Core concepts
Using workflows
Automate patient interactions for scheduling, rescheduling, and confirming appointments with ease.
Enabling workflows
Simplify your scheduling process by leveraging the power of AI-driven workflows. Here’s how to enable this feature.
Go to the Numbers page: Find the number you want to enable workflows for and click the Settings button next to it.
Enable AI Workflows: In the settings page for the selected number, click the toggle next to "AI Workflows". This action activates the workflow options.
Config options
With AI workflows enabled, a number of configuration options will be at your disposal.
Gap and granularity: Together, these settings designate the available time slots patients will see. A gap of 0 and granularity of 20 minutes are the default. A granularity of 20 leads to appointment times like 9:00am, 9:20am, 9:40am, etc., while a granularity of 30 leads to appointment times like 9:00am, 9:30am, 10:00am, etc.
Default nudge behavior: This setting ensures that if a patient hasn't responded within a specific time frame, the AI will send a gentle reminder once to prompt a response. It standardizes the nudge for scheduling workflows.
Appointment waitlist: Enable this to ensure that canceled appointments (less than 72 hours away) are automatically offered to eligible patients on the waitlist, specific to the doctor they've booked with.
Upcoming appointment inquiry: Activating this lets the AI respond to patient inquiries about their upcoming appointments, providing details and enabling rescheduling if necessary. If the patient elects to reschedule, their previous appointment will be cancelled, and a rescheduling workflow will be initiated.
Scheduling hours: Define the AI's appointment scheduling availability. If not set, the system defaults to the Phone Hours that are in place.
The Auto Scheduler
Empower your scheduling system with the Auto Scheduler, an intelligent tool designed to optimize your appointment process while minimizing human effort.
Setting up a workflow
Creating a scheduling workflow is a breeze with the Auto Scheduler.
Starting the Process: Click the 3 sparkles in the top right of the compose message text box. This will open the Auto Scheduler, where the scheduling workflow begins.
Selecting details: Choose the time range, doctor, and office location for the appointment. The available doctor options are pulled from your EHR. Prefilled inputs with previous appointment details are available if the patient has prior appointments, speeding up the process.
Exclude greeting: Under "More options," use the "Exclude greeting?" checkbox to skip the greeting at the beginning of a message, useful for mid-conversation workflow initiation.
Preferred hour: Also under "More options," you can set a preferred hour. For instance, if you set the preferred hour as 10am, the AI will suggest appointment times close to this hour, such as 9:40am, 10am, or 10:20am (given a default granularity of 20 minutes appointment time slots).
You should know!
The suggested times will infer the time zone from the office location information from your EHR, ensuring that patients are presented with times that are relevant to their location.
Starting a workflow
Starting a scheduling workflow with the Auto Scheduler is a straightforward process. Once all the appointment details are filled out, simply click the Start Workflow button.
After the workflow has commenced, adjustments to the nudge behavior for this particular workflow can be made by clicking the nudge settings on the workflow's frame.
Stopping a workflow
Halting a workflow is equally user-friendly. Clicking the X in the bottom right corner of the workflow will stop it immediately, preventing any further messages from being dispatched.
Moreover, workflows have an expiration mechanism. After a certain period of inactivity, they will bubble up to the top of your inbox, prompting your team to follow up with the patient manually. This ensures that no potential appointments fall through the cracks
Queued work
Keeping track of upcoming work is done by opening the Auto Scheduler. If there are queued workflows or actions that may trigger a workflow, they will appear at the top of the Auto Scheduler, allowing for easy cancellation. This helps maintain a clear understanding of scheduled activities and facilitates rapid changes when necessary.
The different types of queued work items you'll encounter may include upcoming appointment confirmations, waitlist notifications, and scheduled nudges. All of these can be canceled before they begin, directly from the Auto Scheduler.
EHR integration
The Auto Scheduler is available directly within DrChrono. This integration allows you to schedule appointments with patients without leaving the EHR, streamlining your workflow and saving you time. You can use the Auto Scheduler directly from the patient's chart or clinical notes page in DrChrono.
To enable the Auto Scheduler in DrChrono, click the "Link DrChrono account" link on your home page. You will be asked to authorize Patient Glue for your DrChrono account. Once you've authorized the Patient Glue app for your account, you'll see the Patient Glue app in the apps section on the patient's chart, or in the apps tab on the clinical notes page.