Skip to main content

Maintaining the Appointment Calendar

Written by Meridythe Lanoue

Learn how to create and manage appointment types, staff groups, event calendars, and time slot templates in Instinct to keep your schedule accurate and easy to manage.

Before you begin

You must have the following permissions assigned to your user role in Instinct to access certain Calendar settings in Admin:

admin_calendars: Allows access to manage Calendars in Admin.

calendar_manage_appointments: Allows users to create/edit calendar entities.

calendar_manage_timeslots: Allows users to create/edit availabilities and dropoffs.

See Manage Staff and Assign Permissions for details on assigning permissions.

The Calendar settings in Admin allow you to:

  • Define appointment types and default behaviors

  • Create staff group calendars for departments or shifts

  • Track non-patient events (meetings, time off, etc.)

  • Build and apply time slot templates for scheduling availability at scale

Note: Any user with the admin_calendars permission can manage Appointment Types in Admin.

Appointment types

Appointment Types help standardize scheduling and support day planning based on visit type.

Create a New Appointment Type

  1. Go to Admin → Calendar → Appointment Types.

  2. Click + New Appointment Type.

  3. Enter:

    • Label

    • Abbreviation (max 7 characters)

    • Default Duration

    • Color

    • Default Notes (optional)

Default Notes automatically populate the Appointment Notes field when scheduled.

Edit or Delete Appointment Types

  • Click the 3-dot menu next to the appointment type.

  • Select Edit or Delete.

Staff Groups

Staff Groups create Group Calendars for departments or shifts (e.g., Internal Medicine, Overnight ER).

Create a Staff Group

  1. Go to Admin → Calendar → Staff Groups.

  2. Click + New Staff Group.

  3. Enter:

    • Label

    • Unique Abbreviation

  4. Select group Members.

You can drag and drop members to reorder how they appear in the Group Calendar.

Note: Members of a Staff Group will still appear on their individual calendars.

Edit or Delete Staff Groups

  • Click the 3-dot menu next to the staff group.

  • Select Edit or Delete.

Event calendars

Event Calendars track non-patient events, such as:

  • Staff meetings

  • Time off / vacations

  • Birthdays or internal reminders

Create an event calendar

  1. Go to Admin → Calendar → Event Calendars.

  2. Click + New Event Calendar.

  3. Enter:

    • Calendar Label

    • Default Duration (editable per event)

Edit or Delete Event Calendars

  • Click the 3-dot menu next to the calendar.

  • Select Edit or Delete.

Time slot templates

Time Slot Templates let you apply availability schedules in bulk to individual or group calendars.

Create a Time Slot Template

  1. Go to Admin → Calendar → Time Slot Templates.

  2. Click + New Time Slot Template.

  3. Enter a Template Name.

  4. Add availability blocks:

    • Drop-Off Availability

    • Appointment Availability

Drop-Off Availability

  • Enter the number of available drop-offs for the day.

Appointment Availability

  • Enter:

    • Start Time

    • Duration

  • Click + Add to select which Appointment Types are allowed.

You can add multiple availability blocks per template.

Apply a time slot template

  1. Click Apply to Calendar.

  2. Select Individual or Group Calendars.

  3. Choose the days to apply the template.

If applying to a Group Calendar, each member’s individual calendar is updated.

Bulk Select options:

  • Select all weekdays

  • Click weekday headers (Mon, Tue, etc.) to apply across the visible month

Templates can be applied up to 365 days in the future. If the 'Available' box or 3-dot menu is missing from schedules, it may be because the template has not been applied for the current or future date range. To restore the 3-dot menu:

  1. Save the desired template.

  2. Click “Apply to Calendar”.

  3. Note: If the Triage column is missing from the calendar, follow these steps:

  4. Go to the Admin settings and verify that the Triage time slot exists.

  5. Ensure the time slot is applied to the calendar for the desired dates (e.g., the entire year).

  6. Confirm that the time slot spans the required hours (e.g., through the end of the day).

  7. If the column was removed via the 3-dot menu, re-add or reapply the time slot and save. Once the Triage time slot is re-applied with the correct date range and hours, the column will reappear, allowing appointment booking.

In the 'Apply Template' window, click “+ Add” to select individual or group calendars.

Choose the days to apply the template to. Once the template is correctly applied, the 3-dot menu will reappear in the doctor's schedule.

Blocking Time on a Calendar

To block off time on a doctor's calendar without attaching a patient:

  1. Open the doctor's personal or group calendar.

  2. Click the dropdown next to + New Appt and select New Availability.

  3. Set the start time and duration for the block.

  4. Under Appointment Types, click Add and select the appropriate appointment type (e.g., "Block off").

  5. Optionally, add notes explaining the reason for the block.

  6. Click Save. This creates a calendar block that does not require a patient. Ensure you have the necessary permissions to manage time slots.

Marking Full-Day Unavailability

To block off an entire day when a doctor is unavailable:

  1. Open the doctor's appointment calendar.

  2. Click the dropdown next to + New Appt and select New Availability.

  3. Select the doctor and set the full-day time frame you want to block.

  4. Choose an appointment type that represents unavailability (e.g., "Do Not Book").

  5. Click Save. This marks the selected period as unavailable for booking.

How templates affect existing availability

Here are the drop-off availability rules

  • If no drop-offs are scheduled → template overwrites existing drop-off availability

  • If drop-offs are already scheduled → template does NOT override

Appointment availability rules

  • Existing appointment availability is not replaced

  • Overlapping availability blocks are added, not merged

Example:

  • Existing: 8a–5p

  • Template: 9a–4p
    Both blocks appear on the calendar

Editing or deleting time slot templates

Use the 3-dot menu to Edit or Delete a template.

  • Editing a template does not update calendars where it was previously applied.

  • Changes only apply to future applications.

Deleting a template:

  • Does not remove existing availability from calendars

  • Only removes the template from Admin

Clear provider’s time slots (Bulk Removal)

Use Clear Provider’s Time Slots to remove availability in bulk.

How It Works

  1. Navigate to Admin → Calendar → Time Slot Templates.

  2. Select Clear Provider’s Time Slots.

  3. Select Users or Staff Groups.

  4. Choose:

    • Specific dates or

    • Choose the Select all after this date checkbox to clear time slots after a selected date.

  5. Click Clear to confirm.

Templates can be cleared beyond 365 days, and no bulk undo is available once confirmed.

This removes all availability, including:

  • Template-based slots

  • Slots added manually from the calendar UI

Appointments are not removed. This action clears the selected availability but does not remove the doctor's name from the calendar.

Related Articles
Did this answer your question?