Overlapping appointments allows you to schedule appointments at the same time in the same exam room in DrChrono. You can enable or disable this setting depending on your in-office or online scheduling needs.
Allowing Overlapping Appointments
There are two ways to allow overlapping appointments, in the appointment window or in account settings.
When scheduling an appointment, you may see the following error message stating that there is a conflict with another appointment.
You can resolve this by clicking OK, checking the Allow Overlapping box, and clicking Save. Or you can select another exam room.
The second way to allow overlapping appointments is with a setting.
Go to Account > Provider Settings > General tab > Calendar Settings.
Check the Allow Exam Room Overlaps box. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Update Entire Profile.
This setting will allow appointments to be scheduled in the same exam room.
Online Scheduling: Keep in mind this will also allow patients to schedule via the scheduling widget or OnPatient in the exam room you have designated for online scheduling even if there is already an appointment scheduled. Patients can also schedule an appointment online if a different or additional exam room is enabled for online scheduling.
For more information on setting up your online schedule, click here.
Disallowing Overlapping Appointments
Go to Account > Provider Settings > General > Calendar Settings.
Check the Global Overlap Checking box. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Update Entire Profile.
This setting will not allow appointments to be double-booked in any exam room or office. If you do not want any double bookings at all, enable this setting.
Note: With this setting enabled, you will not be able to change exam rooms for the same time slot unless you check the Allow Overlapping box in the appointment window as described earlier.
Online Scheduling: Patients will not be able to schedule an appointment online if there is already one scheduled at the desired time. They will only be shown available times.
Other Options
If neither box is checked, as in the image below, double booking will not be allowed within the same exam room unless the Allow Overlapping box is manually checked in the appointment window. However, an appointment can be scheduled for the same time in a different exam room.
Online Scheduling: Patients will not be able to schedule an appointment online if there is already one scheduled at the desired time in the exam room designated for online scheduling. They can schedule an appointment online if a different or additional exam room is enabled for online scheduling.