Confirmation and attendance status

Why this matters

Confirmation status tells you who intends to come, so the service can chase non-responders and refill slots before the day. Attendance status records what actually happened, and it is the source of the DNA (Did Not Attend) figures in Diarybook’s reports. Kept accurate, the two together show whether reminders are reducing non-attendance.

Two statuses, two questions

Every client in an appointment carries both statuses, and each starts empty. Diarybook’s own menus describe the difference: confirmation is the prediction of client attendance; attendance is the actual client attendance.

A group appointment holds a separate status for each client in it.

Confirmation statuses

Unable To Attend, Cancelled By Client and Cancelled By User free the appointment’s time. No Status, Confirmed and Tentative keep it booked, so they still cause time conflicts.

Attendance statuses

Attendance and DNA covers recording attendance in detail, including the keyboard shortcuts.

The same status under different names

Different screens use different names for some statuses. They are the same status.

How confirmation status is updated

By the client

The reply keywords are managed by Diarybook across the service, not set per account.

Client cancellations by SMS and DiaryPage are recorded as Unable To Attend, never Cancelled By Client. Only staff set Cancelled By Client.

An SMS reply carries no appointment context. If the client has several appointments on the same day, Diarybook logs the reply against each, marks them all Tentative and notes that the client’s intention is unclear.

By staff

Use one of three places:

• Appointments List. Updates every client in each ticked appointment.
• Appointment View, Confirmation card. Updates one client. The card appears only for appointments from tomorrow onwards.
• Appointment View, Attendees view. Updates the ticked attendees, using the Confirmation Status button.

To change it from the Appointments List:

1. Open the Appointments area and select Appointments List.
2. Tick each appointment to change.
3. Select Appointments Menu, then Change Confirmation Status.
4. Select the status. Clear Status sets it back to No Status.

Diarybook shows “Confirmation status changed” when it is done.

To change it from the Appointment View:

1. Open the appointment.
2. On the Confirmation card, select Change.
3. Select the status.

For synced appointments, the daily sync never overwrites a confirmation or attendance status set in Diarybook.

How attendance status is updated

Staff set attendance in the same three places:

• Appointments List. Appointments Menu → Change Attendance Status, or the keyboard shortcuts. Updates every client in each ticked appointment.
• Appointment View, Attendance card. Updates one client. The card appears only on the day of the appointment.
• Appointment View, Attendees view. Updates the ticked attendees, using the Attendance button.

A client can also set their own status to Is Waiting at a Self-Check-In terminal.

Setting Finished can prompt a waiting list update when the appointment type is linked to a waiting list. See Appointments and Waiting Lists.

Seeing the statuses

• Appointments List. Rows are coloured by confirmation status, with a separate highlight for a waiting client. The status column shows the attendance status, or the confirmation status if no attendance status is set.
• Filters. The Appointments List, Appointments Calendar and Received screens each have a Confirmed filter and an Attendance filter.
• Appointment log. Status changes made by the client from a reminder are recorded in the appointment log.

How reminders use the statuses

Main reminder schedules (SMS, email, voice and letter) look only at confirmation status:

• Confirmed appointments are skipped. Once a client confirms, later reminders stop, unless Include Confirmed Appointments is selected on the schedule item.
• Unable To Attend and cancelled appointments are never reminded by a main schedule.

Additional Messaging items filter by status:

An Additional Messaging item that targets one of these statuses is the only way to message an Unable To Attend or cancelled appointment. After-the-appointment items fire once the appointment’s end time has passed, not when an attendance status is set.

How user notifications use the statuses

Notifications are set per user in Settings → My Profile → Notifications, and go to the service provider the client is booked to see. Two notifications relate to these statuses:

The popup reads “Client name has checked-in and is waiting”. It also appears for 24 hours in the Notifications panel under the toolbar bell, where View appointment opens the appointment.

There is no notification for a change in confirmation status itself, or for an appointment being set to Finished. To follow confirmations, use the Received screen or the SMS Replies email.

To turn a notification on:

1. Select Settings, then My Profile, then Notifications.
2. Select the notification.
3. Switch on each delivery option you want.
4. Select Save.

How reports use the statuses

Every appointment report has Confirmed and Attendance filters, so a report can be limited to, for example, confirmed appointments only. See Running Reports.

A DNA and a UTA are different outcomes. A UTA is a client who told you in advance, so the slot could be reused. A DNA is a client who did not turn up, so the slot was lost. Reported side by side, they show how much of the non-attendance reminders caught in time.

What to watch for

Cancelling for the service with the wrong status When the service cancels, use Cancelled By User. Cancelled By Client and Unable To Attend record that the client cancelled, which distorts UTA figures. See Cancelling a Day of Appointments.

One change updated every client in a group appointment The Appointments List changes every client in each ticked appointment. To change one client, use the Appointment View card or the Attendees view.

The Confirmation or Attendance card is missing The cards depend on the date. Confirmation shows only for appointments from tomorrow onwards, and Attendance only on the day. On other dates, use the Attendees view or the Appointments List.

An appointment shows Tentative though the client replied clearly The client has more than one appointment that day and the reply could not be matched to one of them. Check with the client and set each appointment’s status by hand.

No Status after a voice reminder An unanswered call, an answering machine and a call with no key pressed all leave No Status. A client who was never reached looks the same as one who heard the message and did not respond.

A client stopped receiving reminders after confirming This is the default. Select Include Confirmed Appointments on later schedule items if every reminder should go out.

Attendance figures show more No Status than expected Attendance was not recorded on the day. The reports can only count what staff set.

Related

• Attendance and DNA
• How Reminders Work
• Additional Messaging
• Appointments Summary Report