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Notify Customers During Sudden Office Closures
Read morePower outage due to natural disaster or construction forcing an office closure? Did a doctor call in sick? Here are a few steps you can take to keep your customers updated that are scheduled for the day.
Prepare for Sudden Office Closures
Before disaster strikes, there are a few steps you can take - just in case.
- Download the mobile app. Make sure at least one person in your office has the mobile phone downloaded.
Note: You may have to give access for mobile app use to multiple employees in the office by editing their Weave user.
- Record a voicemail greeting that states there was a sudden office closure. This is optional and you can create a more specific message on the day of, but this helps you notify incoming callers quickly in case you feel overwhelmed.
When Sudden Office Closures Happen
Even if you’re experiencing a power outage, you can still use the mobile app as long as you have a data connection to your cell service. Follow the mobile app steps to notify your patients that you are closed.
- If you haven’t already, download the mobile app.
- Enable Voicemail Override to send all calls to voicemail or Call Forwarding to answer calls on a different device than the office phone like a cell phone or answering service.
- Disable appointment reminders.
- Cancel the appointments for today in your practice management system if possible. You can also use the Schedule to message customers and give them more information about what is going on.
- If you still have power and can access your desktop app, update the missed call text to include more information about the office's current situation.
When You’re Back Online
It’s time to get back to business!
- Turn off Voicemail Override or Call Forwarding.
- Message patients from the schedule to begin rescheduling appointments.
Note: You can also use Quick Fill to reschedule those appointments.
- Enable the appointment reminders that were turned off by toggling them back on.
- Change your missed call text back to the original message.
- Download the mobile app. Make sure at least one person in your office has the mobile phone downloaded.
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Using Schedule in the Desktop App
Read moreThe Schedule section in the desktop app allows you to quickly filter your schedule by confirmed and unconfirmed patients. Weave gives you built in communication tools to quickly reach out and follow up with people on your schedule.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your practice management software.
Watch this short video for a brief overview of what you can do with the Schedule section:
Tip: If you have Weave Unify, you can filter your schedule by location.
For more information on what you can do with Schedule, visit one of these articles:
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Cancellation and Reschedule Requests
Read moreIf a patient responds to an automated appointment reminder with a cancel or reschedule request you will be alerted on your Weave Schedule App with a Schedule Alert. The schedule alerts make it easy to quickly work through any requests to cancel or reschedule an an existing appointment.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your practice management software.
Schedule Alerts
You will see a red notification bubble on your Schedule App if you have some schedule alerts that need to be addressed. You receive a schedule alert when a patient responds in something other than an affirmative response to an automated appointment reminder.
To review and respond to schedule alerts:
1. Click into the
Schedule icon2. Click the
Bell notification in the bottom right corner of your schedule to view the Schedule Alerts3. View the patient’s response that needs attention and their scheduled appointment details
4. Respond by clicking to
Call, 
Text, or 
Email with another suggested appointment time5. Click Done once you have rescheduled or cancelled the appointment in your practice management software to clear out the alert
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Schedule Messaging
Read moreSnow Day? Unexpected closure? Running behind schedule? Or just wanting to follow up with all the unconfirmed patients for a particular day? With Weave you can send a mass or group text to everyone on your schedule for a specific day.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your practice management software.
Schedule Messaging allows you to send a text blast out to all the patients on your schedule that day. Send a friendly reminder to your patients about their appointments and help them never miss a cleaning again with day before, week before, and month before reminders.
Schedule messaging with the Desktop Software
Here’s how it works:
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Select your
Schedule icon in the Weave Desktop Software -
Click on the
Filter Icon -
Filter to message All, Confirmed, or Not Confirmed along with desired locations, practitioners, and data sources
- Select Apply
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Click on the
Message icon at the top of your Schedule -
Compose your message by clicking in the text box and then select Send
Schedule messaging with the Mobile App
When you use the Weave Mobile App to call or text your patients, it looks like you are calling from your business number. The schedule messaging feature allows you to text everyone on your schedule for a specific date, letting them know about unexpected closures or changes in schedule.
