Internal vs. External Appointments: Best Practices for Scheduling
Internal appointments are scheduled by staff within Clinic HQ, while external appointments are made online by public clients. The best practice is to encourage clients to schedule online, though internal appointments may be needed for certain clients. Volunteers can use the E-Appointment form without access to Clinic HQ.
What is an Internal Appointment?
Internal appointments are those made by your staff within Clinic HQ. Volume client appointments can only be made internally, while public appointments can be scheduled both internally and externally.
What is an External Appointment?
An external appointment is one that clients make themselves online. Only public clients have the option to make appointments externally.
Our powerful scheduling engine will only provide dates and times to users where you have availability, so there’s zero chance you can be overbooked. On this note, there’s a fundamental concept that is imperative to understand. Right when the user requests the appointment online, it is pulled off of your calendar, even if you haven’t “confirmed” it yet. This ensures there’s no chance of overbooking.
Should We Be Making Appointments Internally or Externally?
The best approach is to encourage clients to schedule their own appointments online. While some executive directors may worry that their clientele will struggle with online scheduling, our case studies—one conducted on the Hopi Reservation and another on the Laguna Reservation—show that nearly everyone can successfully schedule appointments online. In fact, out of 100 appointments made for Hopi dogs, only five required a follow-up phone call with the owner.
To determine if clients prefer online scheduling, we provided a link, QR code, or phone number, and found that 95% of clients preferred to make appointments online. It’s a misconception that clients can’t or don’t want to schedule appointments online.
That said, you may still need to make appointments internally for clients who are elderly, unfamiliar with the technology, or lack access to a computer. In these cases, you will need to schedule the appointment directly within Clinic HQ.
Volunteers and Appointment Making
It’s not advisable to give every volunteer access to your Clinic HQ. Instead, if volunteers are helping clients sign up, they can use the E-Appointment form available on your website, which doesn’t require access to Clinic HQ.
