In the Main Menu, click Setup, Appointments, Operatories.

When an appointment is scheduled in an operatory, the operatory's default provider (or hygienist) and clinic are assigned.

See our videos: Operatory and Schedule Setup & Operatory and Schedule Setup for Clinics

Operatories sort order affects the left to right order of operatories in Appointment Views.

• Click the Clinic dropdown or [...] to filter by clinic.
• To change sort order, use the up/down arrows on the right. If a specific clinic is selected, the operatory being moved cannot belong to a Headquarters appointment view.

Add or Edit an Operatory

On the Operatories window, click Add, or double-click an existing operatory to edit.

Op Name: Enter the label for the operatory in the Appointments Module schedule. We recommend keeping it short. Two line titles will wrap, but longer titles will be cut off.

Abbrev (max 5 char): Enter the abbreviation (up to 5 characters) to identify this operatory in various lists throughout the program.

Is Hidden: Check to mark the operatory as hidden. See Remove an Operatory below.

Clinic: Select the clinic associated with this operatory. Defaults to the clinic selected on the Operatories window. When setting up appointment views, operatory clinic assignment affects which operatories can be assigned to the appointment view. For example only clinic A operatories can be assigned to clinic A appointment views.

Provider: Select the default provider assigned to appointments scheduled in the operatory. The provider determines the operatory's color in the appointment schedule (based on the provider's appointment color).

Clinics: If providers are restricted to clinics in Security, only providers available for the selected clinic are options. User Edit

If operatories are assigned to provider time blocks in the schedule, it overrides the operatory provider. Schedule Setup

Hygienist: Select the default hygienist assigned to appointments scheduled in the operatory.

Is Hygiene: Check to assign the hygienist as the default provider when appointments are scheduled in this operatory.

Optional settings:

• Set Prospective: Mark this as an operatory for prospective patients only. Users will be prompted to change the status of any patient scheduled in this operatory to prospective (Edit Patient Information). If the appointment is moved to a non-prospective operatory, users will be prompted to change the status to patient. This is useful in large clinics that frequently set tentative appointments for patients that may not show up.

Web Sched Settings: These settings only affect Web Sched Feature eServices.

• Is Recall: Consider this operatory when determining available time slots for Web Sched Recall appointments. Web Sched Recall
• New Pat Appt Types: Indicates Web Sched New Patient Appointment Types associated with this operatory. Only these appointment types can be scheduled in this operatory, using Web Sched New Patient.
  • Click [...] to select appointment types.
  • Highlight the appointment type(s) then click OK. Also see Definitions: Web Sched New Patient Appt Types, Web Sched New Patient
• Existing Pat Appt Types: Indicates Web Sched Existing Patient Appointment Types associated with this operatory. Only these appointment types can be scheduled in this operatory, using Web Sched Existing Patient.
  • Click [...] to select appointment types.
  • Highlight the appointment type(s) then click OK. Also see Definitions: Web Sched Existing Appt Types, Web Sched Existing Patient

Update Provs on Future Appts: See Update Provs on Future Appts.

Click OK to save operatory settings.

Combine Operatories

In the Operatories window, select multiple operatories with Ctrl + click, click and drag, or Shift + click.

Click Combine. A confirmation message will appear. Click OK to continue.

Highlight the operatory to keep, then click OK.

If appointments are scheduled in both operatories but do not overlap, a message will ask to move the appointments into the merged operatory. Click OK to automatically move the appointments.

If appointments are scheduled in both operatories that do overlap, and the preference, Appointments allow overlap, is not enabled in Preferences, they will need to be manually moved before the operatories can combine. A warning message will appear. Click OK to view a list of conflicting appointments. This list can be printed. When all conflicts are resolved, reopen the Operatories window to combine.

Duplicate operatories will be marked hidden and appointments merged.

Remove an Operatory

To remove an operatory as a selection option for appointment views and various lists, hide it. Hiding an operatory is not allowed if future appointments are scheduled in it. Operatories cannot be deleted.

1. On the Operatories window, double-click the operatory.
2. Check the Is Hidden box.
3. Click Save.

Prompts to Change Provider

When users move an appointment from the Pinboard to the appointment schedule, or from one operatory to another, they may be prompted to change the provider. If operatories are assigned to default providers, or to provider time blocks in the schedule, this is often what they want to do.

To turn the prompt off:

1. Do not assign providers to operatories (Provider or Hygienist).
2. Also make sure provider time blocks are not assigned operatories in the daily schedule.

Provider Logic

A provider will be automatically assigned to an appointment using the logic in the following order:

1. The provider scheduled in the operatory. See Schedule Setup.
2. The provider assigned to the operatory. See above.
3. The patient's primary provider. See Edit Patient Information.