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Cloud 9: Navigating the Schedule

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Karen Lewis
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Keywords: scheduling, schedule, patient locator, scheduling buttons, toolbar, clipboard, light bar, HIPAA, schedule view, week at a glance, notes, needs appt, sooner, mini calendar
Summary
The Cloud 9 Scheduling window is the hub of your daily operations. This article explains how to navigate it, what each button and panel does, and how to use features like schedule notes, the Mark as No Show screen, and the Toolbar and Clipboard.



Overview
The Scheduling window in Cloud 9 provides a variety of navigation tools to move around the schedule and manage appointments. It can be accessed two ways:

  • Navigate to Home > Schedule > View
  • Select Schedule from the Patient Header menu

The Scheduling window is made up of five main sections:

  1. Patient Locator: Tracks patients through the appointment process.
  2. Scheduling Buttons: Provide quick access to commonly used functions.
  3. Toolbar/Clipboard: Provides a variety of schedule functions.
  4. Schedule View: Displays appointments.
  5. Light Bar: Provides quick access to view which chairs patients are located in.



Navigating the Schedule View
Selecting a Schedule View
The Schedule View can be displayed as either tabs or a dropdown list depending on your employee settings under Edit > Setup > Employees. It will default to showing schedule views in tabs unless you mark Schedule Views in Drop Down.

  • Tabs: A row of color coded clickable location tabs runs just below the Scheduling Buttons row. Each tab is labeled with a location name and has its own color. Click any tab to switch to that location’s schedule.
  • Dropdown: A single dropdown field labeled Schedule View appears above the schedule grid instead of tabs. Click the dropdown arrow and select the desired location from the list.

Navigating by Day, Week, or Month
Just above the schedule grid on both the left and right sides are the Day/Week/Month navigation fields. Each side has three small colored input boxes labeled M, W, and D for months, weeks, and days.

  • Use the M/W/D fields on the left side to go to a past date.
  • Use the M/W/D fields on the right side to go to a future date.
  • Enter a number in the corresponding field and click the button to move the calendar that many months, weeks, or days in the corresponding direction.



HIPAA Mode
The HIPAA button sits in the upper right corner of the Scheduling window in the same row as the Today, Refresh, and Close buttons. When you need to hide patient information on the schedule, click it. When HIPAA mode is active, patient names are replaced with patient ID numbers only and no other patient information is displayed.


To turn HIPAA mode off, click the HIPAA button again. You will be prompted to enter your login credentials to disable it.



Patient Locator
The Patient Locator Bar runs horizontally across the very top of the Scheduling window, just below the main navigation bar. It tracks patients through the appointment process from Scheduled all the way through to Dismissed, displaying a count badge for each status so you can see at a glance how many patients are in each stage of their visit.

For full details on how to use the Patient Locator Bar including changing statuses, using the gear icon, and selecting a location, see the Cloud 9: Patient Locator Bar article here.



Scheduling Buttons
The Scheduling Buttons are located in a horizontal row directly below the Patient Locator Bar. Each button has a small icon on top with a text label beneath it. The left-hand buttons are on the left side of the row and the right-hand buttons are grouped on the right side.

Left-Hand Buttons:

  • Search (magnifying glass icon): Search for an available time or appointment slot.
  • Patient Appts (person with calendar icon): Display a patient’s appointments.
  • Practice (Schedule View Templates) (calendar grid icon): Display a calendar showing all practice location schedules. Once you click it and reach that screen you can hover over it and if you click the location it will take you to that date and schedule view to show the templates applied. 
  • Reminders (bell icon): Display the list of appointment reminders. Note: Most practices have moved away from this feature as cell carriers have become increasingly strict about email to SMS messaging, often flagging it as spam. For more reliable patient reminders, automated communications, and email campaigns, we recommend C9 Connect, our premium patient communications package. See the Cloud 9 Connect article here to learn more.
  • Notes (pencil icon): Add, edit, and delete schedule notes. If notes exist for the day currently displayed, they will be visible in the dialogue window once this icon is clicked.
  • No Shows (circle with line through it icon): Opens the Mark as No Show screen where you can mark patients as no shows and apply no show fees. See the Mark as No Show section below for a full walkthrough
  • Week (at-a-Glance) (small grid icon): Display the entire week view.
  • Print Schedule (printer icon): List options for printing the schedule.

