Both new and existing clients can submit appointment requests through the pet portal. These requests are displayed directly in Shepherd so you can easily locate and suggest an available appointment time to the client. Once an appointment time is suggested, the client will be able to confirm directly from their email or portal.
Client: Appointment Request Submission
New clients will see an appointment request button directly from the pet portal without having to log in. Existing clients will also see an appointment request button after logging in to their portal.
First, the client will select the request appointment button. If a new client, they will enter their contact information. Once contact information is entered, they will click next.
The client will then select which pet(s) the appointment is for. If a new client, or even a new pet for an existing client, the client will enter their pet's information.
After selecting which pet(s) will be coming in, the client will be prompted to fill in the reason for the visit and have an option to note their preferred doctor.
Note: an update is coming soon that will provide a dropdown list of active doctor users in your account for the client to select from.
Next, the client will select which day(s) of the week works best for their schedule.
Note: an update is coming soon so only days that you have set up within your office hours will be displayed. For example, if your practice is closed on Sunday then Sunday won't be an option for the client to select when submitting the request.
After selecting the day, the client will then select the best time(s) of the day that works for their schedule.
The client will then see an appointment summary to confirm everything is correct and also add any special requests or instructions.
After submission of the request, the client will see a confirmation in the portal and will also receive an email confirming that the request has been submitted.
Practice: Appointment Suggestion
Once a client submits an appointment request, you will see the request listed under the 'Requests' tab in the 'Schedule' menu. A red dot will appear in the menu alerting you that there is a request, or a reschedule, that needs action.
Once a request is received, you will select the dropdown arrow to expand the request details. From there you will be able to see the reason for visit, preferred day(s), and time(s), along with any special requests or instructions.
Next, you will select 'Suggest Appointment'.
This will open the appointment scheduled so you can find an available day and time to suggest to the client. Once a time is located, you will just select the time and it will apply the client to that appointment slot. You will complete the remaining appointment information such as appointment type and also have the option to add a note that will get added to the email notification sent to the client.
After you select 'Suggest Appointment', this will apply the pending request to your schedule and send the client an email notification that they have a new suggestion to either confirm, reschedule, or cancel.
The appointment will also show under the 'Pending Confirmation' section of the appointment requests in Shepherd.
Client: Confirmation, Reschedule, or Cancellation
Confirmation
If the suggested time works for the client's schedule, they will select 'Schedule'. This will update the pending request on the schedule to "Upcoming" and the listing in the request tab will be moved the the 'Scheduled' section. No further action is needed from you or the client.
Appointments scheduled for new clients through Pet Portal Appointment requests will have an indication badge present when viewing the appointment block from the main appointment calendar for easy identification and visibility.
Reschedule
If the suggested time does not work for the client's schedule, they will select 'Reschedule'. This will prompt the client to share what other days or times would work better.
Once the client submits the reschedule request, the appointment will be listed under 'Requests' section of the appointment requests in Shepherd. From here, you can suggest another appointment time for the client.
Cancellation
After the client receives an appointment suggestion, they can choose to cancel it at any time. If the client cancels, the appointment will be listed under the 'Canceled' section of the appointment requests in Shepherd.