Direct Scheduling is enables you to quickly create a single appointment on the Appointment Book. This is great functionality because some of the fields are automatically populated for you, which saves time. Note: When you schedule an appointment for a patient who has subscribed to the myUHNPatientPortal, they will get an email notification of their upcoming appointment.
Direct Scheduling video (5:30)
Direct Scheduling video transcript
Follow the following four steps to schedule an appointment using the Direct Scheduling Method.
· Step 1: Select the Date and Time
· Step 2: Enter the Patient Information
· Step 3: Enter the Appointment Information
· Step 4: Add the Visit and Insurance Info
o The Appointment Automatically Schedules to the Appointment Book
1. Click on the Calendar Icon
2. Use the arrows above the calendar to navigate to the date of your desired appointment.
3. Double click inside the desired timeslot.
4. In the Patient Search window, enteryour patient’s MRN number into the Enterprise Person Number field, then click Search.
5. Confirm that the name in the Patient Search Results window is correct, then click OK.
6. The Patient Scheduling screen appears. This is where you must enter all of the appointment details. Notice that the Unit, Practitioner, date and time are already filled in for you.
7. Click the magnifying glass beside the Procedure field. This will open a new window with a list of options.
1 From the list of options, select the short procedure name. This is the abbreviated procedure name.
2 If desired, enter a comment after the long procedure name, which will print on the daily patient lists that are generated by PHS.
8. The Procedures and Sets window now appears. The list of options available will depend on the workflow of your unit. Select the appropriate Procedure and click OK.
9. Enter the referring physician’s name into the Referring field and then click the magnifying glass.
· Note: The naming convention in PHS is the first four letters of the physician’s last name and the first four letters of their first name. E.g. LASTFIRS.
10. The Referring Physician window appears, giving you a list of options. Select the desired physician and click OK. It is critical that you enter the correct referring practitioner in this field.
· Check that you have selected the correct practitioner by scrolling on the Referring Physician window and reviewing their phone number. See The Patient Scheduling Screen Overview for further details.
11. Click on the magnifying glass beside the Appt. class field, and select the appropriate option based on the workflow on your unit. Then click the Find Visit button.
12. The Visits for Patient window appears. You must always click on the New button, in order for a visit to be created in EPR. This screen lists all the patient’s visits in EPR. You want to create a new visit.
13. The Edit Visit for Patient window appears. Click on the magnifying glass beside the Patient type field.
Tip: If you are unsure of which button to click on the screen, click on the OK button, it will prompt you.
The Edit Visit for Patient window appears.
At the top of this window, only one field is mandatory: Patient type. Click on the magnifying glass beside the Patient type field.
14. Select the Patient Type according to your workflow, then click OK. This is important for funding. Please see the PHS Terminology topic for Patient Type definitions.
15. Once you have selected the Patient type, click the OK button again.
16. Click the OK button to close this window.
17. Click on the bottom right magnifying glass to open a list of insurance options. By completing this field, all four mandatory Insurance fields will populate.
Tip: If desired, you can type into the field before clicking on the magnifying glass. This will narrow down your options, e.g. type o for OHIP, or sun for Sun Life. See the Patient Types and Insurance Options in PHS topic for more details.
18. Select the correct Insurance Plan then click OK.
19. Your Edit Visit for Patient window should now have all the required information. Click OK to close the window.
20. You are brought back to the Patient Scheduling window. Double check to ensure all the required fields are complete. If there are any patient preparations for this appointment, the Pat. Preps button will be outlined in red. Be sure to read this important information and communicate it to your patient. Click the Save button.
Note: If you need to edit the visit information that you just entered, select Edit Visit in the bottom right corner.
21. After clicking Save, sometimes a Procedure Comments window appears. Be sure to read the information thoroughly. Click OK. Note: Sometimes procedure comments, or a form with questions, will appear after scheduling the appointment as well.
22. Your appointment now appears on the Appointment Book. Because the selection bar covers the appointment, click on a different part of the Appointment Book to deselect. You can now see the appointment with your patient’s name.
Note: If an Appointment Conflict appears, this means that you have booked the appointment in a timeslot in which the practitioner is not available. You will then need to drag the appointment down to the scheduling package to see availabilities. Reschedule the appointment to the green space. To understand green space availabilities, see the topic on How PHS Works.
