Twenty minutes booked, an hour needed
A runner with heel pain books a routine podiatry appointment online because it is the cheapest and first on the list. What they need is a biomechanical assessment, which your clinic runs as a longer appointment with a practitioner who does gait analysis. On the day, the podiatrist can only do a brief look and book them back in. The runner has paid twice and taken two mornings off.
The reverse happens too. An older patient needing nail care books a new patient biomechanical assessment because the word assessment sounds right. An hour of a specialist's time is set aside for a twenty-minute appointment.
Why patients pick the wrong type
- Appointment names use clinic terms patients do not know.
- The cheapest or first option is picked by default.
- Descriptions, if any, are short and do not say who each appointment is for.
- Some appointment types should only be booked after a consultation, but are bookable anyway.
- Patients do not know which practitioner does which kind of work.
The root cause is that the booking page asks patients to choose a service, when what they know is their problem.
What wrong bookings cost
Wasted slots, rebooking, patients paying for an appointment that did not solve anything, and specialists' time spent on routine work. Reception fixes bookings by phone, which undoes much of the point of online booking. And patients who have a poor first experience may not come back.
| Patient says | They often book | They usually need |
|---|---|---|
| My heel hurts when I run | Routine care | Biomechanical or musculoskeletal assessment |
| I cannot cut my own toenails | New patient assessment | Routine care, new patient |
| My toenail is ingrowing and sore | Routine care | Nail surgery consultation, if your clinic triages it that way |
| I have a verruca | Routine care | Verruca consultation |
How we build guided booking
- Your podiatrists write a short set of plain questions, such as what is bothering you, and whether you have been seen here before, with routes to each appointment type.
- The booking page asks those questions first, in plain words with pictures where helpful, then shows only the appointment types and practitioners that fit.
- Appointment types that should follow a consultation are not offered directly, and the patient is guided to the consultation instead.
- Answers are attached to the booking, so the podiatrist sees why the patient came.
- When answers do not point clearly to one type, the patient can send a request instead, and reception or a podiatrist calls back to book the right thing.
- The flow sits on your website and connects to Cliniko, WriteUpp or your booking system, so availability is live.
- A monthly view shows how often bookings are changed after being made, so the questions can be improved.
The questions route bookings. They do not assess or diagnose, and they are written by your podiatrists.
Returning patients skip the questions. When someone who has been seen before books, the page offers the appointment type their podiatrist set for their next visit, so routine patients are not slowed down by a flow designed for newcomers.
What the diary looks like afterwards
Appointments arrive with the right length and practitioner. Specialists see the patients who need them. Patients get what they came for at the first visit. Reception spends less time rearranging online bookings. And podiatrists see a short summary of why the patient booked before they walk in.
Is your online booking causing this?
- Online bookings are regularly changed or rebooked after the first visit.
- Patients choose the cheapest appointment regardless of need.
- Specialist slots are used for routine care.
- Appointment type names are in clinic language.
- Reception fixes online bookings by phone every week.