Managing your schedule availability in the EHR

This article will guide you through creating and editing availability holds to manage your schedule in AdvancedMD's EHR. 

It includes how availability affects patient scheduling, creating initial visits and follow-up holds, creating recurring holds, and using your calendar to manage your caseload. It provides a video and a resource on how to best set up your schedule.

Whether you use the new Rula provider portal, or stick to the EHR, it is important to keep your availability up-to-date so that patients can easily schedule appointments with you. Follow along with the step-by-step guide below to set your availability from the EHR.

While availability is primarily for new client appointments, your existing clients can reschedule single sessions directly from their patient portal. These rescheduled sessions will use your existing availability.

If you prefer that your client reschedule with you directly, tell them to contact you via email, phone, or Portal messaging for schedule changes.

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 walks you through how to set your availability for new clients by creating, editing, and deleting scheduling holds in the EHR.

Guided Steps

Note: Clients from other providers at Rula may show up in the EHR. Click this article for more information: Other clients showing up in your scheduler.

Creating a scheduling hold in the EHR

Note: Patients will be able to book appointments 25 hours before the start of the appointment. The "hold" cancellation window has been adjusted from 24 hours before the appointment to 14 hours before the appointment. We recommend keeping your availability up to date and continuing to monitor your calendars closely for new, upcoming appointments.

As a reminder, Rula will schedule all of your initial visits for you so you don't have to! Because Rula schedules these initial visits for you, we will need to know your available hours.

While availability is primarily for new client appointments, your existing clients can reschedule single sessions directly from their patient portal. These rescheduled sessions will use your existing availability.

If you prefer that your client reschedule with you directly, tell them to contact you via email, phone, or Portal messaging for schedule changes.

To set your availability for new clients follow the steps below:

1. Log into AdvancedMD EHR
2. Click on the Home tab at the top of your screen
3. Choose Scheduler 
4. This opens the single day view of your calendar
5. Click the Weekly View Calendar icon at the top of your screen to switch to the Week View
6. Click on the start time that you are available on your calendar
7. Select New Hold
8. A Hold window will pop-up, complete the fields to create a hold
   1. The appointment TYPE field is always left blank
   2. The "color" is always yellow
   3. The "hold reason" is always Online Scheduling
   4. Adjust the number in the "End Time" field to show the length of your hold
   5. If you have the same time availability each week click "Repeating" and choose Weekly
   6. Select only the days you want the hold to appear
   7. Click "End Date" to set an end date for your hold. We recommend choosing an end date at least a month in the future.
   8. Click "Telemedicine Visits" and choose Allow
   9. Click "Patient Online Booking" and choose Allow
   10. Click "Save"
9. Your availability has now been created! 

Deleting a hold in the EHR

We recommend reviewing and updating your availability on a weekly basis. To remove availability from your calendar, follow the steps below:

1. Open your calendar in the EHR
2. Click on the hold you would like to delete
3. Two options will pop up, "Delete this single hold only" and "delete the entire series."
4. Choose which one you would like, and click "delete" to save
5. The hold will automatically be removed from your schedule