Introduction
Got questions? View the FAQ’s section at the bottom of this article!
The Special office hours setting is the best place for an office to change its office hours quickly for special occasions or closures: It effectively takes a “Master role” over all your office schedules and the Auto-Responder. The special hours will be displayed in the SKED app for patients to see for complete transparency.
SOH can also be used for partial openings. Still, we highly advise against it because special office hours tell all the other schedules what to do, and it will tell all of them to open partially even if they don't usually have availability on specific schedules.
Click “Settings” on the blue navigation bar →” Scheduling Settings” → “Special Office hours” to access special office hours.
The set of office hours that is lowest on the screen or has the most recent start date associated with your office hours takes priority; all other hours on the screen are just there for reference.
The hours on this page do NOT reflect when patients can reschedule appointments. Appointment availability will need to be updated on the Schedule Tab.
Adding New Special Hours
Click +Add Hours in the top right corner of the Special Office hours page. This will activate a popup to edit your special hours.
Selecting Location
Select the location for which the special office hours will take place. Practices with several locations should take care to select the correct one.
Creating Name
Create an internal name for the Special office hours to reference later- Patients will not see the title of your Special office hours.
Providing a Reason
Provide a brief reason or explanation for the important reason your office is closed during this time.
Selecting Time Frame
Choose the time frame for your special hours to take effect. It is recommended to schedule your special office hours a few days in advance to ensure an intentional, seamless transition.
If you are closed the entire time frame, simply leave the "closed" checkbox filled, and your office will appear as "Closed" on the SKED app.
If you will be partially open during this special time frame, uncheck the “Closed” box and insert your desired partial time frame
Note: Offices are responsible for designating the AM/PM time indication in the required fields. Several formats of time orientation are acceptable.
Uppercase AM/PM
Lowercase AM/PM
24-hour format
Tip: If you have multiple partial open time frames, select the “+” button at the bottom right of the popup tab to add another time slot. Add the second part of your date, and repeat as necessary for all time frames applicable.
Tip: Delete any unwanted time frames with the trash Icon to the bottom left
Save your changes with the blue save button on the Top Right.
If your special hours match other days, you can easily copy them by selecting the three-dot button by the day and selecting “Copy hours.” Then, either click “Edit” on another set of special hours, or “+Add” for a new set of special hours. Paste the hours in with the three-dot icon.
You can copy the hours of a previous Special office hour listing by clicking the three-dot menu next to the active date of the special office hours.
From here, you can Copy the weekly hours.
Select the Copy Icon on a set of hours to copy an entire week of hours.
Select + Add hours
Set your hour starting date
Select “paste Hours” to insert the copied office hours
Make any remaining changes to your office hours
Hit “save” at the bottom left of the page.
Editing Special Hours
To edit special hours, click the three-dot menu next to the active date of the special office hours and Click the pencil Icon.
From here, you will be brought to the “edit hours” popup, which functions identically to the “Add Hours” pop-up, albeit with pre-filled fields from the previous iteration of those special hours.
Make any changes you need and click “Save” in the top right to finalize your changes
Deleting Special Office Hours
Click the three-dot menu next to an active date of the special office hours.
Click the trash Icon on a scheduled day to delete the special office hours
Click the trash Icon on a scheduled day to delete the special office hours
If several dates/ times are included in the special office hours, you will be required to delete them on an individual basis- make sure to delete them all to eradicate the special hours entirely
Viewing Past Special Hours
In the top right-hand corner, click the “Show past hours” button to view a comprehensive history of all special office hours that occurred in the office's past.
FAQS
How do I delete a day?
Click the three-dot icon next to the date and click Delete.
Can I delete an entire block of days at one time?
Each day must be deleted separately, but if there is more than an office can do quickly, please contact the Support Team, who will assist you!
Can I add a date to an existing block?
Yes! If you add new hours and make the Internal Name and Brief Name the same as the block already in there, it will add them automatically to that block.
How do I add closing/special hours to a specific doctor?
Go to Settings > Provider Schedule and add the closing/partial hours to that doctor’s schedule.
Do these hours show in the app?
Yes! It will update the availability in your app and show the brief reason you provide.
Our office is open every other Saturday. Can I make my office hours reflect that?
We recommend closing it on this page because the app will show whatever is there. However, in their provider schedule, they can open up alternate days when they are available.
Can special office hours be used for partial openings, and why is it advised against?
We recommend only using Special Office Hours for closures because adding partial hours will open every schedule with those hours, including schedules with new patient appointments or re-scans.
How do I access the special office hours settings?
Click Settings in the bottom left corner, then click Special Office Hours.
Do special office hours affect appointment rescheduling availability?
Yes! It’s the best way to close down a day or date range for office closures.
What do app users see when I add Special Office Hours?
They’ll see what is listed in the “Brief Reason” field. For example, the office can say “Happy Holidays!” for those closure dates.
Why is my schedule showing open when I have Special Office Hours closing it?
The most common reason is that the schedule has special hours, which reopen it for those specific appointment types. Go to Settings > Provider Schedule to verify that those open hours have not been added.
Why did it allow a patient to schedule at closing time?
While we do not recommend using Special Office Hours for partial openings if you do, the office will want to make the last available time the “closing” time since it will allow patients to select that time.
I added a partial closure. Why is it still showing open?
When adding new Special Office Hours, if the “Closed” box is unchecked, the hours selected are now the times the office will be open.
Do these hours show in the app?
Yes, they do.
Our office is open every other Saturday. Can I make my office hours reflect that?
No, you cannot. We recommend closing it on this page because the app will show whatever is there. However, in their provider schedule, they can open up alternate days when they are available.