🎞️ View video tutorial: Overview of appointment types and presenting issues for eBooking
When patients book appointments online, you can require them to select a primary reason for their visit. Refer to Enabling patients to select a reason for visit when requesting appointments.
You add these reasons as presenting issues and then enable them for eBooking. You can enable any of your current presenting issues for eBooking, or you can create new presenting issues that are only for eBooking. Patients are prompted to select an appointment reason (presenting issue) only if you enable this option for your CHR.
You can also create presenting issues that are used only internally. For each presenting issue, you can configure which encounter template and Qnaire they automatically load or send to the patient to make your encounters more efficient.
💡 Tip: Do not duplicate presenting issues and appointment types. For example, if you have a “Consultation” appointment type, do not also create a presenting issue with the same name. Name them differently.
Steps
1. From the main menu, click Settings > Presenting Issues. A list of your clinic's presenting issues appears.
2. To modify an existing presenting issue, click it. Or, to add a new one, click +New presenting issue. The Presenting Issue Settings window opens.
📌 Note: If you have French enabled in your CHR you can create and edit presenting issues in English and French.
Once configured, the presenting issues display in your set CHR language across all areas of the CHR, including in encounter template settings, e-Referral settings, encounter notes, referral forms, and when booking appointments.
Patients can also view presenting issues (reason for referrals) in their preferred language when using eBooking, the patient portal, and appointment notifications.
3. From the General tab, specify the options for the presenting issue, using the following table as reference.
Field | Description |
Issue Name | Type the name for the issue that will appear for patients as the "reason for visit" from the patient portal and within the list of presenting issues in your schedule. |
Internal Name | To append an internal-only name to the issue, type a name. For example, use URTI as the internal name and Cold/Flu/Sore Throat as the patient-facing name. In your schedule, the presenting issue will appear as Cold/Flu/Sore Throat (URTI). |
Internal Prep Note | To insert a note for your staff for all appointments booked with this presenting issue, type the note. For example, remind staff that appointments for a bladder infection require the preparation of a urine drip. |
Searchable Phrases | To add additional search terms for the appointment reason, type each search term followed by a comma (,).
💡 Tip: When patients search for an appointment reason and they type any of the terms, the configured presenting issue appears as an option.
 |
Linked Encounter Template | Select an encounter template from the alphabetically sorted list to link with the presenting issue. This automatically inserts the encounter template when a provider creates an encounter from appointments booked with this presenting issue.
You can link a presenting issue to only one encounter template. However you can link the same encounter template to multiple presenting issues.
💡 Tip: When you are configuring your encounter templates, you can also link to and create new presenting issues from within the template. For more information, see Creating encounter templates. |
Services | To make this presenting issue available (or active) as an eBooking appointment reason, select the appointment types (or services) that patients can choose when they select this reason.
Click the Select all check box to enable all appointment types.
To not allow patients to select a primary reason for their visit, clear all the check boxes. |
4. To add any Qnaires that a patient should complete before their visit based on this specific presenting issue, from the Previsit Qnaire tab, click Add Qnaire. For example, you can configure a GAD-7 Qnaire to be sent automatically to all patients with anxiety as their presenting issue. You can add multiple Qnaires.
5. Click Save.
6. To archive a presenting issue, click the trash can icon beside the presenting issue.
7. To update a presenting issue, either select it or click the pencil icon beside the presenting issue
8. To re-order the list of presenting issues, select one and drag and drop it to the desired location in the list.
9. To see a list of your archived presenting issues, select the Archived tab.
Updated February 10, 2025