> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.decodahealth.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scheduling Configuration

> Configure self-scheduling rules, bookable resources, calendar appearance, and appointment display settings.

<Info>
  **Prerequisites:** You should have at least one [Location](/modules/settings/locations) created and [Services](/modules/settings/services) configured before adjusting scheduling settings.
</Info>

Control how patients book online and how your calendar behaves behind the scenes. This is where you configure self-scheduling rules, set provider capacity, manage bookable resources like rooms and equipment, and customize how appointments look on the calendar.

Scheduling settings control how patients book appointments through your self-scheduling page, how providers manage their capacity, and how appointments appear on the calendar.

## Configure Self-Scheduling

Self-scheduling settings determine how patients interact with your online booking page.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Settings">
    Go to **Settings > Self-Scheduling > General**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Adjust Settings">
    The Self-Scheduling section contains the following options:

    * **Redirect URL After Booking:** An optional URL to redirect patients to after they successfully book an appointment. Leave empty to show the default Decoda confirmation page.
    * **Days Until Patient Becomes New:** The number of days to look back when determining if a patient has prior appointments. If all of a patient's appointments are older than this value, they will be classified as a new patient during self-scheduling. Leave empty to count all appointments regardless of age.
    * **Allow Multiple Bookings:** When enabled, patients can book additional appointments even if they already have an existing appointment scheduled. When off, patients with an upcoming appointment cannot book another.
    * **Max Self-Schedule Services:** The maximum number of services a patient can add to a single self-scheduled appointment. Defaults to 1.
    * **Convert Booking Fee to Credit:** When enabled, booking fees paid by patients are automatically converted into a patient credit that can be applied toward their balance at checkout.
    * **Service Display Mode:** Choose how services appear on the self-scheduling page. Select **Grid View** for a card-based layout or **Menu View** for a list-based layout with descriptions.
    * **Show Service Duration:** When on, patients see how long each service takes (for example, "30 minutes") while booking online. Turn it off to hide service lengths everywhere in the online booking flow. Defaults to on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  **What your patients see:** On your booking page, patients browse available services, pick a location and time, and confirm their appointment. They only see time slots where a provider has an active shift and isn't already booked. Short-notice blocks and capacity limits are enforced automatically — patients never see unavailable slots.
</Info>

<Info>
  **Show only matching providers:** If you want the provider list on the staff calendar to be limited to providers who are actually attached to the selected service, turn on **Filter Providers by Service** in [General Preferences](/modules/settings/general#configure-scheduling). Provider-to-service assignments are managed in **Settings > Services** on each service's **Providers** tab.
</Info>

## Set Provider Capacity

Provider capacity controls how many patients a provider can see during the same time slot, which helps prevent overbooking.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Settings">
    Go to **Settings > Self-Scheduling > General** and scroll to the **Provider Capacity** section.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Capacity per Provider">
    A table lists all providers with an editable **Capacity** field. Enter the maximum number of patients each provider can see during the same 15-minute time slot. For example, setting a provider's capacity to 2 means they can have up to 2 overlapping appointments.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save** next to each provider after updating their capacity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Manage the Patient Blacklist

The patient blacklist prevents specific patients from booking appointments through self-scheduling.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Settings">
    Go to **Settings > Self-Scheduling > General** and scroll to the **Patient Blacklist** section.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a Patient">
    Click **Add Patient**. Search for the patient by name, date of birth, or phone number and select them from the results.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    Click **Add to Blacklist**. The patient will immediately be unable to book appointments online.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To remove a patient from the blacklist, click the **delete** icon next to their name in the blacklist table.

