Want to have more control over new patients on your schedule, but still take advantage of the 24/7 advantages of online scheduling? We cannot force new patients to make a deposit before they schedule an appointment, however the following options can help minimize new patient no shows:
Change online scheduling settings to only allow new patients to "request" an appointment. This would allow you to only accept the appointments and add them to your EHR if you were able to confirm that they had made a deposit or confirmed their appointment verbally. You will receive notifications in the Inbox when a new patient has "requested" an appointment
Create a separate appointment type/purpose for new patients who have not made a deposit to easily identify them on the schedule. After the deposit is made, change the appointment purpose accordingly
Use automated appointment reminder messages combined with unique appointment purposes/types to send a payment link to the potential new patient indicating that their appointment will not be held without a deposit