Waitlist
Last updated
The waitlist captures patients who want an appointment when none suits them right now, so you can fill cancellations and gaps quickly.
Adding someone
- Go to the Waitlist page and use Add to waitlist.
- Choose an Existing patient, or enter a Name for someone new. Phone is optional, but record it if they need to receive offer texts. An unlinked entry has no email address.
- Optionally record the Treatment they want (leave it as No preference for a flexible patient), the dates they would prefer (Preferred from and Preferred to) and any Notes, for example afternoons only.
- Press Add to waitlist to save the entry.
Using it
When a slot opens up, perhaps from a cancellation, open the waitlist and find a patient whose preferred window fits. A quick call or message and the gap is filled, rather than the slot sitting empty.
If the owner has switched on auto-fill and its messaging, eligible freed slots can be offered by the enabled email and text channels, using the available contact details and subject to messaging preferences and SMS credit. Patients follow the claim link and the steps shown there; the first successful claim books the slot. When it is someone new, the claim page asks for the details every new patient gives: name, email, phone, date of birth, address and postcode, so their record is complete from the start. See Waitlist auto-fill and claim links.
Statuses
Each entry has a status, shown as the Open, Booked and Removed tabs at the top of the list. Open entries are still waiting; press Mark booked once you have placed them, or Remove if they no longer need a slot. Mark booked only changes the waitlist status; it does not add an appointment to the diary. This keeps the active list to people you actually need to chase.
Why bother
A maintained waitlist turns last-minute cancellations from lost income into an easy win, and gives keen patients a way to jump in as soon as space appears.
Under Existing patient, type to search and select the matching patient record.