Canceling appointments in the Rula provider portal

On some occasions, you may need to cancel an appointment with a client. Whenever possible, we ask that you give at least 24 hours' notice before a cancellation. We ask for 24 hours' notice from clients when they need to cancel appointments with therapists as well. Having the same expectations for therapists and clients builds a foundation for mutual respect and can help smooth any potentially distressing feelings surrounding cancellations.

The following appointments cannot be canceled from within the Rula provider portal:

• pending initial appointments for new clients that Rula is in the process of confirming
• appointments in the past (they will be marked as appointment did not happen)

This article provides a video and step-by-step guide for canceling single and recurring appointments in the Rula provider portal.

Video Demonstration

Note: We're now Rula! You may still hear Path in our videos from time to time and we appreciate your patience while we continue to update our content to align with our new name.

This video provides guided steps for canceling single and recurring appointments in the Rula provider portal.

Guided Steps

Canceling single appointments

To cancel a scheduled appointment:

1. Log into the Rula provider portal.
2. Stay on the Schedule tab.
3. Click on the appointment you wish to cancel. Remember, you can only cancel confirmed, future appointments.
4. Click on the three dots in the top corner for more options.
5. Click Cancel Appointment.
6. A pop-up will appear.
   • If this is for a future initial appointment, select one of the following reasons for this cancellation:
     • I'm not accepting new clients
     • I'm not available at this time
     • I don't treat this client demographic
     • I don't treat this client's presenting problem
       Note: If you select I'm not accepting new clients here, Rula will pause new clients automatically.
   • If this is for a future follow-up appointment, select one of the following reasons for this cancellation:
     • I'm not available at this time
     • Client is not available at this time
     • Another therapist would be better for this client
     • I've already completed a higher level of care request for this patient
     • Client has completed treatment
     • Something else
   • If you have selected client is not available at this time and the appointment is less than 24 hours away, an additional question will pop up.
     • Select whether you would like to charge the client the cancellation fee or waive it.

1. • If you select No - charge the cancellation fee, you'll receive a message stating that you must first complete the Missed Appt. Note before you can continue with the cancellation.
   • Note: It is vital that you complete the note first or you'll not be paid for the no-show.

1. If needed, open up a new tab, go to AMD EHR, submit the missed appointment note, then come back to the Rula provider portal.
2. Click Confirm note complete to cancel the appointment.
   • Once an appointment is canceled, you cannot submit a missed appointment note.
3. Once you confirm the note has been signed, a moving purple circle will appear at the top of the page indicating that the app is canceling the appointment.
   • This may take a few seconds. Do not refresh or leave the tab until the cancelation is confirmed.
4. Once the appointment has been canceled, this will be replaced by a confirmation message with a green checkmark.
5. The appointment will be removed from your calendar.

Note: Whenever an initial appointment is canceled, all automatically booked follow-up appointments between that patient and therapist are also canceled.

Canceling recurring appointments

Once you have clicked Cancel appointment on a session that is part of a recurrence, a message will appear asking if you would also like to cancel all future appointments in the series.

1. Select the option you prefer, if you would like to cancel the single appointment or the entire series.
2. Choose a cancellation reason.
3. Click Yes to save.

Canceling an appointment triggers an email to the client. They will only receive one email, regardless of whether a single appointment or a whole series is canceled.

Marking appointments that did not occur

If a past appointment was not held nor canceled by the client or Rula Support, you should fill out a Missed Appointment Note and then mark the appointment to indicate it did not happen. To do so:

1. Click on the past appointment that did not happen.
2. Click the three dots to view more options.
3. Click Appointment did not happen.
4. Choose one of the following reasons for canceling:
   • EHR/teleconferencing did not work
     • Only select this reason if a tech issue prevented the appointment from occurring, but remember, you should always try to hold the appointment over the phone in these cases.
   • Client did not attend appointment
   • I did not attend appointment
5. Then click Yes.
6. As a reminder, you mush first create and sign a Missed Appointment Note in the EHR before canceling appointments that were not held due to client no-shows or cancellations.
7. When you have done so, navigate back to the portal and click Confirm note complete.
8. You will see a message confirming the appointment did not occur and that you'll be paid.

Understanding Canceled vs. Deleted/Moved Appointments

Rula's provider portal treats canceled and deleted/moved appointments differently. 

• Canceled Appointments: If you cancel an appointment through the provider portal, it will be correctly reflected as canceled. This is the recommended way to handle scheduling changes.
• Deleted Appointments: Appointments that are deleted or moved within AdvancedMD will not automatically update in the Rula provider portal. The appointment will still appear as active, even though it's no longer scheduled from your end.

Using the "delete" or "move" option in AdvancedMD can lead to mismatched schedules and cause confusion for both you and your patients. Always use the "cancel" function within the Rula Provider Portal. This ensures your schedules remain in sync and avoids potential issues.

Viewing Canceled Appointments

Your calendars now show non-canceled events. If you'd like to view canceled appointments, simply select the checkbox labeled Show canceled appointments, located on the top right of the Schedule page.

Once selected, your canceled appointments will appear on your schedule as grey blocks with a strikethrough.