What to change
Define the booking distinction using the practice's actual rule. Put the explanation before the choice and provide a route for cases the rule does not clearly cover.
A worked example
Illustrative example
A patient who previously saw a hygienist wants a different service. The page explains that being known to the practice does not necessarily make the requested appointment a review and gives a contact route.
Put it into practice
Ask the service owner to approve that distinction. A person returning after a previous appointment should not need to guess whether “new” refers to the practice, the practitioner or a different reason for attending.
Explain what to do when someone has attended before but is unsure which category applies now. A clear contact option is more helpful than forcing them into a confident guess.
What to agree before publishing
Ask the service lead to define the appointment categories in terms patients recognise. “New” may refer to the practice, a practitioner or a particular service, and those are not interchangeable meanings. Explain how someone checks an uncertain case without first booking the wrong slot. Review the public description against the diary labels and confirmations. A person returning after an earlier visit should be able to understand the route using current information rather than guess which internal category the practice applies to them now.
How to check the result
Someone with a plausible mixed history can determine the appropriate next step without guessing.
A mistake to avoid
Do not reduce the instruction to have you been here before if that question does not match the actual appointment rule.
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.
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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