First hearing test appointments: how to set them up

Make the first hearing test its own service, with a slot long enough for the history, the ear check, the tests in the booth and a clear explanation of the results, and tell patients in the description what to bring and whether a relative is welcome. Patients who can't hear well on the phone are exactly the ones who benefit from booking online: they pick a time, fill in a short form and get a written confirmation.

Calling a practice is hard when you struggle to hear. A written booking avoids misheard dates and times: the patient sees the slot on screen, and the confirmation email repeats the service, date and time, with a calendar file they can add to their phone. A relative can also book on their behalf, as long as the patient's name is on the booking.

These times are examples: add up your own steps and use the total as the slot length for the first hearing test, for example 60 minutes. On Book, services have a name, an optional description and a price, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. A patient who books "First hearing test" only sees the slots of that service.

Keep the first test apart from shorter visits such as a hearing check for a known patient, an ear check before a fitting, or a hearing aid adjustment. Each has its own service and slot length. The description of each should say who it's for, so a new patient doesn't book a 20-minute check when they need an hour.

A partner or child joining the appointment can help: they know how the patient copes at home, at the table or in front of the TV. The public booking form books one person per booking, so there's no need for an extra place in the slot. Say in the description that a relative is welcome, and ask the patient to mention it in the note, for example "coming with my daughter".

If the relative books for the patient, they should enter the patient's first and last name, and can use their own email and phone if that's easier to reach. Say which you prefer in the description.

The booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, and offers an optional note. Suggest a few short points for the note:

Keep medical questions for the appointment and your records. You receive an email for each new booking with the patient's details and the note, so you can prepare the file before they arrive.

Your booth is the bottleneck. Open first test slots only when the booth is free, one after the other with no overlap. Book doesn't stop slots of different services from overlapping, so if the booth is also used for follow-up tests, plan your week so the two services don't sit at the same time.

Build a standard week once, then repeat each slot on the weekdays you choose until an end date. Morning slots can suit older patients who prefer not to travel at rush hour; late slots suit working patients. Your page shows times in your practice's time zone.

If the patient needs a follow-up, a hearing aid trial or a fitting, book it before they leave, from your calendar. Enter their email if they should receive a confirmation with the calendar file. Book doesn't send reminders, so a written date is what keeps the next step on track.

If you need to move an appointment, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the patient yourself: Book doesn't email the patient about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included, with unlimited bookings, no commission and no contract.