📖 RECOMMENDED READINGThis article provides a quick guide on how providers can set up their calendar to manage patient appointments in their Elation EHR. If you plan to use the Booking Site feature with Elation, we recommend reading the
Patient Booking Site Guide first.
Contents
Overview
Understanding Scheduling Privileges for Providers and Staff
Before setting up your calendar, it's helpful to understand how scheduling-related privileges differ between Provider Level Users and Staff Level Users.
- Only Provider Level Users have their own Calendar in Elation.
- If you are a Provider Level User, the Calendar will always default to showing your own Calendar.
- If you are a Staff Level User in a multi-provider practice, the Calendar will default to showing the Calendar for the provider you set as your Default physician under Settings >> User Settings. If you have not set a Default physician, the Calendar will default to the first provider alphabetically by first name.
- If the practice has only one Provider Level User, the Calendar will always default to showing that provider's Calendar for all users.
- If your practice uses Workspaces, you may not see certain provider calendars depending on your Workspace configuration. See the Workspaces and scheduling visibility section below for details.
- Regular Providers, Non-Prescribing Providers, and Limited Use Providers can activate and use the telehealth Zoom feature.
- On Call Providers cannot activate the telehealth Zoom feature themselves, but they can start virtual visits from a Regular or Non-Prescribing Provider's calendar.
- Staff Level Users can start virtual visits from a Regular or Non-Prescribing Provider's calendar but cannot activate the telehealth feature independently.
Premium EHR Users should review the sections below for more details about our specific features interact with appointments and their Calendars.
How chart access controls affect appointment access
Your practice may use chart access controls that affect what users can do when viewing appointments.
- Viewing appointments vs. opening charts: Staff members can view appointment times and details on the Calendar. However, if chart access restrictions are in place (such as VIP Charts or Patient Cohorts), they may not be able to open certain patient charts even if they can see the scheduled appointment. If your practice uses Workspaces, users may also be unable to see certain provider calendars. See the Workspaces and scheduling visibility section below for more information.
- VIP Charts: When a chart is marked as VIP, only the Provider assigned in practice can access it without restriction. Other users may see a warning or be blocked entirely, even if you can see their appointment on the Calendar.
- Patient Cohorts: Patient Cohorts allow practices to automatically restrict chart access based on patient criteria. If a patient is assigned to a cohort and you are not a member of that cohort, you may be unable to open the patient's chart even if you can see their appointment on the Calendar.
- Block All Chart Access: Admin Level Users can revoke a user's access to all patient charts. Users without chart access will see an "Unauthorized access" page when attempting to open any patient chart, but they will still be able to see the appointment on the Calendar.
For more information, see the User Accounts Guide- Chart access permission control options article.
Workspaces and scheduling visibility
If your practice uses the Workspaces feature, scheduling visibility may vary based on your Workspace configuration.
People List and Calendar visibility
- The People List resource in Workspaces controls which Provider Level Users appear for selection when viewing Provider Calendars and scheduling appointments.
- By default, all Provider Level Users appear in the Calendar and appointments unless a specific User Group is selected in the People List settings.
- Providers will always have access to their own Calendars, regardless of Workspace settings.
Time zone display
- If you are using Workspaces, the availability displayed on your Calendar will reflect the time zone configured for your Workspace.
Switching between Workspaces to see related Calendars
- If you belong to multiple Workspaces, you can switch between them to see the related Calendars by clicking the Workspace dropdown next to your email in the blue navigation bar at the top of Elation.
- Admin Level Users can use the Return to practice view option to see all resources within the EHR regardless of Workspace membership.
Non-Admin User View
Admin User View
For more details, see the Workspaces Introduction article.
Workflow Instructions
Accessing the Calendar Settings
The Elation Calendar settings is in Settings >> Calendar & Booking. The main calendar related sections here are Appointments, Calendar view, Reminders, and Rooms.
