How to Troubleshoot Online Appointment Scheduling Issues in TrackStat
Online appointment scheduling is a convenient feature offered by TrackStat, but it requires precise configuration to function correctly. If users or patients encounter issues while scheduling or rescheduling appointments, the following troubleshooting steps can help identify and resolve the problem.
Why Can’t a Patient Schedule Online?
If a patient is unable to schedule an appointment online, first verify these two critical requirements:
Email Address: The patient must have a valid email address entered in the Patient Information screen.
Case Types: The patient must have the appropriate case type(s) assigned to allow scheduling for the desired appointment type.
If either of these is missing or incorrect, online scheduling will fail.
Common Misconception: Tags
Tags do NOT affect online scheduling availability.
Removing tags will not resolve scheduling issues.
You also cannot use a "not qualified" tag to prevent a patient from scheduling online.
If scheduling needs to be restricted, this must be done through case type configuration, not tags.
Common Issues and Solutions for Online Scheduling
1. Case Type Configuration for New Patients
New patients in TrackStat are assigned a default case type (e.g., "TBD").
Solution:
Confirm that the default case type (e.g., "TBD") is enabled for online scheduling of the desired appointment type.
If it is not enabled, update the settings to allow that case type to schedule appointments online.
2. Case Type Configuration for Existing Patients
Appointment types in TrackStat are assigned to specific case types. This controls which patients can schedule certain appointments (e.g., preventing in-network patients from booking out-of-network providers).
Solution:
Confirm the patient’s case type is associated with the appointment type they are trying to schedule.
If needed, update the appointment type configuration in TrackStat to include the additional case types allowed to schedule those appointments online.
3. Patient Data Matching for Successful Scheduling
When patients use the "Schedule Appointment Only" tab, their input must exactly match the stored information in TrackStat.
Required match fields:
First Name
Last Name
Email or Phone Number
Solution:
Verify the patient’s name and contact details in TrackStat.
Ensure the patient enters their information exactly as stored.
Correct any discrepancies between patient-provided data and system records.
4. Rescheduling Disabled for Certain Appointments
Some appointment types may not be available for online rescheduling unless explicitly enabled.
Solution:
Check that the appointment type is enabled for rescheduling.
Confirm there is a provider assigned who supports that appointment type.
5. Appointment Slots Showing as Available When They Should Be Blocked
If your online scheduler is allowing patients to book a time slot that already has an appointment scheduled, check the following common causes:
Cause 1: Concurrency Settings
Review your online scheduling settings to see how many appointments are allowed per time slot. If this number is set higher than 1, the slot will remain available until the maximum capacity is reached.
Cause 2: Excluded Appointment Types
Verify that the appointment currently on the calendar is configured to be taken into consideration for online scheduling calculations. If the appointment type is excluded, the system will ignore it and continue showing the slot as available.
Cause 3: The “Standalone” Feature
Check whether any related visit purpose has the Standalone option enabled. Standalone appointments operate independently and may bypass normal scheduling restrictions.
Tips for Administrators Troubleshooting Scheduling Issues
To streamline scheduling and reduce patient frustration:
Review Appointment Type Configuration:
Regularly verify which appointment types and case types are enabled for online booking.Validate Patient Requirements:
Ensure patients have:A valid email address
Correct case types assigned
Ignore Tags for Scheduling Issues:
Do not rely on tags—they have no impact on scheduling functionality.Test Scheduling and Rescheduling:
Simulate real booking scenarios to confirm everything works as expected.
Q: Why can’t some patients schedule certain appointments online? (Only for ChiroTouch EHR accounts)
If an existing patient sees the message “Warning: Please contact office to schedule this type of appointment” it means the appointment type they selected is not enabled for their assigned case type.
For example, if a patient has CHIRO and ACUP case types but tries to book a massage appointment that is only enabled for the “MASSAGE” case type, they will receive this warning. Patients can only schedule appointments that match the case types assigned to them.
Solution:
Patient case types cannot be updated directly in TrackStat and must be managed in ChiroTouch.
To allow patients with additional case types to schedule an appointment online, update the appointment type configuration in TrackStat:
Go to Extras (3 dots) → Scheduling → Settings → Visit Purpose
Select the visit purpose to edit
In the Case Type(s) field, add the additional case types you want to allow for online scheduling
Save the changes
Once the appropriate case types are added to the appointment type, patients with those case types will be able to schedule the appointment online.
Additional notes:
Patients can view all upcoming appointments online, including those scheduled by the office and those booked through online scheduling. You can encourage usage by sharing their custom scheduling link via automated campaigns or canned responses.