Before you begin
Rooms and devices are configured separately at the organization level. They appear as selectable options in the form only when at least one room or device has been added to the organization.
Open the Calendar tab
In the left navigation, click Organizations. Locate the organization row and click it to open its Administration panel. Select the Calendar tab.
The Calendar tab contains two sections:
Appointment Types — a table listing all configured types for the organization.
Colors — a set of color-picker cards for appointment status display colors.
Create a new appointment type
Click the New appointment type button in the upper-right area of the Appointment Types section.
A dialog titled New Appointment Type opens.
Fill in the form
The form is organized into two columns. Complete the fields as follows.
Left column
Basic details
Type (required) — the display name for the appointment type.
Duration — appointment length in minutes. Defaults to 15.
Color (required) — the color swatch shown on the calendar entry. Auto-assigned if left empty.
Telemedicine — check this box if this type is a telemedicine visit. This field only appears when the Telemedicine module is active for the organization.
Patient booking
Patient can book? — enables patients to self-schedule this appointment type.
Time in advance — the minimum number of days in advance that a patient must book. Only active when Patient can book? is checked.
Buffer time
Buffer time — check to add a buffer period before or after each appointment of this type.
Select time — buffer duration in minutes. Only active when the Buffer time checkbox is checked.
Buffer time mode — radio buttons: Pre appointment or Post appointment. Required when buffer minutes are set.
Applies to — checkboxes: Practitioners, Rooms, Devices. At least one must be selected when buffer minutes are set.
Price
Price — the cost of this appointment type. Leave blank for free of charge.
Right column
Questionnaires — type to search and add one or more questionnaires to send when this appointment type is booked. Adding at least one questionnaire automatically enables the With Questionnaires flag.
Practitioners — type to search and assign specific practitioners. Alternatively, check All Active Practitioners to include all active practitioners in the organization.
Rooms — type to search and assign rooms. Only visible if the organization has rooms configured.
Devices — type to search and assign devices. Only visible if the organization has devices configured.
Plan (template) — a rich-text default template that pre-fills the plan notes field for encounters of this type.
Encounter Template Override — optionally select a specific encounter template to use instead of the organization default. Select None to leave unset.
Lab order section
Lab order required — toggle to enable automatic lab order generation for this appointment type.
Practitioner — the practitioner who will appear as the requester on lab orders. Required when the toggle is on.
Laboratory — the lab facility to use. Required when the toggle is on.
Male / Female sections — define the combos and panels to order by patient gender. At least one gender section must be active and contain at least one combo or test when the toggle is on.
Note: If Lab order required is enabled but neither the Male nor Female section contains at least one configured item, the form will show "At least one lab order gender section must be active and configured" and will not save.
Save the appointment type
Click Save at the bottom of the dialog. On success, the dialog closes and a confirmation notification appears: "Appointment type created successfully!"
When editing an existing type, the button label changes to Update. A successful update shows "Appointment type updated successfully!"
Configure status colors (optional)
Below the Appointment Types table, the Colors section displays a card for each appointment status:
Status | Description |
Booked | Patient has a confirmed appointment scheduled at the clinic. |
Checked In | Patient is present in the clinic and ready to be seen. |
In Progress | Appointment is currently being attended. |
Completed | Appointment has finished and all services have been provided. |
Signed | Appointment has been signed. |
To change a color:
Click a status card to expand it.
Under Choose from the color palette:, click the desired color swatch.
The color saves immediately. The card header updates to show the selected color.
Available colors: gray, red, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, pink, orange. Each color can only be assigned to one status at a time — colors already in use by another status do not appear in the palette.
On success, a confirmation notification appears: "Color preferences changed successfully!"
Archive and restore appointment types
Active appointment types show an Archive option in their row context menu. Archived types show an Unarchive option.
To archive a type:
Click the actions icon on the row.
Click Archive.
A confirmation dialog appears: "Are you sure you want to archive this appointment type?"
Click Confirm. A notification appears: "Appointment type archived successfully!"
To restore an archived type:
Enable the Show Archived filter in the filter panel to make archived types visible.
Click the actions icon on the archived row.
Click Unarchive.
A confirmation dialog appears: "Are you sure you want to unarchive this appointment type?"
Click Confirm. A notification appears: "Appointment type unarchive successfully!"
Result: Saved appointment types appear immediately in the scheduling interface for the organization. Active types are available for practitioners and (if configured) for patients to self-book. Color changes apply to the calendar view without a page reload.
Best practices
Assign rooms and devices before creating appointment types. Room and device options in the form only appear when the organization has them configured. Add them first from the Administration panel.
Use buffer time for preparation or cleanup. Set pre- or post-appointment buffer time to prevent back-to-back bookings without a gap for practitioners or rooms to reset.
Set a practitioner for self-order lab types. If Lab order required is enabled, a practitioner must be assigned as the requester. Choose the default ordering provider for the appointment type.
Archive instead of delete. Archiving an appointment type preserves historical scheduling data. Use Unarchive to restore a type if it is needed again.