Right-Hand Buttons:

  • Number of Appointments and Patients: A text display in the upper right showing the count of appointments and patients for the day shown on the calendar. For example it may read “Appointments: 141 Patients: 105.”
  • Today: Returns the schedule to today’s date and refreshes the Schedule View.
  • Refresh (circular arrow icon): Refreshes the Schedule View and updates the appointment and patient count for the day currently displayed. Stays on whatever date and location you are viewing.
  • Close (blue button): Closes the Scheduling window.

     


Mark as No Show
The Mark as No Show screen displays all scheduled appointments for the selected day and location. It is where you can mark patients as no shows and apply no show fees if your practice charges them. To access it, click the No Show icon, (circle with a line through it.)

The screen displays the following columns for each appointment:

  • Checkbox to select the appointment
  • Patient Name
  • Number of No Shows
  • Appointment Time
  • Appointment Type
  • Appointment Status
  • Patient Status
  • Responsible Party
  • Fee Applied (shown as a red X if not yet applied or a green checkmark if it has been)

At the top of the screen there are three dropdowns:

  • Schedule View: Defaults to the schedule view you were on when you clicked the No Shows button. Can be changed to view a different location or date.
  • No Show Fee Type: Select the no show fee transaction type to apply. See the note below about setting this up.
  • Posting Location: Select the location to post the fee to.

In the upper left above the dropdowns there are two buttons:

  • Mark as No Show (circle with line through it icon): Marks the selected patient as a no show.
  • Apply No Show Fee (dollar sign icon): Applies the selected no show fee to the selected patient’s responsible party ledger.

To mark a patient as a no show, check the box on the far left of the patient’s row to select it, then click Mark as No Show. If you also want to apply a fee, click the dollar sign Apply No Show Fee button after marking them.

Note: To use the no show fee feature, a transaction type must be set up first. Navigate to Edit > Setup > Transaction Types, find or create the transaction type you want to use as the no show fee, click Edit, and check the Is No Show box. This makes it available in the No Show Fee Type dropdown on the Mark as No Show screen. For more information see the Cloud 9: Transaction Type Setup article.

In the upper right there are two buttons:

  • Refresh (two arrows in a circle): Refreshes the No Show List with the most up to date information. 

  • Close: Closes out of the Mark as No Show screen.


Week at a Glance
The Week button in the Scheduling Buttons row looks like a small grid or calendar icon. Clicking it opens the Week at-a-Glance view, which displays the full week’s schedule at once. You have the same functionality as the daily view except for rescheduling an appointment, since the Clipboard menu is not visible in this view.

The template appointment class or type is visible for each day. Scheduled appointments display as solid color rounded rectangles on the grid.

  1. Click the Week button. The Week at-a-Glance window will appear.
  2. Click on a specific appointment to see the appointment details and an options list.
  3. Use the navigation buttons at the top of the window to move around:
    • Left arrow to go back a week.
    • Right arrow to advance a week.
    • Use the location dropdown to select a different location.
    • Select specific days to display and click OK.
  4. Click Close or the X on the tab at the bottom of the window to exit the Week view.

     

Managing Schedule Notes
Schedule notes are used to block out a specific timeframe on the schedule. A Block Note displays as a vertical bar across all columns of the schedule over the chosen hours. For example, a Lunch and Learn from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.

Creating a Note:

  1. Click the Notes pencil icon button in the Scheduling Buttons row. The Schedule Note dialogue box for the current date will appear.
  2. Click Add. The Add Schedule Note dialogue box will appear with fields for Date, Start Time, End Time, Chair and Note.
  3. Select the desired date.
  4. Enter a Start Time and End Time for the block.
  5. Enter the note text in the Note field.
  6. Click OK.
    Note: If a chair is selected, the schedule note will only appear on that specific chair’s column. To display the note as a full bar across all chairs, leave the Chair field blank when creating the note.

Viewing Notes:

To view all notes for the current day, click the Notes button. You can see a dialogue window to add, edit, or delete schedule notes. Any current schedule notes will show on this screen. 

Editing or Deleting Notes:

  1. Open the schedule to the appropriate day.
  2. Click the Notes button.
  3. Click the note that needs to be edited or deleted.
  4. Click Edit or Delete and proceed make the desired change.
  5. Click OK.