## Manage Bookable Resources

Bookable resources are rooms, equipment, or other physical assets that need to be reserved when an appointment is scheduled — like a laser machine or treatment room. Assigning bookables to services prevents double-booking of shared resources.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Bookables">
    Go to **Settings** and select **Bookables**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a Bookable">
    Click the **Create Bookable** button. In the popover form, enter:

    * **Name** (required): A descriptive label for the resource (e.g., "Treatment Room A", "Laser Machine").
    * **Description** (optional): Additional details about the resource.
    * **Locations**: Select which clinic locations this bookable is available at. By default all locations are selected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Create**. The bookable is immediately available for assignment to services.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Edit a Bookable

Click on a bookable's **name** or **description** cell in the table to edit it inline. Click on the **Locations** column to add or remove location assignments.

### Delete a Bookable

Click the **delete** icon on the bookable's row. Confirm when prompted. Deleting a bookable removes it from all service assignments.

<Info>
  Bookable resources are assigned to services in the **Scheduling & Booking** tab of the service editor. See [Services](/modules/settings/services) for details.
</Info>

## Customize Calendar Appearance

Calendar appearance settings control how appointments look on the provider calendar based on their status.

### Appointment Status Styles

Each appointment status can be displayed with one of three visual styles:

* **White:** A white bar with a colored left border.
* **Translucent:** A semi-transparent fill using the service's color.
* **Opaque:** A solid fill using the service's color.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Calendar Appearance">
    Go to **Settings** and select **Calendar Appearance**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Styles per Status">
    For each appointment status, select a visual variant. The available statuses are:

    * **Reserved** -- The time slot has been held, but the patient has not paid the booking fee.
    * **Pending** -- The appointment is scheduled but not yet confirmed by the patient.
    * **Confirmed** -- The patient has confirmed the appointment.
    * **Completed** -- The appointment has been completed.
    * **No-show** -- The patient did not attend the appointment.
    * **Cancelled** -- The appointment has been cancelled.

    A live preview appears next to each status so you can see how the style will look on the calendar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save changes** when you are done.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Appointment Icons

Appointment icons are small indicators displayed on calendar events to convey additional context at a glance. Each icon type represents a specific condition:

| Icon Type          | Meaning                                    |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| Booking Fee Paid   | Patient has paid the booking fee           |
| New Patient        | First appointment for this patient         |
| Scheduled by AI    | Appointment was booked by the AI assistant |
| Form Completed     | Patient has completed required forms       |
| Form Not Completed | Patient has not completed required forms   |
| Checked In         | Patient has checked in for the appointment |
| Online Booking     | Patient self-scheduled online              |

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add an Icon">
    In the **Appointment Icons** section, click **Add Icon**. Select the icon type, choose an emoji or color, and save.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Edit or Delete">
    Use the **edit** and **delete** buttons next to each configured icon to modify or remove it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Understanding Capacity, Double Booking, and Multiple Bookings

These three settings sound similar but control completely different things. Here's how they differ:

| Setting                     | Where It Lives                                 | What It Controls                                                                    | Who It Affects             |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| **Provider Capacity**       | Settings > Self-Scheduling > General           | Max concurrent patients a provider can see in the same time slot                    | The provider's calendar    |
| **Allow Double Booking**    | Settings > Services > Scheduling & Booking tab | Whether a specific service can overlap with other appointments on the same provider | A single service type      |
| **Allow Multiple Bookings** | Settings > Self-Scheduling > General           | Whether a patient can book a new appointment when they already have one scheduled   | The patient booking online |

### Provider Capacity

This is a **per-provider limit**. If Dr. Smith's capacity is set to 3, she can have up to 3 patients scheduled in the same time slot. This applies regardless of which services are booked. Think of it as: "How many chairs does this provider have in their room?"

The default capacity for each provider is set in **Settings > Self-Scheduling > General > Provider Capacity**, but you can also override it on individual shifts. When editing or creating a shift in **Shift Management**, there is an optional **Capacity** field. If you set a capacity on a shift, it completely overrides the provider's default for the duration of that shift. If you leave it empty, the provider's default capacity applies.

This is useful when a provider's capacity varies depending on the type of work. For example, Dr. Smith might handle 3 patients at a time during a general consultation shift but only 1 during a surgical shift.

