Scheduling Hold Times

To schedule a hold time on the grid,

Ensure that the resource for whom you would like to schedule the hold time is placed in a column.
Navigate to the appropriate date using the Navigation Calendar.
Select the appropriate time on the grid, then right-click and select Hold from the Scheduling Palette.
The Edit Hold Time screen displays. Complete the fields on the screen according to the following descriptions/definitions.

Reason: Click the Select button next to either Reason or Procedure to open the corresponding Search dialog. Search for and select the appropriate reason or procedure.

Color: Select a color appropriate to the hold time. The default color is yellow, but this may have been changed by the system administrator. Follow whatever business rules your organization has established to do one of the following:

Accept the default,
Click the Color Cube and select one of the colors provided, or
Enable the Use Procedure Color option to use whatever color was assigned to the procedure.

Portal: Decide whether the Show in Portal by Default option should be enabled.

Portal Duration: If the hold time is exposed to Portal users, this option sets the appointment length for the appointment options that portal users will see. For example, you can create one 2-hour long hold time on the grid, but if the default duration is set to 15 minutes, portal users will see 8 different appointment options—one every 15 minutes over the 2-hour duration of the hold.

The Patient Portal will show only those options in which the default appointment length can be completed. For example, if the default duration is set to 30 minutes, but the last open time slot begins at 9:45 a.m. and the hold time ends at 10:00 a.m., the Patient Portal will not show an appointment option for the last 15 minutes of the hold time.

Scheduling Details: This panel displays the resource for whom the hold is being scheduled, the start date, the start time, domain (where appropriate), and the initial duration for the hold.

NOTE – You can hover your cursor over the duration to display the spinner controls and adjust the duration if necessary.

Recurring: This panel provides options for creating a hold that recurs over time. If appropriate click the drop-down and choose from the following:

Daily

Weekly

Bi-Weekly

Monthly

Additional options will appear in the panel depending on the frequency selected. For example, the Daily option requires a choice between (a) Every Work Day and (b) Every Day. The Weekly option provides a list of the weekdays from which you specify the days on which the hold occurs. Do either of the following:

Enter a date range in the Start and End dates for the hold and make the appropriate day selections (e.g., Daily, or MTWTHF).
Enter a Start Date and the Exact Number of appointments authorized for this hold time.

NOTE – If you enter an Exact Number in the date range, appointments will be scheduled up to the number you specify. So if you specify a Daily hold over a range of 4 weeks, for example, but specify 5 in the Exact Number field, only 5 hold appointments will be scheduled

Comments: Enter any relevant information regarding the hold of which you want personnel to be aware.

Click Continue.

The program will check for conflicts and post the hold times. If conflicts are detected, the Resolve Conflicts screen will appear. Conflicts are resolved according to individual scheduling rights and workflow preferences of the organization.

Key Considerations

Hold times are indicated by an H in the status part of the scheduling cells, and a P will appear in the lower right corner if the hold is exposed to the Patient Portal. Hold times will also appear in the color selected and for the days selected. The display text of the hold time is the description of the reason or procedure that was selected.
Reasons and Procedures are usually created during the initial configuration of the database and include anything required by the organization.