of booking online.

      Note: If hosting multiple Booking Schedules on a single Booking Link, each schedule configuration must have a unique 'Patient Facing Schedule Name'.

    • By default, your Alternate Configuration will inherit all of the settings from the Default configuration on your Booking Schedule.

      To change settings for an Alternate Configuration, click the "Change" button under each setting heading to adjust it.

      For example, you can press "Change" under the "Appointment Types" heading to specify the type(s) of appointments that can be booked, such as a "Flu Shot" appointment for a flu shot clinic.

    • Click the "Save" button in the bottom left corner.

Set Up Booking Links

The final step is to configure your Booking Links. This will provide you with a URL for your patients to book their appointments online.

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.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure you have already configured your Appointment Types and Booking Schedule(s) before configuring your Booking Links.

To set up a Booking Link:

  • Log in to the Ocean Portal, open the 'Menu', and select 'Online Booking'.
  • Click the 'Settings' button.
  • Next to the 'Booking Links' heading, click 'Configure'.
  • Click 'Add Booking Link'
  • Consult the 'Booking Link Settings/Configuration Options' section below for details on each setting and configuration option available within the Booking Link.
  • Click the 'Save' button at the bottom of the page.
  • After saving, the URL for your Booking Link will be generated at made available under the 'Booking Links' heading within the Online Booking Settings page.
  •  

Booking Link Settings/Configuration Options

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.

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'.
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 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."

A Note About Embedding Online Booking Links and Using iFrames

It is recommended that you do NOT embed your online booking page in an iFrame. Embedded iFrames frequently do not load or layout properly in mobile browsers, which may lead to usability and reliability problems for you and your patients.