### Allow Double Booking (Service-Level)

This is a **per-service toggle**. When enabled on a service, that service can be scheduled at the same time as another appointment on the same provider. When off, the system treats the service as exclusive — no other appointments can overlap it on that provider's calendar. Think of it as: "Can this service share a time slot with something else?"

**How it interacts with Provider Capacity:** A provider with capacity set to 1 can **never** have overlapping appointments, even if every service has double booking enabled. Capacity is the hard ceiling. Double booking is a per-service permission that works *within* the capacity limit.

<Warning>
  Setting a provider's capacity to 1 effectively disables double booking for that provider, regardless of service-level settings.
</Warning>

### Allow Multiple Bookings (Self-Scheduling)

This has nothing to do with overlapping time slots. It controls whether a **patient** can book a second appointment when they already have an upcoming one. When off, a patient who already has an appointment scheduled will be blocked from booking another one through self-scheduling. Staff can still book additional appointments for the patient manually from the calendar.

### Quick Examples

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I want Dr. Smith to see 2 patients at a time" defaultOpen>
    Set Dr. Smith's **Provider Capacity** to 2 in Settings > Self-Scheduling > General.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Botox can overlap with other appointments, but Laser cannot" defaultOpen>
    Enable **Allow Double Booking** on the Botox service. Leave it off on Laser.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Patients shouldn't book a second appointment if they already have one" defaultOpen>
    Disable **Allow Multiple Bookings** in the self-scheduling settings.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Dr. Smith has capacity 2, but Laser should take the full slot" defaultOpen>
    Keep capacity at 2, but disable **Allow Double Booking** on Laser. The Laser appointment fills the slot even though the provider could technically see 2 patients.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Checklist Completion

Control when an appointment is automatically marked as complete based on its checklist items. This setting is configured per service.

By default, checking the last item in the checklist automatically marks the appointment as complete — even if some required items were skipped. You can turn this off per service to require that every required item is finished before the appointment closes out.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to Service Settings">
    Go to **Settings > Services**, then open the service you want to configure.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Checklists Tab">
    Select the **Checklists** tab in the service editor.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle the Setting">
    Turn **Auto-complete on Last Item** on or off:

    * **On** (default): Checking the last item automatically marks the appointment as complete, even if other required items remain.
    * **Off**: The appointment auto-completes only when every required checklist item is done. Checking the last item alone is not enough.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  This setting is configured per service. If an appointment has multiple services, the stricter rule applies whenever any of the services has this setting turned off.
</Info>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="When should I turn this off?">
    Turn this off if staff are skipping required steps by checking the last item on the list. Disabling it ensures every required step is completed before the appointment closes out.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to in-progress appointments?">
    The setting takes effect immediately. Any appointment that has not yet been marked complete will follow the new rule going forward. Appointments already marked complete are not affected.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Advanced Configuration

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Blacklist vs. Archiving a Patient">
    Blacklisting a patient only blocks them from self-scheduling. Staff can still book appointments for blacklisted patients manually through the calendar. To fully prevent all interactions with a patient record, use the **Archive** function on the patient's profile instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Permissions">
    * **View Scheduling Settings** -- Required to view the self-scheduling settings, provider capacity, and patient blacklist.
    * **Manage Scheduling Settings** -- Required to modify self-scheduling rules, update provider capacity, and manage the patient blacklist.
    * **View Settings** -- Required to view bookable resources and calendar appearance settings.
    * **Manage Settings** -- Required to create/edit/delete bookable resources and change calendar appearance settings.

    Admin users have full access to all scheduling settings by default.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bookable Conflicts">
    When a bookable resource is assigned to multiple services, the system automatically checks for conflicts during scheduling. If a room or piece of equipment is already reserved for an appointment during a given time slot, that resource will not be available for other appointments. This check applies to both self-scheduling and manual booking from the calendar.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
