Premium Scheduling Guide — Booking multi-encounter visits

A multi-encounter visit is a series of appointments a patient completes in one trip, such as a lab draw followed by a provider visit. Use the Multi-encounter visit tab in Find Open Slots to find days when every encounter fits, then book them all at once.

​

Setup

Multi-encounter search uses the same provider availability as a single-encounter search. A day appears in the results only if every provider in the visit has open availability for their encounter. Before you search, confirm that each provider has availability set under Settings > Calendar & Booking > Availability, with the appointment types you plan to book enabled. See Specifying Provider availability by Practice Location & Appointment Type.

​

Build the visit

The Multi-encounter visit tab shows each encounter with its provider, appointment type, and duration. Matching days appear on the right.

​

Review the results

Elation lists the days when every encounter can be scheduled. For each option, you see:

• Date
• Encounter sequence: The providers in order, with a matching color for each encounter.
• The time each encounter starts and ends. If an appointment type has a slot capacity above 1, the seats left appear next to the time.
• Span: The total time from the first encounter’s start to the last encounter’s end, such as 30m or 2h 15m. (reordered) appears next to it when Elation changed your sequence.

Elation shows up to five options for each day. Each day lists its first option, and you can select + [number] more times to see the rest of that day’s options. Select fewer times to collapse them again. Elation does not show more than five options for a single day. If no days match, adjust the providers, gap, or location and search again.

​

Book the visit

1. Click Schedule → on the option you want.
2. On Confirm Multi-Encounter Booking, review each encounter. Choose an appointment type for any encounter that does not have one. If you want to add details to an encounter, such as visit instructions, click Edit on that encounter. This step is optional. See Edit an encounter’s details. You can also continue without adding any details.
3. Review the alerts on the screen:
   • Insurance: Elation shows the patient’s insurance and copay when it has them. Click Check Eligibility to verify coverage. If there is no insurance on file, Elation shows Insurance not on file.
   • Forms: Elation lists the patient forms linked to each appointment type, or notes that no forms are linked.
   • Billing alerts: Any billing alerts on the patient’s chart appear here.
   • Reminders: Elation warns you when the patient has no phone or email on file (Can’t reach this patient) or has opted out of appointment reminders.
4. Click Confirm & Book. The button shows how many encounters it will book.

Each encounter shows Pending, Booked, or Not booked. When all encounters are booked, Elation shows Chain booked with a confirmation.

​

Edit an encounter’s details

Editing an encounter is optional. Use it when you want to add information to an encounter, such as visit instructions or a chief complaint. If you do not need to add anything, skip this step and click Confirm & Book. Encounters you do not edit book with their default details. Each encounter that is not yet booked has an Edit button. Click it to open an editor for that encounter, with the same fields as the standard appointment dialog. Click Close to collapse the editor. Elation keeps your changes while you move between encounters. The editor includes:

• Description - chief complaint (CC): The chief complaint for the encounter. It carries into the visit note, as it does for any appointment.
• In person or Virtual: Choose how the patient attends. Switching an encounter to virtual fills in the provider’s default telehealth instructions. Changing an encounter’s appointment type sets in person or virtual to that type’s default, unless you already chose a value yourself.
• Visit instructions for patient: Instructions the patient sees with the appointment. Visit instructions can be sent by text message or email, so do not include PHI.
• Transportation required and Transportation notes: If your practice tracks transportation, choose whether the patient needs it for each encounter, such as No - transportation not required, and add any notes.
• Patient Payment, Billing Note, Prior authorization, and Referring provider: These appear only if your practice uses these fields in the standard appointment dialog.

The patient, provider, location, date, time, and duration come from the time slot you picked. To change them, go back and search again. Insurance and billing alerts for the patient appear once at the top of the screen and apply to every encounter.

​

Required details

Elation checks every encounter before it books anything, including encounters whose editor you never opened. If any encounter is missing a required detail, no encounters are booked. Instead:

• The encounter shows a Details required badge and the message Complete the required details for this encounter.
• The editor for the first encounter that needs attention opens so you can fix it.

Fill in the missing details and click Confirm & Book again. While Elation is booking, the editors stay open but you cannot change them. If an encounter books, its editor closes. If an encounter fails to book, its editor stays open with your entries, so you can Retry booking without re-entering anything.

​

If an encounter does not book

Elation books each encounter in order. If one fails, the encounters already booked stay on the Calendar.

• A time is no longer available: Someone else booked it first. Close the confirmation screen, then click Search again in Find Open Slots to see the latest availability with the same parameters. Elation does not re-create encounters that are already booked.
• Another error: Click Retry booking to try the remaining encounters again.

While a visit is partly booked, you cannot switch tabs or close Find Open Slots without confirmation. If you close, Elation asks Close this chain booking? and tells you how many encounters are booked. Click Close anyway to leave, or Keep open to keep working. Booked encounters are not undone, and you book the rest separately.

​

Frequently Asked Questions

​

Can I book encounters for different providers?

Yes. Each encounter has its own provider and appointment type.

​

Can I give each encounter different details?

Yes. Use Edit on each encounter to set its own description, visit instructions, and other details before you book.

​

Why did the results show a different order than I set?

Allow any order is on. Elation picks the sequence that fits best. Turn it off to keep your order.

​

Related Articles

• Premium Scheduling Introduction
• Premium Scheduling Guide — Finding open slots
• Premium Scheduling Guide — Setting slot capacity