Glossary, front desk
What is online booking for clinics?
Online booking lets patients choose and confirm their own appointment on a clinic's website or app, at any hour, from the times a clinician is actually available. It replaces the phone call and the email back and forth for routine visits.
Updated . Defined by the wai team for clinics, groups and health systems.
Also called patient self-scheduling or online appointment scheduling.
Why Online booking matters to a clinic
Many patients look for care in the evening and at weekends, when the front desk is closed. A clinic that can only be booked by phone loses them to one that can be booked in two minutes.
Speed matters for enquiries too. An enquiry answered within the hour is nearly seven times as likely to become a real conversation,1 and online booking answers instantly.
Questions
Can patients book with any clinician?
Only those the clinic offers online, at the times their calendar shows them available. The clinic decides which services and clinicians appear.
Does online booking work with my existing website?
Yes. wai booking sits on your own site. See online booking and payments.
Sources
See wai on your own clinic.
A 15 minute video call on your own diary, notes and inbox. Prices for clinics, groups and hospitals are on the pricing page.