Check-in, late arrival and no-show
How to check a patient in, what the check-in window and late-arrival options really do, how consultations are completed, and the manual and automatic no-show rules.
This page covers the day of the appointment: checking the patient in when they arrive, what happens if they are late, how the consultation is started and completed, and how appointments are marked as no-show when the patient does not come. It is for front-desk staff and for administrators who set the check-in and no-show rules.
The settings mentioned here are in SettingsPlatform ConfigurationSystem Settings on the Appointments tab, in the Check-In, No-Show and Completion sections. They can be set for the whole hospital, a centre or a doctor.
Before you can check a patient in
The Check In button in All Appointments only appears once two things are done:
- The patient is registered. If the profile is missing any required field, the row shows Register Patient instead. Fill in the form and save.
- Counter payment is collected. If the booking was pay-at-hospital and the bill is unpaid, the row shows Collect Payment instead.
The appointment must also be Confirmed and dated today or later.
Checking a patient in
Find the appointment
Front deskAll Appointments
Make sure the right centre is selected in the top bar and the date range includes today. Search for the patient if the list is long.
Expected result: The patient's row shows a Check In button.
Click Check In
Front deskIf the button is greyed out with Check-In is not available, the patient is outside the check-in window. See the next section.
Expected result: A dialog asks Check in this patient?
Confirm
Front deskClick Confirm Check-In.
Expected result: You see Patient checked in successfully and the status changes to Checked-In.
Check-in cannot be undone
There is no way to reverse a check-in, and a checked-in appointment cannot be cancelled or rescheduled from All Appointments. Make sure you have the right patient before you confirm.
When you check a patient in, LeapHealthOS:
- opens a visit for the patient for that day, or adds the appointment to the visit already open for a linked appointment;
- can send a message through the Appointment Checked In notification rule;
- shows the patient on the nurse's Care Station worklist, and as checked in on the doctor's Consultations worklist.
Check-in from LeapHealthOS is always recorded as a manual check-in. There is no QR code or kiosk check-in today.
The check-in window and late arrival
Three settings control when a patient can be checked in.
Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Early Window | 30 minutes | How long before the slot start check-in opens |
Late Threshold | 15 minutes | How long after the slot start the Check In button stays available |
Late Arrival Handling | Warn | What happens when the patient arrives after the slot start |
Any arrival after the slot's start time counts as late. The Late Threshold does not change that; it only decides how long the button stays on screen.
Here is what the front desk sees for a 10:00 appointment with the defaults:
Time | Warn (default) | Auto Cancel | Require Approval |
|---|---|---|---|
Before 09:30 | Button greyed out | Button greyed out | Button greyed out |
09:30 to 10:00 | Check in normally | Check in normally | Check in normally |
10:00 to 10:15 | Check in; recorded as late | Button greyed out | Button greyed out |
After 10:15 | Button greyed out | Button greyed out | Button greyed out |
Late-arrival options are incomplete
- Require Approval has no approval step yet. Patients who arrive after the slot start cannot be checked in.
- Auto Cancel does not cancel the appointment from All Appointments. The button is greyed out once the slot starts, the appointment stays confirmed, and it later becomes a no-show.
- Warn does not show a warning on screen. The check-in is recorded as late.
- With every option, a patient who arrives after the Late Threshold cannot be checked in.
If a late patient still needs to be seen, reschedule the appointment to a free slot if the reschedule rules allow it, or book a new appointment.
Starting and completing the consultation
After check-in, the doctor opens the patient from their Consultations worklist.
- The doctor clicks Begin Consultation. The status changes to In Progress.
- The doctor fills in the consultation form. Submitting the form with its "end consultation" action completes the appointment. Your form must include that action; see Clinical forms and placements.
Appointments can also be completed automatically:
Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Auto-Complete on Prescription | Off | Completes the appointment when a prescription is issued |
Auto-Complete on Report | Off | Completes the appointment when a test report is delivered |
Service appointments (for example a lab test) are completed when their task is completed.
Completion settings that do not work today
- Auto-Complete on Prescription and Auto-Complete on Report only act on appointments that are still Checked-In. Once the doctor has clicked Begin Consultation, the appointment must be completed from the consultation form.
- Auto-Complete After (hours) is saved but nothing completes appointments after a time.
- Require Doctor Confirmation is saved but not enforced.
When an appointment is completed:
- a package session used for the booking is consumed;
- the visit is closed once no other checked-in appointment remains on it;
- a message can be sent through the Appointment Completed notification rule. The Appointment Follow Up message is not sent yet; see Notification events and recipient strategies.
Completing an appointment does not create or change a bill.
No-show
A no-show is a confirmed appointment where the patient never checked in. It can be marked by hand or automatically.
Marking a no-show by hand
In All Appointments, the No Show button appears on confirmed appointments from a previous day. There is no no-show button on the day of the appointment; use the automatic rule for same-day no-shows.
No Show is applied immediately
Clicking No Show marks the appointment straight away, with no confirmation dialog, and the status cannot be changed back.
Grace Period (default 15 minutes) is how long after the start time an appointment must wait before it can be marked as no-show.
Automatic no-show
When Auto-Mark Enabled is on (the default), each confirmed appointment is checked Auto-Mark After minutes (default 30) after the slot ends. If it is still confirmed and the grace period has passed, it is marked as no-show.
For a 10:00 to 10:15 appointment with the defaults, the automatic check runs at 10:45.
Some appointments are not marked automatically
Appointments confirmed through the approval step, and some rescheduled appointments, are not marked as no-show automatically. Mark them by hand the next day.
What a no-show does
Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
Refund on No-Show, No-Show Refund Type, No-Show Refund Value | Off, None | How much of a paid bill should be refunded. As with cancellations, the amount is worked out but the money is not returned automatically; see Rescheduling, cancellation and refunds. |
Cancel on No-Show | Off | When off, an unpaid bill stays open and the patient still owes it. When on, an unpaid bill is cancelled. |
Package session | Used up | A session redeemed for the booking is consumed. Returning it to the patient instead has no screen; ask your implementation team. |
A message can be sent through the Appointment No Show notification rule.
Blacklist settings have no effect on booking yet
Blacklist Threshold (default 3) and Blacklist Window (default 90 days) are saved, but patients who reach the threshold can still book, and there is no list of these patients yet.
Troubleshooting
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All Appointments and appointment statuses
A guide to the All Appointments screen and the 11 appointment statuses, with what moves an appointment from one status to the next.
Rescheduling, cancellation and refunds
How to reschedule or cancel an appointment, the rules that decide when you can, and how the refund due is worked out.