Configuring Calling Rules - Atlas Chiropractic Systems

It is possible to assign ‘Rules’ to certain situations that occur during Patient Sign-In, to help the software direct the Calling System. This includes putting specific Patients on ‘hold’, directing specific Patients to a specific Table or Room and taking manual operation of the Calling System.

Holding Patients:

Holding a Patient from the Calling Queue, stops that Patient from being automatically directed to an available

Table. ‘Holds’ can be done manually by the Front Desk staff or pre-configured.

• Manually Holding Patients: the easiest way to Hold a Patient is manually.

Once the Patient has ‘arrived’ into the System, their name will appear in the Provider Queue. Right- click on the Patient name in the queue and choose HOLD. Notice the number beside the Patient name changes to a code or blank. This indicates the Patient is on HOLD. To Release this HOLD, right click on the Patient name again and choose RELEASE. Notice a number reappear.

NOTE: The number indicates how many minutes the Patient has been in the queue.

• Appointment Types: Patients can be placed on Hold because of their specific Appointment Type for that day. Ex: Patient arrives for an XRay and shouldn’t be automatically directed to the Adjusting Table.

Setup > Initial Setup > Appointment Types

In the Appointment Type configuration screen, we are going to focus on the HOLD checkbox. To place the ‘hold’, simply check off Hold on the Appt Type screen.

When a Patient Signs-In for a ’12 Week Exam’ Appointment (in the above example image) they will not be called to a Room. Instead, they will appear in the Queue, with the code ‘12’ next to their name. This will indicate they are ‘on

hold’ for their ’12 Week Exam’ appointment. The same scenario will apply to the ‘Anniversary Exam/Con’ appointment; except now the Patient would appear in the Queue with the code ‘AX’ (the Queue can only accommodate the first two characters of the Appointment code).

This method of ‘holding’ will carry over to the System Settings screen.

Setup > Initial Setup > System Settings

In the System Settings window, open the Pitstop Tab to access a similar Appointment Type setup box. Notice the column labeled ‘Hold Q’ and how it corresponds to the column ‘Hold’ from the Appointment Types screen. Changes made to either screen will sync in both places.

It is very important to ensure that changes you make are correct, as they will affect other areas of the software.

• Pitstops: Patients can also be placed ‘on hold’ when they receive specific Pitstop messages. This can be when they receive Personal Pitstop messages or when they automatically receive a Pitstop based on the System Configuration. We will quickly review the Pitstop option in this section; focusing on how to

setup the Pitstop to ‘hold’; however, to understand Pitstops, refer to the Atlas User Manual.

To create a Personal Pitstop, open the specific Patient file and click on the PITSTOP button. When setting up the Pitstop message click the option ‘Hold In Queue’. This parameter will reflect in the Pitstop schedule with a check in the cell ‘Hold’.

To link a Pitstop Message to an Appointment Type (ex: to alert a Patient they have a specific Appointment when they sign-in) navigate to the System Settings window.

Setup> Initial Setup > System Setting

Under the Pitstop Tab, access the Appointment Type setup box (as we did the the previous topic). However, this time, click on the Edit Message Types button to Add or Edit Pitstop Messages and configure the ‘hold’ option for each.

These Pistop Message Types (Templates) can be applied to certain situations; such as Appointments, Patients who arrive Early or Late or without an Appointment at all (walk-ins). To learn how to configure and apply these Pitstop Messages, refer to the Pitstop section of the Atlas User Manual.
For the purposes of this topic, we will focus on the Hold option when configuring the Message Type.

For example, a Message Type is created to alert a Patient when they sign-in without having an Appointment scheduled (walk-in). This Message Type is configured to HOLD the Patient from Calling. This benefits the Front Desk by ensuring that Patients with Appointments stay on schedule and that ‘walk-in’ Patients are not negatively affecting the office flow. These ‘walk-in’ Patients can then be ‘released’ into the Calling Queue as required.

NOTE: any HOLD placed on a situation takes precedence over any option to NOT HOLD. This means that if the Appointment Type is not configured to HOLD a Patient, but the associated Pitstop Message Type is configured to HOLD a Patient – the Patient will not be called until released.

The third Pitstop option is to schedule Pitstops by Visit Count. This option can be accessed by navigating to the Pitstop Schedule using the button located above the Appointment Type setup box in System Settings (the same screen can also be accessed through Setup > Pitstop Schedule from the CHA screen). Choose the option ‘Hold’ when configuring a Pitstop per Visit.

NOTE: If you associate a Pitstop Message, configured to Hold, with a Pitstop by Visit that is not configured to Hold – the Hold option takes precedence. More details on properly configuring and using Pitstops can be found in the complete Atlas Chiropractic User Manual.

Releasing Hold Status for Patients:

When a Patient arrives into the clinic – their name moves from the Appointment Matrix into the appropriate Provider queue. Beside the name is a number indicating how long (in minutes) the Patient has been in the queue. If there is a HOLD condition on the Patient for any reason, this number is not displayed. The number area is replaced with an Appointment Code or a blank space. This indication is the only way to know if a Patient is on HOLD.

To release this HOLD condition, Right-Click on the Patient Name in the queue and choose the option RELEASE. This will replace the Appointment Code or blank spot with a number (indicating

how long the Patient has been in the queue) and set that Patient to be Called as available.