Keep the chosen clinic clear when booking opens

What this means for your practice

Ask your supplier to keep the chosen clinic selected when the booking page opens, or explain any extra choice visitors must make. Test the actual destination rather than assuming a familiar booking button carries the location across.

A practical example

For example, the Riverside page should not quietly open a diary with the town-centre branch selected. If the provider cannot carry the choice across, add a short instruction and make the location easy to check before confirmation. Reception can compare the resulting appointment details with the starting page. A good result prevents an avoidable correction and helps people make their travel plans with the right branch in mind.

Ask what happens if a visitor changes the branch inside the booking tool. The final confirmation should show the selected location clearly, even when it differs from the starting page. This makes the change visible before travel plans rely on an earlier assumption.

Make this improvement work

Test every location page's booking action with the receiving diary team. Record whether the chosen site is preserved, whether another choice is required and what happens when the service is unavailable there. The button wording should explain any extra step rather than imply the selection has already been carried across. Include a fictional appointment type offered at only one branch. Ask the supplier to demonstrate the actual external destination, because a familiar branded button does not establish where it leads. Review the links whenever a booking provider or clinic offering changes so the location page and diary continue describing the same choice.

How to check the result

Count location corrections required after online enquiries.