How to Set Up and Use Transparencies

 

Creating a Block

To create a block, select a transparency name in the sidebar and click and drag on the schedule, just like creating an appointment.

As shown above, by default, the new block's name will be the transparency name followed by a number. The name can be changed in the drawer and additional notes can be entered at the bottom in the Notes field. Save the changes by going to the Edit menu and selecting Save Record, or use the Command-S keyboard shortcut.

 

 

Managing Transparencies

Many offices choose to clean up their transparencies annually or every few years. There are three options for managing transparencies; turn them off, end repeats, and delete them. This also applies to MacPractice default transparencies for MacPractice and US Federal Holidays.

Deleting Blocks

If a block was entered in error, or is no longer needed, it can be deleted by simply right clicking on the block itself. The All Blocks tab displays every instance of the transparency. It allows you to delete single or repeat transparency blocks. You may also simply delete the transparency type in the sidebar. See the FAQ article for instructions on disabling and deleting transparencies.

Viewing and Locking Transparency Records

You may set all of your other office computers to display the same transparencies using the Set Selection In Other Terminals option; this is found by right clicking Transparencies in the sidebar.

Once all of your transparencies are correct, lock the records so no one accidentally changes these settings. Certain users can be given privileges to edit transparency record. Set this up in the User Group Privileges Reference.

Create a Transparency Type

The functionality in the Transparency Types node is similar to what you would be able to configure in the drawer in prior builds of MacPractice.

Types are used to create broad categories of Transparency Blocks as an organizational tool. We already have a "Holidays" Type pre-defined, but you could presumably set up Types for many organizational purposes for your practice.

To add a Type, simply select the Transparency Type node, then click the Green Plus in the sidebar.

A New record item will appear under the Transparency node. On the right enter the transparency type's name and select a Color. After choosing the options, be sure to save the changes by selecting the Edit menu > Save Record, or by using the Command-S keyboard shortcut.

 

To edit a Type, click the Type you wish to edit underneath the Transparency Type node, then adjust the details you want to change.

In the main window area, you should see three tabs just below the Type name.

• The Rules tab: This applies to every block for this transparency. These can be set to not accept appointments, to require a confirmation, or to only allow certain procedures.
  • Do Not Accept Appointments: This rule disallows any appointments from being scheduled over the transparency. 
  • Requires a Confirmation: Appointments scheduled on a transparency with this rule will prompt for confirmation.
  • Allow Selected Procedures: This option only allows appointments with the same procedures listed in the Allowed Proc table to scheduled. The procedures will need to be listed in the Treatment Plan in order for this function to work.
• The All Blocks tab: This tab will list all blocks on the schedule for the selected Type.
• The History tab: You can use this to track when changes are made to this particular Transparency, and which user initiated the change.

 

Create a Transparency Block

With your Transparency Types set, we can now block out areas on the schedule by creating Transparency Blocks. In order to do this, first scroll up and expand the Transparency Blocks node. This will bring up the Schedule view for the currently selected day. From here, you can simply schedule a block by clicking and dragging the mouse to create a block on a given Resource, much like when scheduling an appointment.

This window will populate when creating a Transparency Block. You can name this specific block, set the Type and Resource, and adjust the scheduled time.

After renaming the block you will notice two checkboxes:

You'll also see on this pop up an option to configure a Repeating block. To set this up, click on the Repeats drop down menu and set the Frequency to repeat Every Day, Every Week, Every Month, or Every Year. You can also choose Custom, which will allow you to set up Transparencies in more irregular patterns such as every two or three weeks, etc.

Clicking Save will confirm the Transparency block and place it on the Schedule.