Podiatry practices: booking routine nail care clinics

Let patients book routine nail and foot care with the practice's podiatry assistant online: nail cutting, filing, light skin care, on clinic days set aside for it. Create a dedicated routine care service, open short slots on those days, and say in the description what the appointment covers and when a patient should see a podiatrist instead. Patients book their regular appointment without phoning, the assistant's days fill evenly, and the podiatrists keep their time for assessments and treatment.

Routine care isn't a podiatry assessment, and the description should say so. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity. Give each slot one place, so one patient books each appointment.

Durations are examples: set your own, and state the practice's fees in the description of each service.

Set aside clinic days or half-days for routine care, such as Monday and Wednesday, and open short slots one after another. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a regular clinic takes a few minutes to set up. When a slot is booked, it leaves your page, so patients pick from what's left. Slots of different services can overlap, so if the assistant shares a room with a podiatrist, check that the timetable works for both.

Leave enough time between patients to clean the chair and change instruments according to the practice's hygiene protocol. If the instrument sets are limited, set the clinic's slot count to the sets available for that day.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the patient's calendar file. Say in the description to remove nail varnish before the appointment and to wear shoes and socks that are easy to take off. Since the note appears in the calendar file, ask patients not to write health details there; the assistant checks the patient's record at the appointment.

Routine nail care comes back every few weeks. At the end of each appointment, book the next one from the calendar; first and last name are required, email and phone optional, and the patient receives a confirmation with a calendar file if you enter their email. Book doesn't send reminders, so booking the next date before the patient leaves keeps the rhythm going.

A relative or carer may book for an older patient. Ask them to enter the patient's name in the booking and their own phone number in the note if they want to be called.

For patients who can't come in, create a home routine care service with one place per slot and travel time included, open on set days and grouped by area. Ask in the description for the address, access and who will be present.

Put the booking link at reception, on the practice website and on the appointment card. Care homes and pharmacies nearby can also pass it on to residents and customers, so the people who need regular foot care find a time without a phone call.

Patients can't move or cancel bookings online: they call reception, and you move the appointment from your bookings list. Rescheduling works across services, so a routine appointment can move to a podiatrist's slot if the assistant spots something that needs assessing. If you have to cancel a clinic, tell each patient yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.