Managing appointment requests

When clients request appointments online, you can review, accept, decline, or archive those requests from the Requests page.

In this guide, we'll cover:

• Managing appointment requests
• Viewing archived requests

Managing appointment requests

When a client requests an appointment, you'll receive an email alert and a notification in the left navigation menu. Click Requests to manage appointment requests.

Note: If a prospective client submits an online appointment request, the request will appear on both the Requests and Inquiries pages. A client profile will be created with a Prospective status, which you can manage from the Inquiries page. To learn more, see Managing prospective clients on the Inquiries page.

From the Requests page, you can:

• Review pending appointment requests
• Accept, decline, or reschedule appointment requests
• Send clinician referrals
• Archive requests

Accepting appointment requests

Note: Online appointment requests submitted via Therapy Finder and/or the Optum (UnitedHealthcare) provider portal will expire 72 hours after submission.

To accept an appointment request:

1. Click Requests in the left navigation menu
2. Select Accept next to a pending request

3. Select the documents you'd like to send to the client > Continue to Email
4. Customize the confirmation email if needed > Continue to Review

Note: When accepting an appointment request, you'll always see the option to send documents to a client, even if they're an existing client.

5. Confirm the appointment details
6. Click Share & Send Now

Declining appointment requests

To decline an appointment request:

1. Click Requests in the left navigation menu
2. Select the three horizontal dots next to the request
3. Choose Decline

4. Select your reason for declining
   • If you select Other, you’ll be prompted to leave a comment

Note: The reason for declining and the comment won’t automatically be shared with the client. If you’d like to include these answers in your Appointment Declined emails, see Using macros in client emails and reminders.

5. Customize the email as needed, then click Decline & Send Now

Tip: When you decline a new client appointment request, you’ll have the option to include referrals for other SimplePractice clinicians listed on the Therapy Finder Directory. To learn more, see Sending and receiving Clinician Referrals.

Sending intake documents before accepting or declining

You can send intake documents to a prospective client before accepting or declining their appointment request.

1. Click Requests in the left navigation menu
2. Select the three horizontal dots next to the request
3. Select Send intake documents

4. Choose the forms you want to send > Continue to Email
5. Customize the confirmation email if needed > Continue to Review
6. Confirm the documents to be sent
7. Click Share & Send Now

Note: Intake documents sent at this stage won’t automatically create a client profile until the appointment is accepted.

Filtering appointment requests

Filters appear at the top of the Requests page and can help you stay organized.

You can filter by:

• Clinician
• Client status
• Location
• Request source
  • Therapy Finder
  • Client Portal
  • Professional Website
  • In-network referrals
• Document status
• When the appointment request is expiring

Viewing appointment requests on the calendar

Accepted appointment requests appear on your calendar as scheduled appointments.

Pending appointments appear with diagonal lines on the calendar.

To view a pending appointment request on your calendar:

1. Click the Pending appointment
2. Review the appointment details in the flyout
3. Choose Accept or click More to:
   • Send intake documents
   • Reschedule
   • Decline appointment
   • Send Referrals

Note: Pending requests block your availability for that time slot until they’re declined.

Viewing archived requests

Archived requests include declined or manually archived appointment requests.

To view archived requests:

1. Click Requests in the left navigation menu
2. Select the Archived requests tab at the top

From here, you can view the details of each appointment request. You can also select the three horizontal dots next to a request to schedule an appointment for that client or view the client’s profile.

If you decline an appointment request from a new client, their profile will be automatically Archived. They’ll receive an email notifying them that the request was declined. If you’ve included referrals in the email, they’ll also see links to view those clinicians' profiles and request an appointment with them.

If you intend to see the client at a later date, you can set the client to Active or Prospective by navigating to your Clients list. Sort the list by Archived clients, click the Status dropdown next to the client, and select the preferred status.

If you decline an appointment request for an existing client, they’ll receive an email indicating you declined the appointment request, along with a link to the Client Portal where they can request a new date and time.