> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prvaha.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How to Book and Manage Patient Appointments in Prvaha
> Step-by-step guide to scheduling appointments in Prvaha: selecting a patient, assigning a doctor, choosing a time slot, and managing existing bookings.
Scheduling an appointment in Prvaha takes under a minute. The new appointment form guides you through picking the patient, assigning a doctor, and selecting a date and time — and the moment you confirm, the patient receives an automatic notification and the booking appears on your clinic's calendar.
## Book a new appointment
In the left sidebar, click **Appointments**. This takes you to the appointments list, where you can see all current bookings in either calendar or table view.
Select the **New Appointment** button in the top-right corner of the page. This opens the new appointment form.
In the **Patient** field, start typing the patient's name or reference number. If the patient already exists in Prvaha, select them from the dropdown. If this is a new patient, choose **Create new patient** and fill in their details — name, contact email, and phone number — before continuing.
Choose the doctor who will conduct the appointment from the **Doctor** dropdown. Only doctors registered in your clinic appear in this list. You can leave this field empty and assign the doctor later, but the appointment will not be confirmed until a doctor is set.
Use the date picker to select the appointment date, then choose an available time slot. Slots that are already booked for the selected doctor are shown as unavailable. Switch to calendar view on the main appointments page if you want to scan availability across the week before deciding on a slot.
Review the appointment details and click **Confirm**. Prvaha creates the appointment with a status of **Booked** and immediately sends the patient a confirmation notification by email (and WhatsApp if a phone number is on file). The appointment appears on your calendar straight away.
Use the **Calendar view** before opening the new appointment form to spot open slots at a glance. Switch to the week or day grid, find a gap in the doctor's schedule, and then open the form — the time slot will already be pre-filled if you click directly on a free slot in the calendar.
## Walk-in patients
For patients who arrive without a prior booking, you can add a walk-in appointment directly from the appointments page.
1. Click **New Appointment** as usual.
2. Search for the patient or create a new record if they have never visited before.
3. Set the date and time to the current moment, or leave it at the default (which is set to now).
4. In the **Type** field, select **Walk-in**. This attaches a walk-in token to the appointment so reception staff and the assigned doctor can identify it as an unscheduled visit.
5. Confirm the booking. Walk-in appointments follow the same workflow stages as regular appointments.
## Managing existing appointments
To view or update an existing appointment, click on it in the calendar or table view to open the appointment detail page. From there you can:
* **View full details** — patient information, assigned doctor, date, time, symptoms, notes, and current status.
* **Reschedule** — change the date or time of the appointment. When you save the change, Prvaha automatically notifies the patient of the new slot, including both the original and updated date in the message.
* **Cancel** — mark the appointment as **Cancelled**. You can provide a cancellation reason, which is included in the notification sent to the patient. Cancellation is available from any non-terminal status.
* **Reassign the doctor** — update the assigned doctor at any point before the appointment reaches a terminal status.
## Appointment statuses
Prvaha tracks where every appointment stands using the following statuses. Your clinic's workflow configuration determines which transitions are available and who can trigger them.
| Status | What it means |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Booked** | The appointment has been created but not yet confirmed by the clinic. |
| **Confirmed** | A doctor has been assigned and the clinic has confirmed the booking. |
| **Pending** | The appointment is in a workflow and awaiting the next step — for example, waiting for a consultation to start after triage is complete. |
| **On Hold** | The appointment is temporarily paused — for example, while waiting for test results or insurance approval. |
| **Ready for Billing** | The clinical work is done and the appointment is queued for invoice generation. |
| **Billed** | An invoice has been raised for the appointment. |
| **Completed** | The full appointment cycle — consultation, billing, and documentation — is finished. This is a terminal status. |
| **Cancelled** | The appointment was cancelled before completion. This is a terminal status. |
Your clinic may have additional custom workflow stages visible on the appointment detail page. These are defined in **Preferences → Appointment Transitions** and sit alongside the core statuses listed above.