What is Add an Appointment?
Adding an appointment in Digitail means booking a visit for a patient, linking it to the right staff member, and sending the client all the information they need - in one step. You can create appointments from multiple places in the platform, attach forms and service packs at the time of booking, and set up recurring appointments for clients who visit regularly.
How This Helps Your Daily Work
Role | How it helps |
Receptionists / Front desk | Book appointments quickly while on a call, with client and patient details pre-filled when you start from the patient's profile. |
Vets & nurses | Schedule follow-up appointments directly from a SOAP note without leaving the record. Recurring appointments save time for clients on ongoing treatment plans. |
Practice managers | Attach consent forms and service packs at booking so the appointment arrives complete, with no back-and-forth before the visit. |
Where to find it
You can create an appointment from five places in Digitail:
Calendar - click the + Add Appointment button or click any empty time slot
Flowboard - click + Add Appointment in the Scheduled section
Patient's Timeline - click + Add Appointment on the patient's Health Card to pre-fill client and patient details
SOAP / Record - in the Plan section under Follow-ups, add a follow-up appointment linked directly to that record
Quick Search - click the Quick Search icon in the top navigation bar on any page and write Create Appointment.
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How to add an appointment
When you open Add Appointment, here are the steps you should follow:
Search for the client and patient. Type in the Client and Patient fields to find them in your database. If you're starting from the patient's profile or a SOAP, these fields are pre-filled.
Select the location. (Multi-clinic setups only.) Choose the clinic location for this appointment from the Location dropdown.
(Optional) Choose a room or kennel. The Room field only appears if at least one room or kennel has been configured in your Administration. See Add, Edit or Assign Rooms and Kennels for how to set them up.
Set the responsible person - Staff. The Staff field is pre-filled with your own name. Change it if you're booking on behalf of another staff member.
Select the visit type. Choose from the Visit Type dropdown. The duration is automatically calculated from the visit type and sets the end time for you.
Set the date and time. The Start Time and End Time are pre-filled based on the visit type duration. Adjust either field as needed. A warning will appear if the slot is already booked or falls outside working hours.
(Optional) Set a recurrence. Click the Recurrence dropdown to book this appointment on a repeating schedule. Options include:
Daily
Weekly on [day]
Monthly on [date]
Annually on [date]
Weekdays (Monday to Friday)
Custom - set how often it repeats (every X days or weeks) and when it ends: after a number of occurrences, on a specific date, or never.
(Optional) Add service packs. Use the Services field to attach one or more service packs. This provides an estimated price and automatically adds the services to the patient's record when the appointment is opened.
Choose the appointment status.
Pending - the default. Sends the client a notification asking them to confirm. Reminders will not be sent until the status changes to Confirmed.
Confirmed - sends the client a confirmation immediately. No further action is needed from their side.
(Optional) Add documents & Forms. In the Documents & Forms section, click Add Form to search for and attach consent forms or documents to this appointment. Selected forms will be included in the appointment notification sent to the client.
(Optional) You can also write down:
Message for Client - included in the appointment notification sent to the Client.
Internal Notes - visible to clinic staff only, not shared with the client.
Review notifications and reminders. These are pre-filled from your clinic's defaults. Adjust them before saving if needed.
Click Save to confirm the appointment.
Other things you can do
Set up a recurring appointment
To book an appointment that repeats on a schedule, click the Recurrence dropdown in the Add Appointment. Quick options are available for Daily and Weekly patterns. For anything more specific, choose Custom to set:
Whether it repeats every few days or weeks
Which specific days it should occur
When the recurrence ends
Recurring appointments are created gradually rather than all at once:
Daily: created up to 3 months in advance
Weekly: created up to 6 months in advance
Monthly and annual: created up to 2 years in advance
New appointments are automatically added each day to keep your calendar current. When editing or deleting a recurring appointment, you'll be asked whether to update just this occurrence, this and all future occurrences, or the entire series.
Attach forms and documents
You can attach consent forms or other documents at the time of booking. Attached forms are automatically included in the appointment notification email sent to the client, whether the appointment status is Pending or Confirmed.
Clients can complete or sign forms directly from their device. You can track whether forms have been signed from within the platform. Once the appointment record is opened, all attached forms sync to the patient's record.
Request a payment deposit
If the selected visit type has a deposit requirement configured, a Require Payment Deposit option will appear in the form. Check this to request a deposit from the client before the appointment.
Tips & best practices
Always start from the patient's profile or Timeline when you know the client - it pre-fills their details and saves time.
Use Confirmed status instead of Pending if you've already spoken to the client and verbal confirmation isn't needed. This ensures reminders are sent automatically.
Add a Message for Client for any preparation instructions - fasting requirements, what to bring, etc. It goes out with the appointment notification without any extra steps.
Use Internal Notes for anything the rest of the team needs to know that the client shouldn't see.
Set up recurrences for clients on regular treatment plans - it's much faster than manually booking each visit, and the calendar stays updated automatically.
Attach consent forms at booking rather than chasing them on the day of the visit. Clients get the link in their confirmation email and can complete them in advance.
Common Questions
Why don't reminders go out before the appointment?
Reminders are only sent for appointments with Confirmed status. If an appointment stays as Pending, no reminders will be sent. Either the client confirms via the notification link, or a staff member manually changes the status to Confirmed.
Can I change the appointment duration?
The duration is auto-calculated from the Visit Type you select. You can manually adjust the End Time after the visit type is chosen if this specific appointment needs a different length.
I booked a recurring appointment. Can I change just one occurrence?
Yes - when you edit a recurring appointment, Digitail will ask whether you want to update just this occurrence, this and all future occurrences, or the entire series. Choose the option that fits your situation.
The Room field isn't showing. Why?
The Room field only appears if at least one room or kennel has been set up in your clinic's Administration settings. If you expect to see it, ask your clinic administrator to check the room configuration.
Can I add a new client when booking an appointment?
Yes - you can now add a new client and/or patient directly from Add Appointment.
Where do the attached forms go after the appointment is opened?
Once a staff member opens the appointment record, all attached forms are automatically synced to the patient's medical record. You'll find them there alongside other documents linked to that patient.