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While the calendar shows you when things happen, the appointment queue shows you what needs attention. It is a list-based view organized by urgency and action type, designed for reception staff managing the daily flow of patient visits.

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Queue tabs

The queue is divided into five tabs, each filtering appointments by a different priority.

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All

Every appointment in the system within the default time window — 30 days in the past through 90 days in the future. Use this tab for searching across the full scope when other tabs are too narrow.

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Requested

Appointments created by patients through the self-booking portal. These are waiting for staff approval before they appear on the schedule.
The Requested tab is the first place your reception team should check each morning. Patient-submitted requests need a doctor assignment and approval before they are confirmed.

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Today

All appointments scheduled for the current day, regardless of status. This is your operational view — use it to track which patients have arrived, who is with a doctor, and who still needs to be seen.

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Upcoming

Future appointments beyond today. This tab helps your team prepare for the days ahead — confirming details, checking for missing information, and ensuring everything is ready.

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Action Required

Past appointments that are still in an unresolved status. This includes appointments stuck in:
  • Requested — Never approved
  • Scheduled — Never confirmed or completed
  • Confirmed — Patient checked in but visit never started
  • In Progress — Doctor started but never completed the visit
Action Required items represent data hygiene problems. An appointment from last week still showing as “In Progress” means someone forgot to complete it. Resolve these regularly to keep your records accurate.

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Reception approval workflow

When a patient books through the portal, the appointment arrives in Requested status. Here is how to process it:
1

Open the Requested tab

Navigate to the Appointment Queue and select the Requested tab to see all pending requests.
2

Review the request

Check the patient’s preferred date, time, and any notes they included. Verify the time slot is available.
3

Assign a doctor and procedure type

Select the appropriate doctor for the visit and confirm or adjust the appointment type.
4

Approve the request

Click Approve to move the appointment to Scheduled status. The patient will see the confirmed appointment in their portal.
If the requested time does not work, you can adjust the date and time before approving. You can also decline the request by cancelling it, then contact the patient to reschedule.

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One-click status transitions

The queue supports quick status changes directly from the list, without opening the appointment detail page. Available actions depend on the current status:

Confirm

Move a Scheduled appointment to Confirmed when the patient checks in. You will be prompted to assign an operatory if one is not already set.

Complete

Mark a visit as finished. Typically used after the doctor indicates they are done with the patient.

No Show

Flag a patient who did not attend their appointment. Only available once the appointment time has passed.

Cancel

Cancel an appointment. Frees the time slot for other patients.
These one-click actions follow the same permission rules and time restrictions described in the Appointment Statuses & Workflow article.

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Dashboard widget

The main dashboard includes a Pending Appointments widget that shows only Requested items. This gives admins and receptionists immediate visibility into patient self-bookings without navigating to the queue.
The dashboard widget is a shortcut to the queue’s Requested tab. Clicking any item in the widget opens the full appointment detail where you can complete the approval workflow.

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Default time window

The queue loads with a sensible default range:
  • Past: 30 days back, so you can review recent history and catch Action Required items
  • Future: 90 days ahead, covering typical advance booking ranges
This window keeps the list manageable while ensuring nothing important falls through the cracks. You can adjust the date range using the filter controls at the top of the queue.

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Queue vs. calendar

Both views show appointments, but they serve different purposes:
Use the queue when you need to process appointments — approve requests, update statuses, and resolve overdue items. The list format makes it easy to work through items sequentially.
Use the calendar when you need to visualize the schedule — check for gaps, balance doctor workloads, and plan future days. The time-based layout shows relationships between appointments that a list cannot.
Absolutely. Many clinics keep the queue open on the reception workstation for processing and the calendar on a wall display for visibility. They complement each other.

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Who uses the queue

Different roles interact with the queue in different ways:
  • Receptionists use the Requested and Today tabs most heavily, processing approvals and managing patient check-ins throughout the day.
  • Admins monitor the Action Required tab to ensure data hygiene and review the overall scheduling health of the practice.
  • Doctors may check the Today tab to preview their own schedule, though they more commonly use the calendar’s Doctor Day view for this purpose.

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Best practices

Patient requests that sit too long without approval create a poor experience. Make it a morning routine for reception to clear the Requested queue before the clinic opens.
Set a recurring time — Friday afternoons work well — to clean up stale appointments. This keeps your reporting accurate and prevents confusion when patients rebook.
During clinic hours, keep the Today tab visible. It shows you exactly where every patient is in the workflow, making it easy to answer questions like “Who is next?” and “Has the 2 PM patient arrived?”