GP practices: scheduling several doctors on one page

A group general practice can put every doctor's appointments on one Book page. Give each doctor their own services, such as "Appointment with Dr Laurent", so patients can keep seeing the doctor who knows them; keep a shared same-day service for patients who need to be seen today by whichever doctor is free; and open each doctor's slots only in the sessions they work and the rooms they have. When a doctor is away, the practice moves their patients to a colleague. The whole practice pays €5/month.

Book gives one booking page per business. Each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on the page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own number of places. There's no staff field, so the doctor's name goes in the service name. Slots of different services can run at the same time, which is what lets three doctors consult in parallel.

Lengths are examples: set your own, in line with your practice's organisation and the rules that apply to you. You can leave the price empty on every service.

Continuity matters in general practice. Per-doctor services let patients book the doctor they usually see, and the doctor sees their own list in the practice calendar. Add a longer appointment service per doctor for patients who need more time, and say in its description what it's for, such as several problems to discuss or a review of ongoing care, so a quick question doesn't take a long slot.

Keep some capacity for patients who need to be seen today. Open slots in a shared same-day service each morning, spread across the doctors on duty, and don't open them further ahead than the day itself if you want them kept for real same-day needs. Say in the description to call the practice if no same-day slot is left, and to use the emergency services for emergencies. Same-day slots still free late in the morning can be deleted and opened as planned appointments instead.

Book doesn't know how many consulting rooms you have, and slots of different services can overlap, so it won't stop four doctors being booked into three rooms. Build the session plan first, with a room for each doctor in each session, and open each doctor's slots only in the sessions where they have a room.

Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a full-time partner, a part-timer on Monday and Thursday, and a trainee with shorter lists each get their own series. For a locum, create a service named after the locum or simply "locum doctor", open slots for the dates they cover, and delete the remaining ones when they leave. When someone's sessions change, delete the remaining slots of the old series and create a new one.

Patients who call are booked by reception straight into the right doctor's slot from the calendar. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; with an email entered, the patient receives a confirmation with a calendar file. Book sends no reminders, so that calendar entry is what reminds the patient of the appointment.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note. The note reaches the practice in the new booking email and appears in the patient's calendar file, so say in each description that patients should not describe symptoms there; the doctor takes the history during the consultation.

Patients can't move or cancel online; the practice does it from the bookings list. Rescheduling works across services, so Dr Laurent's patients can move into Dr Haddad's free slots or to the locum, or wait for Dr Laurent's return if they prefer. Book doesn't email patients about changes, so reception calls or messages each one, then deletes the absent doctor's free slots. Every booking syncs with the practice's Google, iPhone or Mac calendar, so reception sees all doctors' lists in one place. Book doesn't take payments. Book costs €5/month for the practice, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.