How is practitioner availability shown in the calendar?
A practitioner's availability is shown in the calendar as white space. By default, a practitioner is shown as available during the practice opening hours. When a practitioner is unavailable, it will appear as dark grey. If a practitioner is unavailable, it is not possible for patients or receptionists to book an appointment at that time.
📝 Please note: This shouldn't be confused with using zones to mark out periods of time in the calendar for specific activities, such as clinics and emergency slots.
How can I change practitioner availability in the calendar?
There are two easy ways you can update your calendar to show practitioners as available or unavailable.
Using schedules - ideal for regular absences and working patterns, as well as longer periods of time off - this overrides practice opening hours.
Using the calendar override function: great for short periods, one-off absences or last-minute changes to availability - this overrides schedules and practice hours.
💡 Top tip: Use these methods to show regular and irregular team meetings in the calendar too! You can mark all attendees of the meeting as unavailable, so appointments won't be accidentally booked when they're busy.
Why is it important to update practitioner availability in the calendar?
Blocking out your calendar to reflect planned and unexpected time off is important to help your administrative staff keep track of when team members are available, and ensure appointments are booked at suitable times. It also allows you to accurately reflect your practice's practitioner utilisation, for reporting purposes.
💡 Top tip: We recommend using these steps, rather than adding 'fake' appointments to block time out in your calendar, which can lead to inaccurate utilisation reporting and is not recommended.