Glossary A–ZLetter O
Online appointment booking
Online appointment booking lets people arrange an appointment with a practice, public office, garage or shop themselves via a website or app, without phoning or waiting on site.
The system shows available times and confirms the booking.
For screen networks, appointment booking matters mainly as a data source and as a destination. In the waiting area, a screen can point out how to book online, for example via a QR code. If the booking system is linked to a queue management system, visitors with an appointment receive a number on arrival and are called at the agreed time, separately from those without an appointment.
Operators should make sure that the appointments and the queue management system share the same time base and the same counters, otherwise calls and display do not match. Booking collects personal data that must be protected; names and the purpose of appointments generally have no place on screens in the waiting area. A notice about online booking does not replace a route for people without internet access.