A visit from booking to checkout

This guide follows one patient visit through Meddesk, from the first phone call to the patient leaving, and shows which role usually does each step. Your clinic may divide the work differently. What matters is the order.

Book ─► Confirm ─► Check in ─► Start ─► Checkout ─► Invoice & pay ─► Complete
Scheduled  Confirmed  Checked in  In progress  Awaiting checkout          Completed

1. Book the visit (reception)

1. If the patient is new, add them. Meddesk warns you if they might already exist.
2. Book the appointment: patient, date and time, Type, Priority, and the clinician. Watch for the Scheduling conflict warning on clinicians who are already busy then.
3. If the visit is for planned treatments, pick them in the patient step so they’re linked to the visit. This is what lets you bill the whole visit in one click later.

The appointment is Scheduled.

Booking for a request

If the patient asked through the portal or WhatsApp, approve their appointment request instead. Approving books the visit and confirms it in one step.

2. Confirm it (reception)

Once the patient confirms, open the appointment, select Update status, and choose Confirmed.

• The patient gets a confirmation by email (and WhatsApp, if your clinic uses it and the patient agreed to phone messages).
• From then on they also get reminders: the day before and on the day.

Only Confirmed appointments get reminders.

3. Check the patient in (reception)

When the patient arrives, open the Clinical Desk. Their card is under Expected. Select Check in.

• The card moves to Checked in.
• The assigned clinician gets a live Patient checked in notification, and their Clinical Desk badge counts up.

Walk-in without a booking? Use New walk-in on the desk, then Check in.

4. See the patient (clinician)

On the Clinical Desk, the clinician selects Start on their patient. The card moves to With doctor, and the appointment is In progress.

During the visit, work from the appointment page, so everything is connected to this visit:

Task	Where on the appointment page
Record what’s done on planned treatments	Treatments section: open the treatment and update its status.
Prescribe	Actions › Add prescription (Prescriptions)
Order lab tests	Actions › Request lab order (Laboratory)
Note a complication	Complications › Add (Medical History)
Fill in a consent or assessment form	Actions › Add form (Forms)
Record supplies used	Actions › Record consumption (Inventory)
Write a note, optionally for the patient	Actions › Add note (Notes)
Book the next visit	Actions › Create follow-up appointment

These clinical actions are open while the appointment is Checked in, In progress or Awaiting checkout.

When finished, the clinician selects Checkout on the desk. The appointment becomes Awaiting checkout, and its duration is filled in from the time actually spent In progress (if automatic duration is on).

5. Check out and take payment (reception)

1. Open the appointment and select Actions › Generate Invoice. Review the lines, then Create invoice. See Bill a whole visit in one click.
2. Issue the invoice and Add payment.
3. Print the invoice, receipt, prescription or appointment slip if needed (More actions › Print).

6. Complete the visit

On the Clinical Desk, select Complete under Awaiting checkout. The appointment is Completed and moves to Done today.

After completion:

• the appointment’s details and status can’t change any more,
• only staff with Update appointments can still add clinical information to it,
• it can’t be deleted.

When things don’t go to plan

Situation	What to do
The patient can’t come	Update status › Rescheduled with the new date and time, then Confirmed when they agree. They’re told the new time.
The visit is called off	Update status › Cancelled.
The patient didn’t show up	Update status › No show.
The wrong clinician is assigned	Actions › Reassign clinician, before the visit is completed.
The visit was booked by mistake	Actions › Delete (with Delete appointments), typing the patient’s name to confirm. Not possible once completed.