What Does the OPEN Schedule Type Mean?

Do you have patients with flexible schedules? Those who are willing to come in sooner than scheduled, or maybe even willing to be rescheduled to accommodate another patient? If so, you're in luck. Dentrix has a special place for this kind of patient, and it's called the Open List.

To move a patient's appointment to the Open List, in the Appointment Information dialog box, set their Schedule Type to OPEN.

This places the patient's appointment on the Open List but does not remove it from the Appointment Book. Patients on the Open List are patients who you know ahead of time have a flexible schedule and could be moved around. When you have a patient who has limited flexibility and you are having a hard time finding an opening for them, check the Open List to see if you can create a space for that patient by moving a more flexible patient.

The Open List is part of the ASAP List. When you open the ASAP List, you can toggle between ASAP and Open.

To reschedule an appointment from the Open List:

1. From the Appointment Book select Appt Lists > ASAP List.
   
2. Select the View menu.
   
3. In the Types of Search group box, select Open.
4. Change the Span of Search and other filters as desired, then click OK. The Dentrix ASAP List window will display the Open appointments.
   
5. When you contact the patient and he or she agrees to reschedule, you can either drag the appointment from the ASAP List to the Appointment Book to fill a hole, or drag it to the Pinboard while you find an open spot. Dentrix will ask you to confirm that you want to move the appointment. Moving the appointment creates an opening in the Appointment Book, which you can then fill with an appointment for a less flexible patient.

For more information on other Appointment Book Lists, see the “Appointment Lists Overview” topic in the Dentrix Help.