Longer GP appointments: when a 15-minute slot isn't enough

Create a separate "long consultation" service with its own longer slots, say clearly in the description who it's for, and place those slots at fixed moments of your week. A patient can only book one slot at a time, so a patient who needs thirty minutes can't take two short slots in a row online; a dedicated service is the way to give them the time. For patients you already know need more time, book the long slot yourself.

These are examples: you decide which situations need more time and how long. On Book, a service has a name, an optional description and a price, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. A patient who picks "Long consultation" only sees slots of that length.

If the long consultation is described vaguely, some patients will pick it by default and your long slots fill with short visits. Be precise:

Add a line to the standard consultation too, such as "one reason per visit; for several issues, book a long consultation". Clear wording on both services is what keeps each in its place.

Long slots in the middle of a busy morning make everything after them late if they overrun. A few ideas:

Create them once and repeat them on the chosen weekdays until an end date. Don't open short slots at the same time as a long one: Book doesn't stop slots of different services from overlapping, so a patient could book a short slot inside your long one.

A first visit takes longer: history, current treatments, allergies, previous results. A "New patient consultation" service makes that time explicit and tells you, from the booking, that someone new is coming. Ask in the description for the list of treatments and any recent letters or results, and say whether you take new patients at all right now. If you don't, simply stop opening new patient slots; the service can stay, with no slots, until you reopen.

An older patient may come with a son, daughter or carer. The booking is for the patient; the relative just comes along and needs no place. Ask them to mention it in the note, so you plan a little more time, or book the long slot yourself if you know in advance.

For some patients, you know at the end of a visit that the next one needs time: a treatment review, a follow-up after a hospital stay, a check with a relative present. Book the long slot yourself from your calendar before they leave. First and last name are required; enter their email if they should receive a confirmation with a calendar file. You can add a short planning note, such as "treatment review", but keep medical details in your records, as the note also appears in the patient's calendar file.

A patient with three issues will sometimes book a short slot. You receive an email for each new booking with the note; if it shows the visit needs more time, move the booking to a long slot from your bookings list and call the patient to confirm. Book doesn't email patients about changes, and patients can't reschedule online, so the call matters.

Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited bookings and services, no commission, no contract. Medical records, prescriptions and payments stay in your practice software.