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Guide to One-Time Booking

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Creating Templates for One-Time Booking Links

One-Time Booking Link templates are used when sending a unique booking link to an existing patient. The link can only be used once and expires based on the appointment window configured in the template.

Using the Template Manager, you're able to create a brand new templates from scratch, modify existing templates, or even duplicate a template to make a similar yet slightly different version.

Prerequisites

  • Your Ocean Site has Advanced Clinic Booking enabled. If not enabled, contact the OceanMD team.
  • Your Ocean Site has at least one Booking Link that has 'Show this link in One-Time Bookings' enabled. To do this, please refer to the following article: Set Up Booking Links.
  • You must be an Ocean Site Admin to customize Templates.
Creating a brand new template
  • To create a brand new template, log in to the Ocean Portal.
  • In the top left corner, select "Menu" and click "Templates". This brings you to the Template Manager.
  • Press the "Add Template" button.
  • Select the Template Type: “One-Time Booking” button . This will bring you into the Template Editor .
  • Certain fields are pre-populated with standard wording which you can choose to make slight modifications to, or even fully replace with your own content.
  • Once you are happy with the contents of your template, press "Save" at the bottom of the page to save your template.
  • Alternatively, you can press "Save & Make OTBL Default" if you would like this template to appear automatically each time you send a patient message.
  • Tip: You can easily determine your site's default template from the Template Manager by looking for the template tagged with "OTBL Default".
Customizing an existing template
  • To customize an existing template, log in to the Ocean Portal.
  • In the top left corner, select "Menu" and click "Templates". This brings you to the Template Manager.
  • The Template Manager displays all of your existing templates. To customize an existing template, press the "Edit" button next to it.
  • In the Template Editor, you're able to see the existing content of your template and modify it to your liking.
  • Once you have finished making your changes, press the "Save" button at the bottom of the page.
Duplicating a template

If you're looking to create a catalog of templates for use at your clinic, the Duplicate functionality is helpful to efficiently build out your templates and make small changes to the contents.

  • To duplicate a template, log in to the Ocean Portal.
  • In the top left corner, select "Menu" and click "Templates". This brings you to the Template Manager.
  • From the Template Manager, press the "Duplicate" button next to the template that you would like to duplicate.
  • You will be launched into the Template Editor which is automatically populated with the contents of the template you chose to duplicate.
  • The template is automatically named "Copy of [original template name]". You can modify the name to reflect the changes you are making to the template contents.
  • Once you are finished modifying the contents of your template, press the "Save" or "Save & Make OTBL Default" button at the bottom of the page to save your template.

Template Settings

Template Name

  • The template name is for you to easily recognize the contents of the template. It is never visible to patients, so you can use it to describe the purpose of the template for yourself and other users on your Ocean site.

Subject Line

  • The customizable subject line is what will appear in patients' email inbox when they receive a secure message or reminder using this template.

Salutation

  • The saluation is the opening line of the email body.

  • Tip: The @ptPreferredOrFirstName keyword will automatically populate the patient's name as it appears in your EMR, providing an automatically customized salutation for your patients.

Email Body

  • The email body allows you to customize the message that the patient will see in their email inbox.

  • Note: Content included in the email body will not be recorded into the patient's chart.

The '[booking_link]' Keyword

The '[booking_link]' keyword indicates where in your email body a hyperlink will automatically appear for the patient to click on to access any secure content. The hyperlink will appear as: 'Book Appointment Now '.

If no keyword is included in the template, Ocean will automatically append the English '[booking_link]' version of the keyword to the end of the email body.

One-Time Booking Link

  • Select when the patient should book their appointment for and which booking link they should access.
Appointment Window Start Date

Select when the patient can start booking appointments using the link. By default, it is set to “Today”. You can select from the options or select “Custom” to adjust.

Appointment Window Length

Select how long the patient can use the link to book an appointment. By default, it is set to “1 year”. You can select from the options or select “Custom” to adjust.

Booking Link

Select the Booking Link that should be used for this One-Time Booking Link template.

Note: Only Booking Links where Show this link in One-Time Bookings is enabled will be available for selection. For more information, please see article: Set up Booking Links.

Advanced Settings

  • This area allows you to customize advanced settings including the minimum notice required.
Minimum notice required

This field determines how far in advance patients must book an appointment. For example, if you set the minimum notice to 1 day, patients cannot book appointments that begin within the next 24 hours.

Sending One-Time Booking Links to Patients

A One-Time Booking link allows an existing patient to book a single appointment using a unique link that expires after a set period of time. This is useful for appointments that should only be offered to specific patients, such as initial consultations, specialist appointments, or other appointment types that should not be available through a general public booking link.

Each One-Time Booking link is intended for a single patient and should not be forwarded or shared. Once the appointment has been booked or the link expires, it can no longer be used.

Prerequisites

  • Your Ocean Site has Advanced Clinic Booking enabled. If it is not enabled, contact the OceanMD team.
  • Your Ocean Site has at least one Booking Link with "Show this link in One-Time Bookings" enabled. For instructions, refer to "Set Up Booking Links."
  • Your EMR Schedule(s) must be activated for use in Online Booking under a "Patient Engagement Licence (Plus)." For instructions, refer to "Adding Ocean Licences."

