Websites & patient experience · Practical guide

Explain appointments with a visiting provider

A visitor assumes everyone described on the practice website is part of the same service. A visiting provider actually handles their own bookings and patient administration. A visiting provider may use your rooms while managing their own appointments, fees and correspondence. Explain those responsibilities in the introduction and give the correct contact route.

Read the guide Make your action list
Healthcare website and appointment calendar displayed on devices at an empty clinic reception.
Make the website useful for the people who use your practice.

What to change

Explain the relationship in ordinary language at the point where the provider is introduced. Confirm practical responsibilities with both organisations before publishing the page.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A counselling practitioner uses a room in a dental practice. The room page links to the practitioner's booking information and says the dental reception cannot amend those appointments.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts.
Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form.
Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Put it into practice

Ask both organisations to check the page. Patients should not have to understand the commercial arrangement; they simply need to recognise who provides the service, who can change the booking and where to attend.

Keep the provider's appointment-change route near its booking information. Patients may return later with an existing booking and need more than a link inviting them to make a new enquiry.

What to agree before publishing

Agree with both organisations who delivers the service, handles bookings, explains fees and deals with appointment changes. Present those responsibilities in ordinary language near the provider's introduction. A shared address alone should not imply employment, partnership or shared responsibility beyond the confirmed arrangement. Ask a reader to explain whom they would contact before and after booking. The answer should come from the page without requiring them to know the commercial relationship between the visiting practitioner and the venue whose website introduced them.

How to check the result

A reader knows which organisation is providing the service and which team can act on an enquiry.

A mistake to avoid

Do not imply a partnership, employment relationship or shared clinical responsibility merely because the provider uses the same premises.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discuss

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Further reading

These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.

Related guides

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