Here is a break down of the steps:
1. Select the
Schedule icon from your Weave Mobile App home screen2. Select the
Menu icon in the upper right hand corner3. Tap on
Contact Patients4. Select
Send Text5. Type to compose a message from scratch or select from the Message Templates located above the keypad
6. If you select Message Templates, choose a precomposed message from the pop up
7. Preview your message and then click to send
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Set Up Online Scheduling
Read moreVideo Overview
Once the online appointment request feature has been enabled, you will need to get your office hours and appointment types set up if you do not have an integrated management system.
Tip: Make sure you are using Google Chrome. If experiencing issues, try clearing your cache and cookies.
Integrated Management Systems
If your management system is integrated with online scheduling, no setup is needed on your end. Integrated management systems include:
- Eaglesoft
- Open Dental
- Crystal
- OfficeMate
- Eyefinity
- RevolutionEHR
Calendar Sync
Through Calendar Sync, Online Scheduling will read your office hours, available appointments, appointment types, and providers to automatically display open times directly from your management system’s calendar.
Your office’s availability continues to sync as your customers request appointments for easy, real-time scheduling.
You will still need to approve incoming requests.
Appointment Writebacks
Appointment writebacks allow Weave to write the requested appointments that are approved by your staff back to your practice management software automatically. If you are enrolled in Online Scheduling and want to get started with this feature, click here to speak with one of our team members who can help.
Note: Currently only available for all Eaglesoft, Open Dental, Crystal & Officemate
System Set Up
To complete your set up for the online scheduler please follow the steps in each section. Setting up your Office Hours and Appointment Types are essential for the online scheduler to provide the proper available times and appointment lengths.
Edit Office Hours
- Log into Weave Portal and select
Online Scheduling from menu on the right - Click Settings from the dropdown
- Click Edit Office Hours
- Enter your desired Appointment Lead Time by selecting how many days and/or hours you require as a buffer before an appointment can be requested
- Select the Required Number of Appt. Times a patient must choose in their appointment request to give your office more schedule flexibility
Tip: Requiring customers to choose multiple appointment times will increase the chances of finding a time that works for you and the customer.
- Select which days of the week your office is open, adjust the Start Time and End Time for each day, and Add Break(s) each day for lunch, breaks, staff meetings, etc. that can't be requested
- Review your Request Hours and click Back at the top when finished
Note: If you don't set your Schedule Availability, the online requests will default to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Manage Appointment Types
Adding appointment types allows your customers to choose the right service when making online scheduling requests.
- Select Online Scheduling from the left navigation menu in the Weave Portal
- Click Settings
- Select Manage Appointment Types
- To create an appointment type, click Add in the top right corner
- Give your appointment type a name (e.g. New Patient, Check Up, Tune Up)
- Match the appointment type to the correct appointment time in your management system
- Set the duration for the appointment
- Set the appointment frequency (10, 15, 20, or 30 min.) at which this appointment type will available for scheduling
- Select the desired Provider
- Select Save
- Review your appointment types and click Back at the top when finished
Once you have added and configured your desired appointment types, you can
edit or
deletethem as needed. Add Calendar Exceptions
With known office closure dates you can now create calendar exceptions to block out a specific day or time on the online schedule, so no requests can be made by patients.
- Log into Weave Portal and select Online Scheduling from menu on the right
- Click Settings from the dropdown
- Click Edit Office Hours
- Select Exceptions tab
- To create a new exception click on Add Exception you will name the new exception and determine wether this with be an Unavailable or Available time on your schedule.
Note: an unavailable time will block out a normally available time on the schedule to request an appointment. While an available time will allow an appointment request for a normally blocked out time on the schedule.
- Enter the Start Date and End Date of when this exception should be applied.
- Then determine how long the exception will be by adjusting the Start Time and End Time checking the box for All Day.
- Select Save
- Review your exceptions and click Back at the top when finished
Add Custom Fields
Custom Fields allows users to create customized fields within the Online Scheduling request form. They will be able to add, remove and create their own fields they would like to collect whenever a patient/customer requests an appointment.
- Select Online Scheduling from the left navigation menu in the Weave Portal
- Click Custom Settings
- On the left hand side check the boxes of the fields you desire to show on the Online Scheduler form. You can now add birthdays, gender, and address.
