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Customizing Appointment Categories

To make your scheduling process efficient and visually organized, an administrator must first define the different types of appointments your clinic offers. In OpenEMR, these are called Categories. Each category has a pre-set duration and color, which automates the booking process and makes the calendar easy to read.

Why Customize Categories?

  • Automatic Duration: When a user selects an appointment category (e.g., "New Patient"), the duration is automatically blocked out on the calendar, preventing errors.

  • Visual Organization: Assigning a unique color to each category (e.g., green for "New Patient," blue for "Follow-up") allows staff to understand the day's schedule at a glance.

How to Edit Appointment Categories

  1. Navigate to Categories: From the main menu, go to Admin > Clinic > Calendar, and then click the Categories link.

  2. Select a Category to Edit: You will see a list of default categories. Click on the name of the category you wish to update (e.g., "New Patient").

  3. Set the Duration: In the Duration field, enter the standard length for that appointment type in minutes (e.g., 30 for a 30-minute appointment).

  4. Choose a Color: Click on the color box to open a color picker. Select a distinct color for this category.

  5. Save Changes: Click the Save button.

Repeat this process for all the appointment types your clinic uses. Once saved, these settings will be applied automatically every time an appointment is booked with that category.