📝 Overview
Appointment types are central to your practice's operations in ChiroHD. They define scheduling structure, charge expectations, and provider availability. This guide provides an in-depth overview of how to create, configure, and optimize appointment types within System Settings → Appointment Settings → Appointment Types.
Expect a bit of cross-navigation with other system settings—but it’s all designed to bring clarity and consistency to your clinic’s calendar and reporting.
Creating Appointment Types
Naming & Abbreviations
Name the appointment type clearly (e.g., Adjustment, New Patient Exam, Report of Findings).
Include an abbreviation to optimize visibility in compact views like Patient Snapshot → Appointment Summary Area.
Appointment Categories
Assigning Categories
Used to determine appointment type behavior in various system tools (e.g., mobile app, patient snapshot).
Supported categories for scheduling app:
✅ Adjustment
✅ Pregnancy Adjustment
✅ Massage
📌 Special Functions:
New Patient category: Auto-populates for new patients during calendar scheduling.
Reassessment category: Populates last exam date in both Patient Snapshot and SOAP note screen.
Laser: Reserved for franchise-specific custom reports.
Pregnancy Adjustment: Auto-applies when a patient is marked as pregnant.
Provider Types
👤 Match Appointment Types to Provider Roles
Each appointment must be linked to one or more provider types.
Calendars are associated with provider types through User Setup.
✅ Only appointment types assigned to a provider type will be schedulable on their calendar.
📌 For example:
Chiropractic appointments → Chiropractors only
Massage therapy → Massage therapists
Shared types (e.g., Phone Calls, X-rays) → Can be assigned to multiple provider types
⚠️ Troubleshooting Tip: If an appointment won’t schedule and shows a spinning wheel, check if that provider type has appointment types assigned.
Valid Charge Types for Health Check
🩺 Charge Validation for Reporting Accuracy
Links appointment types to charge categories from your Reporting Configuration.
Ensures appointments appear on the Appointments Missing Charges Health Check report only when appropriate.
📌 Example:
Charlie Brown has a New Patient appointment but no matching charge (New Patient or Chiropractic Visit).
➡️ Add a valid charge to clear from report.
Appointment Duration & Calendar Configuration
⏱️ Length and Alignment
Appointment durations should align with calendar intervals (e.g., 10, 15, 30 minutes).
Misalignment can lead to overlapping appointments or hidden entries.
📌 To schedule multiple patients every 15 minutes:
Use multi-column scheduling with proper appointment durations (e.g., 15 min x 2 columns).
Use 5-minute calendar intervals if mixing durations like 10 and 15 minutes.
Columns per Appointment
🗂️ Control Calendar Density
Calendars can show up to 10 columns per time slot.
Each appointment can span 1–10 columns, managing how many can be scheduled simultaneously.
📌 Example Scenarios:
New patient = 2 columns
Adjustments = 1 column
Workshop = all columns (blocks time entirely)
🧠 Use columns to protect complex appointments from overbooking.
Appointment Colors
🎨 Visual Cues for Appointments
Set a main color for each appointment type.
Subtypes can adjust the drop-down arrow box color or even the full appointment card.
📌 Example:
Adjustment (main color)
Adjustment with Pregnancy subtype → Drop-down turns pink
⚠️ Subtypes do not trigger reporting or text reminders.
Eligible for Auto Assign (Calling Module)
📞 Calling Module Compatibility
Auto-assign only applies to standard adjusting area appointments.
Do not enable for:
New patient exams
Exams needing specific rooms (e.g., X-rays, consultations)
✅ Use auto-assign for high-volume, flow-based adjusting practices.
Internal Appointments
🔒 Non-Patient Scheduling Tools
Internal appointments serve as reminders for staff and do not impact:
Text reminders
SOAP notes
Reporting
📌 Examples:
Phone call follow-up
Financial audit
Time blocks to prevent scheduling
Inactivating and Merging Appointment Types
🗃️ Maintain Data Integrity
You cannot delete appointment types (compliance reasons).
Use “Set to Inactive” to hide unused types.
Use “Merge” to consolidate appointment types under a single label.
📌 Example:
Merge “Phone Call” into “Workshop” if no longer needed.
✅ Key Takeaways
Match appointment durations to calendar intervals to prevent layout issues.
Use columns to control appointment load per time block.
Assign correct provider types to ensure smooth scheduling.
Link valid charge types to avoid missed revenue.
Use subtypes and colors for visual clarity, but keep their limitations in mind.
Leverage auto-assign and internal appointment features to streamline clinical workflows.
📌 Conclusion
Thoroughly configuring your appointment types ensures that every part of your clinic’s scheduling—from provider calendars to patient charge validation—is smooth, consistent, and efficient. Be strategic in how you utilize duration, provider type, columns, and categories to support clinic growth and service clarity. Don't forget to save each change and audit your setup regularly to align with your clinic’s evolving needs.
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