Sending a One-Time Booking Link to Patients

  1. Initiate your email message

There are two methods to send a One-Time Booking Link, as outlined below:

EMRseReferral
PS SuiteMed AccessAccuroOSCAR
  • Select "Email" from the Ocean custom form or toolbar.
  • Alternatively, you can launch the Patient Dashboard from the patient's chart in your EMR and select "Send a One-Time Booking Link."
  • This will open a message window. Select "Send a One-Time Booking Link."

  1. Complete the One-Time Booking Link Message

    If available, the “To:” field is automatically populated with the patient’s email address from their EMR chart. The message fields are also pre-populated using your Site Default template.

    • If you have already created a One-Time Booking Link template, select 'Templates', then select the appropriate template. To learn more about creating templates or changing your Site Default template, refer to “Creating Templates for One-Time Booking Links”.
    • Once selected, these template settings will apply:
    Appointment Window

    Select the date range during which the patient can book their appointment. By default, it is set to 1 year.

    Booking link

    Select the applicable One-Time Booking Link from the dropdown menu. Only One-Time Booking Links available in your Ocean site will appear.

    Minimum notice required

    Use the Advanced settings to prevent patients from booking too close to the appointment time. Enter the minimum number of days and hours required before the appointment.

    1. Send One-Time Booking Link

      • Select ‘Send One-Time Booking Link’ .
    • A confirmation window will appear once the email has been sent. Click ‘OK’.

    • Note: The successful sending of an email does not guarantee its delivery. It may bounce, be spam-filtered, or fail to be read by the recipient.

    1. Configure your email address for alerts (optional)

      Clinics can receive an email notification when a patient cancels an upcoming apopintment through Online Booking. To set this up, refer to this article: Enabling Appointment Cancellation from Patient Reminders

      Note: This is a site-wide setting that can only be set up by a Site admin .

    To learn more about monitoring One-Time Booking Links, see Monitoring the status of One-Time Booking Links.

Monitoring the status of One-Time Booking Links

Monitoring the status of One-Time Booking Links

One-Time Booking Links will have one of the following statuses:

Status Description
Active The link has been sent and can be used by the patient to book an appointment.
Booked The patient has successfully booked an appointment using the link.
Completed The booked appointment date has passed.
Closed The link was not used, and the appointment window end date is in the past.
Deactivated The link was manually deactivated by the clinic and can no longer be used by the patient.

After a One-Time Booking Link has been sent to a patient, you can view the status in Ocean:

Patient DashboardeReferral

All One-Time Booking Links sent to a patient will display in the One-Time Booking Links section in the Ocean Patient Dashboard. Once an appointment has been booked by a patient, it will appear in the Online Bookings section. 

Date Sent

The date the One-Time Booking Link was sent to the patient.

Booking Link

The name of the booking link used. For site admins, this will appear as a hyperlink. When selected, they will be navigated to the Booking Link's configuration page.

Appointment Window

The appointment window displayed as a date range.

Status

The status of the One-Time Booking Link.

 

One-Time Booking Link FAQs

One-Time Booking Link FAQs

How can I deactivate a One-Time Booking Link?

If the clinic schedules the appointment instead of the patient, deactivate the One-Time Booking Link to prevent an additional booking:

  • Open the Patient Dashboard. If the link was sent from an eReferral, you can also open the eReferral and navigate to the Scheduling area.
  • Locate the relevant One-Time Booking Link and click' ‘Deactivate’.
  • In the confirmation window, click 'Deactivate’ .
  • The link status will update to Deactivated.
  • If the patient accesses a deactivated link, they will be unable to book an appointment and will be instructed to contact the clinic for assistance.
How do I resend a One-Time Booking Link to a patient?

To resend a One-Time Booking Link, first deactivate the existing link by following the steps above. Then, create and send a new One-Time Booking Link using your template.

What happens when a patient cancels or reschedules their appointment?
  • When a patient cancels or reschedules an appointment from their confirmation email, Ocean removes the existing appointment and reactivates the One-Time Booking Link so the patient can book a new appointment.
  • The patient has an option to schedule a new appointment using the same One-Time Booking Link.
  • The patient also receives a cancellation email.

If the One-Time Booking Link was sent from an eReferral:

  • The appointment is removed from the referral's scheduling pane.
  • A note is added to the referral indicating that the patient cancelled their appointment.
  • The referral moves back to the ‘Pending Booking’folder.
  • The patient receives an eReferral status update email notifying them of the cancellation.

Note: Site admins can configure an email for their site to receive email notifications when patients cancel online booking appointments. To learn how to set this up, see this article: Enabling Appointment Cancellation from Patient Reminders.

How long is a One-Time Booking Link stored in Ocean?

The storage period for a One-Time Booking Link depends on whether it is associated with an eReferral.

If sent from an eReferral, when an eReferral is archived, Ocean will delete any One-Time Book Links associated with it. The eReferral archival date is determined by Ocean's archival rules. For more information, refer to How long are eReferrals and eConsults stored after they are sent through Ocean?

If not sent from an eReferral, the link is deleted 180 days after it has been completed, closed, or deactivated.

Can I get an audit report of One-Time Booking Links?

Yes. The One-Time Booking Link Audit Report helps clinics track activity, including when links are created, booked, cancelled, or deactivated. For information on how to accces the report, see Where can I get reports on Ocean usage?.