Managing Appointment Types
Appointment types are the different appointment options you can utilize in the Elation Calendar. By default, Elation will load the following Appointment Types to new Elation accounts to start you off:
- Follow-Up
- Office Visit
- Physical Exam
- Walk-in
- New Patient
- Procedure
Creating a new appointment type
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Navigate to Settings.
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Click Calendar and Booking in the Settings options.
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Click Add Appointment Type.
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Fill out all of the sections as described in the images below.
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Click Save.
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Reload your Practice Home to allow your updates to display.
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💡 USER TIPS
- Learn more about the auto-created visit note feature here.
- You can add multiple visit note templates to a single appointment type. This means that, for telehealth visits, you only need to have one "Telehealth" visit note template that can be layered on top of any other visit note template relevant to the appointment type (e.g. Annual Wellness for Women).
Editing an existing appointment type
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Click Edit on the appointment type that you wish to edit.
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Enter the changes to the appointment type.
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Click Save.
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Reload your Practice Home to allow your updates to display.
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Removing an existing appointment type
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Click Delete on the appointment type you wish to remove.
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Reload your Practice Home to allow your updates to display.
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💡 USER TIP
If there are any past or currently scheduled appointments that are assigned the type that you remove, those appointments will continue to keep that appointment type. Removing an appointment type means that you will no longer be able to create new appointments with that type.
Sorting appointment types
Click and drag the handle 
on the left hand side of the appointment type to re-order it. The order of your appointment types in Settings will be reflected in the Appointment type drop-down menu in the Create an Event window in the Elation calendar.
Managing the Calendar View
To edit the way your calendar displays information, go to the Calendar view tab under the Calendar & Booking settings page.
- Appointment Time Block Intervals: Set the duration of the appointment time block intervals in the Calendar for everyone in your practice. For example, if you set the block interval at 15 minutes, the scheduler will display times throughout the day in 15-minute increments.
- Hide the durations under the patients name on appointments and on events: If you wish to hide durations that show up on appointment and events, move the toggle to appear green.
- Show Canceled Appointments: If you wish to see canceled appointments in the calendar, move the toggle to appear green.
💡 USER TIPS
- If there is only one provider in the practice, the Calendar will always default to showing that provider's Calendar.
- If you are provider viewing the Calendar in a multi-provider practice, the Calendar will always default to showing your Calendar.
- If you are a staff viewing the Calendar in a multi-provider practice, the Calendar will default to showing the Calendar for the provider you set as your Default physician under Settings -> User Settings.
Managing Exam Rooms
To add, edit, and delete exam room names that you can use from the Elation Calendar, go to the Rooms section in the Calendar & Booking settings page. You will be able to select from your list of exam rooms after you select one of the "In Room" options for the appointment's status.
Creating a new exam room
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Click + Add room.
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Fill out the room name.
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Click Save.
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Editing an existing exam room
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Click Edit on the room that you wish to edit.
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Change the room name.
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Click Save.
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Removing an existing exam room
Click Delete on the room that you wish to remove.
Using automated Appointment Reminders
Your practice can choose to send up to 3 appointment reminders to patients ahead of a scheduled patient visit. Elation's automated appointment reminders help ensure that your patients have the information they need to attend their visit and will decrease the number of no shows on your schedule.
Our system uses the following logic to determine which notification to send:
- Preferred contact method. If not, then:
- SMS Text to the mobile phone number. If not, then:
- Email notification to the email address. If not, then:
- Phone call to a home or main phone number.
ℹ️ NOTE
Appointment reminder notifications cannot be sent to work, night, fax or other phone numbers.
To turn on appointment reminders, go to the Reminders tab and follow the instructions in the Automated Appointment Reminders article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add additional time block intervals to the settings?
The time block intervals options cannot be adjusted at this time. Elation will notify you if this changes in the future.
Can I add additional colors for appointment types?
The appointment type color options cannot be adjusted at this time. Elation will notify you if this changes in the future.
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