Radiotherapy centres: booking information visits online

Let patients book an information visit with a radiation therapist online before their treatment starts: a calm, set time to see the treatment room, understand how a session runs and ask practical questions. Create a dedicated information visit service, open slots when a therapist and a room are free, and say in the description what the visit covers, how long it lasts and that a relative is welcome. Patients choose a time that suits them, arrive knowing what to expect, and the therapists hold these visits without interrupting the treatment schedule.

An information visit isn't part of the treatment planning, and the description should say so: dates for planning and treatment sessions are set by the centre. 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 visit.

Durations are examples: set your own. The price field is optional; leave it empty if the visit is free.

Information visits work best when the treatment room is quiet. Open slots at times the machines aren't in use or between treatment blocks, on set days. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date. When a slot is booked, it leaves your page, so the next patient picks another time. Slots of different services can overlap, so if two therapists give visits, give each their own service or their own times.

The centre can also book the visit for the patient from the calendar when the treatment is confirmed; 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.

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. Since the note appears in the calendar file, ask patients not to write health details there. Invite them instead to note practical needs, such as wheelchair access, an interpreter, or the name of the person coming with them.

For patients who live far away or can't come in before treatment starts, a video visit with photos of the room can help. Create it as its own service. Book doesn't create video links: send the meeting link by email after booking.

A child may need a longer, gentler visit, with time to see the room and meet the team. Offer a separate service, ask the parent to enter their own name in the booking and the child's first name and age in the note.

At the end of the visit, give the patient a written summary of what was shown, the centre's phone number and the name of a contact for practical questions. Patients and relatives may think of new questions once home, so say how they can reach the team.

Include the booking link in the letter or email that confirms the first consultation, and give it to the specialist nurses and referring doctors. Patients can book from home, with a relative, when they feel ready.

Patients can't move or cancel bookings online: they call the centre, and you move the visit from your bookings list. Rescheduling works across services, so an in-person visit can become a video visit. If you have to cancel, tell the patient yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book doesn't send reminders. Bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.