- To create your own field click on the
sign
Tip: Create your own fields that best fit the needs of the practice. For example, in Vet office's instead of having First Name, create a field for “Pet Name”.
- Select Save
Edit Text Templates
Online Scheduling can automatically send customers a text message to confirm when a request has been submitted and then again when approved by your staff.
- Select Online Scheduling from the left navigation menu in the Weave Portal
- Click Settings
- Click Get Started in the Create text templates section
- Click Edit to preview and edit your Requests Received Template or Confirmation Template
- Customize your templates by adding text, Packets/Forms, or additional variables as desired
- Preview your message
- Click Save
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Add the Online Scheduling Link to Your Website
Read moreEfficiently fill your schedule by adding the online scheduling link to any page of your website.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your Weave bundle. Schedule a time with a Weave representative to learn more.Note: The existing Web Assistant Widget will no longer be supported after December 31, 2022. To continue using Online Scheduling, you'll need to update your website with the new Online Scheduling link. We recommend adding a simple button with the link to direct your customers to the Online Scheduling page.
Video Overview
Make sure you have set up your schedule availability, and then follow the instructions below to add the link to your website or social media pages.
Use Your Online Scheduling Link
When customers wish to request an appointment, they are redirected from your website (or anywhere you have added the link, such as Facebook or Google business pages) to a simple website provided by Weave with an online scheduling experience.
- Select Online Scheduling in the Weave Portal
- Click Installation
- View the dropdown arrow next to Method 2 - Direct Customers to Web Portal
- Copy the URL code provided for your office, this code is unique and different for every office
- Paste the URL as a link into whichever online source you'd prefer.
Tip: This may be a Facebook or Google business page, a button or link on your own business website, or any other web or social media outlet you have.
Troubleshooting TipsHaving trouble with the scheduling link?
- Make sure your scheduling link is used in Google Chrome
- Check to see if the link is working if you copy and paste it in a browser
- If the scheduling link was sent in a message, make sure the whole link was included correctly
- If you are sending the scheduling link in a recall reminder, make sure you sent the correct reminder
- Select
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Manage Online Appointment Requests
Read moreOnce you have signed up and set up your online appointment request link, you'll want to know how to manage the incoming appointment requests.
For setup instructions, click here.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your Weave bundle. Schedule a time with a Weave representative to learn more.Here is a break down of the steps to manage and respond to appointment requests:
1. You will receive a Pop-Up notification and an alert on your
Schedule icon2. Click into the pop-up or into Schedules > Requests
3. Click on the
Requests icon at the bottom of your Schedule App4. From here you can view Pending or Reviewed requests
5. Click into a request to view the details
Note: It is very important that to check your management system schedule and if available add the appointment to your management system (for non-integrated customers).
6. After you click into a request details, you can choose to Message the patient if the appointment is no longer available or Approve the request
Tip: When you approve a request, a confirmation text will automatically be sent to the patient letting them know their appointment request has been confirmed
8. Click into any Pending or Reviewed request to delete after action has been taken
9. Click on the
Trash icon to delete the request and remove from your queueClients cannot cancel appointments they submitted within online scheduling without contacting you to remove it from your schedule.
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Add Schedule Link to Recall Reminders
Read moreAdd the booking URL to your Recall Reminders to enable customers to schedule their next appointments without calling or texting your office.
The availability of this feature is dependent on your Weave bundle. Schedule a time with a Weave representative to learn more.How to add schedule link to recall reminders:
1. Select the
Menu icon in the top right hand corner of your Weave Software2. Click on
Settings3. Click on your
Auto Reminders4. Select your Recall Reminders
5. Hover near a reminders name and click on the
Edit icon6. Click Next until you advance to the Edit Screen
7. Drag the Schedule Link variable into the edit window to add to your message.
8. Navigate through until the final page and select Save
Troubleshooting TipsHaving trouble with the scheduling link?
- Make sure they are using your scheduling link in Google Chrome
- Check to see if the link is working if you copy and paste it in a browser
- If the scheduling link was sent in a message, make sure the whole link was included correctly
- If you are sending the scheduling link in a recall reminder, make sure you sent the correct reminder
- Make sure the correct Schedule Link variable was added to the message