Where to find this: Self-scheduling is a patient-facing feature. Configure it per service in Settings > Services under the Visibility & Discovery, Pricing & Payments, and Scheduling & Booking tabs.
Share Your Booking Page
Your clinic’s booking page lives at a web address ending in/self-schedule — for example, https://app.decodahealth.com/your-clinic/self-schedule. Share this link anywhere patients can click it: your website, social media, email signatures, or text messages.
To copy your main booking link, open the search bar at the top of any page (or press ⌘K on Mac, Ctrl+K on Windows), type Copy Scheduling Link, and select it. The full link is copied to your clipboard, ready to paste.
You can also copy links that send patients straight to a specific service, category, or location, so they skip earlier steps:
A service set to only bookable over the phone has no copy-link option, because patients can’t book it online.
Self-Scheduling (Patient-Facing)
Self-scheduling allows patients to book appointments online without calling the clinic. The patient-facing booking flow guides them through these steps:1
Select Patient Type
The patient indicates whether they are a new patient, existing patient, or not sure. The options are: “Yes, I’m an existing patient”, “No, I’m a new patient”, and “I’m not sure”. Services may be restricted based on patient type. Existing patients go through phone-based MFA verification before proceeding.
2
Choose Location Type
The patient selects between In-Person, Telehealth, or “Skip, I’ll decide later”.
3
Select Service
The patient browses available services, filtered by category if configured. Services marked as “popular” appear first, and any service with an uploaded image shows that photo on its card. Services marked “only bookable over the phone” are visible but cannot be selected. When a service has Allow Multiple Bookings turned on, its card shows a quantity control so the patient can add it more than once in a single appointment — useful for multi-area or multi-unit treatments. The itinerary collapses repeated rows into
Service Name × N so the picks read clearly.4
Choose Location
For in-person visits, the patient selects a clinic location. If location services are enabled, nearby locations appear first. If your clinic has only one location, it’s picked automatically and the step is skipped.
5
Select Provider (Optional)
If the service has “Allow Individual Provider Booking” enabled, the patient can choose a specific provider, or pick the First available card at the top (“We’ll match you with the next provider with an open slot”) to take the soonest opening with any provider. First available is selected by default. Otherwise, a provider is auto-assigned. When a provider has Credentials filled in on their profile (for example MD or PA-C), those appear under their name on each provider card and in provider details — so patients can see qualifications while they choose.
6
Pick a Time
The patient selects from available time slots. Availability is calculated based on provider shifts, existing appointments, service duration, and any short-notice blocks.
7
Confirm and Pay
The patient goes through a multi-step checkout process:
- Confirmation — The patient reviews appointment details in an itinerary view (service, provider with credentials when set, location, date and time).
- Payment Method — If credit card collection is required, the patient enters their card information.
- Secure Appointment — The system reserves the time slot for the patient.
- Checkout — If a booking fee is configured, the patient pays the fee. A returning patient who is signed in can pay with a card already on file or add a new one. Only credit and debit cards are offered as card-on-file for booking — Apple Pay wallet tokens and ACH aren’t shown here, because they can’t be re-charged later for no-show or cancellation fees.
8
Booking Complete
The appointment is created and a confirmation SMS is sent to the patient. The appointment appears on the clinic calendar. If the service has required forms, they are shown to the patient after booking (and also sent via text message for later completion).
Header Images
The photos that appear at the top of the self-scheduling page come from each location’s Location Photo, not from services, categories, or the clinic logo. The page shows a carousel that cycles through the photo of every location that has one uploaded — locations without a photo are skipped. To change which images appear or how many cycle through, upload or remove photos on each location in Settings > Locations.Location-First Flow
When a practice has locations that are far apart (at least 100 km) and many services are only available at certain locations, the booking page automatically shows the Choose Location step before the Select Service step. This helps patients pick their nearest location first, so they only see services offered there. The remaining steps stay the same.Existing Appointments and Saved Progress
- Existing future appointments: When a returning patient has an existing upcoming appointment, the booking page shows their booking and lets them reschedule or cancel it before making a new one. If the appointment is within 24 hours, rescheduling and cancellation are blocked and the patient is asked to call the clinic.
- Reschedule or Cancel: Patients can click Reschedule or Cancel on the booking page to sign in and manage an upcoming appointment without starting a new booking. Some appointment links open this path automatically for the matching visit.
- Saved progress: The system saves booking progress automatically. If a patient leaves and returns, a “Welcome back!” prompt appears offering to continue where they left off or start over.
Care Plan Suggestion at Sign-In
When a returning patient signs in and the next pending step on their active care plan is an appointment, the booking page shows a Next step in your care plan card before the service picker. The card lists the recommended services and the target date, with two actions:- Book this appointment — pre-fills the recommended services and location and jumps the patient to the time picker. Confirming a time links the new appointment to that care plan step.
- Not now — dismisses the card for that session and continues to a regular booking.
Configure self-scheduling options per service in Settings > Services under the Visibility & Discovery, Pricing & Payments, and Scheduling & Booking tabs.