Toolbar and Clipboard
The Toolbar/Clipboard is a vertical panel on the far left side of the Scheduling window, running alongside the schedule grid. It can be hidden or restored using the left-pointing arrow buttons on the right edge of the panel. Collapsing it is useful when you want to see more columns on the schedule at once.

Toolbar Fields at the Top of the Panel:

  • Provider dropdown: Located at the very top of the panel. Use it to view only the patients assigned to a specific provider. Patients not assigned to the selected provider are dimmed on the schedule. The default is All Selected which shows all providers. Select a specific provider from the dropdown to filter the view.
  • Template field: Just below the Provider dropdown. Displays the name of the schedule template currently applied to the day.
  • Mini-Calendar: A small month calendar displayed in the middle of the panel. Click the month name to select a different month. Click the year to select a different year. Use the left and right arrow buttons to move forward or backward one month at a time. Click a specific date to jump to that day on the schedule. Days that have a schedule template applied will appear color coded on the mini-calendar, matching the color of the template assigned to that day. This color coding appears on the mini-calendar only and is separate from the main schedule grid which shows the actual appointments.

Clipboard and Tabs at the Bottom of the Panel:

  • Clipboard area: The main open area in the lower portion of the panel. When you drag an appointment to the Clipboard, it is a visual change only. The appointment is not actually moved until you drag it to its new day, time, and chair on the schedule. This means if you accidentally dragged the wrong appointment to the Clipboard, or you change your mind about rescheduling, nothing has been committed yet.
  • Needs Appt tab: Lists active patients who do not have a scheduled appointment or recall. This prevents patients from falling off their treatment plan. Scroll the list to see additional patients.

    Note: If a patient is being seen today but does not already have another future appointment scheduled, they will appear on the Needs Appt tab once they are seated. This is because today’s appointment is no longer a future appointment once it is in progress. Keep this in mind when reviewing the list throughout the day, as some of the patients shown may still be in the office. This is a good reminder to schedule their next appointment before they leave.

For a full report of patients needing appointments, you can also run the Patients Needing Appointment Report. See the Cloud 9: Patients Needing Appointment Report article for more information.

  • Sooner tab: Lists patients who would like an earlier appointment if one becomes available. When creating or editing a patient appointment, checking the “Sooner if possible” box places the patient on this list. The patient is removed automatically if no earlier appointment becomes available. Scroll to see additional appointment details.
  • Revert Appointments button: Located at the very bottom of the panel below the Clipboard, Needs Appt, and Sooner tabs. Clicking this button returns all appointments currently sitting in the Clipboard back to their original time and chair on the schedule. Use this any time you need to clear the Clipboard or undo a drag that was done by mistake.


The Schedule Grid
The main area of the Scheduling window is the schedule grid, which displays chair columns across the top and time slots running down the left side. Each location’s chairs are labeled at the top of each column. Chair names can be anything including numbered chairs, provider names, or room types such as Records or TC.

Each scheduled appointment appears as a colored block in the grid. The color corresponds to the appointment type color configured in Edit > Setup > Appointment Types. Each appointment block displays:

  • The appointment time
  • Patient name
  • Appointment type and length in minutes
  • Current status such as Scheduled or Dismissed
  • Patient age
  • Contact information if space allows

Small icons may appear in the corners of appointment blocks to indicate additional information. A checkmark indicates the appointment has been confirmed. Other colored indicators may flag patient comments, alerts, notes, or custom icons.


The Light Bar
The Light Bar runs along the far right edge of the Scheduling window as a narrow vertical panel. It provides a quick at-a-glance view of which chairs have patients in them without having to scroll the full schedule grid. Each row in the Light Bar corresponds to a chair and displays a colored block when a patient is currently in that chair. For more information see the Cloud 9: Light Bar article.


Printing the Schedule

  1. Click the Print Schedule printer icon button in the Scheduling Buttons row. The Schedule Print Options window will appear.
  2. Configure the following options as needed:
    • Start Time / End Time: Select the timeframe to print.
    • Row Height: Specify the printed row height.
    • Fit to Page: Check if the schedule width should print on one page.
    • Columns Width: Specify the printed column width. Checking Fit to Page overrides this setting.
    • Show Reservations: Check to print the template background.
    • Show Manual Overrides: Print appointments with manual overrides applied.
    • Landscape: Print in landscape orientation.
  3. Click OK.

 

As always, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.

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