What is a Potential unblocked diary?
A potential unblocked diary is a diary that is open but there are no patient appointments booked in. This is a really helpful tool to ensure all your diaries are set up accurately.
The most common causes of unblocked diaries are:
Provider is on annual leave but the diary has not been blocked off on your practice management software.
The providers appointment diary has been opened for extra sessions- no patients are booked in yet.
Diaries are open for associates that have left the practice that are still showing as active providers on your practice management software.
Why do I need to flag unblocked diaries?
Flagging unblocked diaries is essential for maintaining accurate KPIs and ensuring your schedules run smoothly. Incorrectly scheduled diaries can distort key performance metrics, including:
Appointment diary analysis- available hours and whitespace hours.
Earnings per hour
If schedules aren’t set up properly, these metrics become unreliable, making it harder to manage your practice efficiently.
Potential Unblocked Diaries Tile
The Potential Unblocked Diaries tile highlights any open appointment diaries with no appointments scheduled. These unblocked diaries can disrupt your workflow and impact key performance metrics.
Clicking on the tile takes you directly to the Appointment Diary report, where unblocked diaries are:
1. Highlighted in 100% red for easy identification.
2. Clearly showing whitespace to make unbooked diary time easy to spot and manage.
🚨 Important: If a calendar appears completely red showing 100% whitespace, it likely means it’s not scheduled correctly and needs attention.
Using the Report Effectively
💡 Top tips
1. Click on the Practice Name or the bar graph to display all diaries.
2. Check the Potential Unblocked Diaries tile on your Action Today Dashboard daily. If you have any diaries that need closed, block these off on your practice management software.
Exporting and Printing
Export Data: Download the report as a CSV spreadsheet.
Print: Use the Print button in the top-right corner.