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Patients misusing the online booking system

  • August 8, 2025
  • 7 replies
  • 243 views
BCDC2023
Crowned Member
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We went live with our online booking some 6 weeks ago.

On average we’re getting only 3-4 online bookings a week despite having the portal link in all our recall emails and reminder emails and mainly from existing NHS patients.  More importantly, we’re seeing a large number of these patients making multiple bookings and failing to turn up for any of the appointments.  

  1. Why does the portal allow users to book more than one of the same appointment without warning them to either cancel or rescedule an appointment?
  2. There is no feature to switch off online booking for persisten offenders, only an option to prevent further appointments in general (in the patient’s details tab) which is not the same thing as I might be happy for them to call and my staff book them in

What is the solution here because I can see this becoming an issue as not only are we seeing wasted appointment slots but multiple text msgs which just add up?

August 11, 2025

Hi ​@BCDC2023 ​@Ali Afzal

I'm Luke, one of the Lead Product Designers at Dentally. Thank you both for flagging this, it's something we are aware of and we are looking into ways to improve the online booking experience at the moment!

We'd love to speak to you about your experience as part of our discovery - your feedback and insight would be incredibly valuable in helping us to shape Dentally Portal. If you're happy to share, I'll get in touch with you directly soon!

Thanks for your patience, we understand it's important that online booking works for you and we're working hard to resolve these issues and make it better for both you and your patients.

If any other users would also like to share their feedback, please reply below and we'll get in touch!

7 replies

A
Savvy Contributor
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  • Ali AfzalSavvy Contributor
  • Savvy Contributor
  • August 8, 2025

These are exactly the kinds of issues many of us have been hoping Dentally would address since the launch of the online booking feature. Unfortunately, it seems these concerns have not yet been prioritised, which is disappointing given the impact they’re having on practice operations specially NHS patient booking Private Exam appointments. 

Luke P
Dentally Team
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  • Luke PDentally Team
  • Dentally Team
  • August 11, 2025

Hi ​@BCDC2023 ​@Ali Afzal

I'm Luke, one of the Lead Product Designers at Dentally. Thank you both for flagging this, it's something we are aware of and we are looking into ways to improve the online booking experience at the moment!

We'd love to speak to you about your experience as part of our discovery - your feedback and insight would be incredibly valuable in helping us to shape Dentally Portal. If you're happy to share, I'll get in touch with you directly soon!

Thanks for your patience, we understand it's important that online booking works for you and we're working hard to resolve these issues and make it better for both you and your patients.

If any other users would also like to share their feedback, please reply below and we'll get in touch!

    BCDC2023
    Crowned Member
    Forum|alt.badge.img+9
    • BCDC2023Crowned Member
    • Author
    • Crowned Member
    • August 11, 2025

    Hi

    Happy to speak, please reach out to me on my number on your system or email me.

    Thanks.

    Regards

    Danish

      A
      Savvy Contributor
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      • Ali AfzalSavvy Contributor
      • Savvy Contributor
      • October 7, 2025

       

      G
      Newcomer
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      • GURJNewcomer
      • Newcomer
      • November 9, 2025

      Agree with many of the post it should be possible to restrict how and when patients are allowed to book and what and how much a of a deposit if taken at the time of booking. 

        BCDC2023
        Crowned Member
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        • BCDC2023Crowned Member
        • Author
        • Crowned Member
        • April 5, 2026

        ​@Luke P Any update on being able to restrict certain individuals from being able to use the online facility?  If it does get implemented, perhaps a msg can appear for that user to say “Please call the practice to arrange an appointment - online booking is not available at this time”

        Luke P
        Dentally Team
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        • Luke PDentally Team
        • Dentally Team
        • April 7, 2026

        Hi Danish (​@BCDC2023), thanks for reaching out and sharing the feedback. Development for v2 online booking/patient portal is progressing well, and this will certainly make it easier to signpost users to the right appointments to reduce multiple bookings/FTAs. We can't share an exact date at this point but aiming for later this year - we're prioritising the development and release of v2 (which includes this improvement and a wide range of others), so won't be making small changes to online booking in the interim.

        We've absolutely taken your feedback on board for this project, thanks for sharing with us

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