Cliniko setup guide
What you need, the seven setup steps, what happens on a booking call, and what 2care reads and writes in Cliniko.
4 min read
How it connects
2care connects to Cliniko through Cliniko's own API, using an API key that someone with admin access at your practice generates in Cliniko. The key is stored encrypted.
Your key also tells 2care which Cliniko region your account lives in, so a practice in the UK, the Netherlands or Australia connects in the same way. Nothing is installed, and bookings appear in the diary you already use.
Terms used here
- Practitioner. A clinician with their own diary in Cliniko.
- Appointment type. A kind of visit, such as an initial assessment or a follow-up, with its own length.
- Business. Cliniko's word for one of your locations.
- API key. A private code a Cliniko user generates, which lets 2care read and write within that user's access.
Before you start
| Item | Who provides it |
|---|---|
| A signed data processing agreement (DPA) with 2care | Signed before any patient data moves |
| A Cliniko API key, generated by a user with admin access | Your practice owner or manager |
| Your practitioners and the businesses they work from | Your practice manager |
| The appointment types callers may book | Your practice manager |
| Your booking rules, such as who takes new patients and on which days | Your practice manager |
Setup
- Sign the DPA. No patient data is read until it is in place, and regional hosting is available where you require it.
- Generate the API key. A user with admin access creates it in their Cliniko settings and shares it securely with your onboarding specialist.
- Connect and check. We connect the key and confirm that your businesses, practitioners and appointment types come through as you expect.
- Map your appointment types. Cliniko shows availability per appointment type, so you choose which types the agent offers to new and returning patients.
- Set your booking rules. Tell us which practitioners take new patients, which days each works, and anything a caller should hear before they attend.
- Run a test round trip. We book a test appointment, open it in Cliniko with your team watching, then cancel it.
- Switch the line over. Your number forwards to 2care at the hours you choose. See forwarding your number.
On a booking call
| Step in the call | What the caller hears | What happens in Cliniko |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | A request for their name and date of birth | The caller is matched to their patient file, so no second file is created |
| Availability | Open times with the practitioner and at the business they asked for | Each diary is read live for that appointment type, breaks and blocks included |
| Choice | The time they chose, read back | The slot is checked again at the moment of booking |
| Booking | Confirmation of the appointment | The appointment is written into Cliniko against the practitioner they asked for |
| Confirmation | A text with the date, time and address | The reason for the visit and a call summary are added to the appointment |
The agent confirms the appointment only once Cliniko has accepted it. If another booking took the time in the meantime, Cliniko refuses the write and the agent offers the next open time with the same practitioner, or an earlier one with a colleague.
What 2care reads
- Each practitioner's diary, as it stands at the moment of the call
- Appointment types and their durations
- Existing patient files, so a returning patient is recognised
- Breaks, blocks and the days a practitioner does not take new patients
- Your businesses, where your practice runs from more than one address
What 2care writes
- New appointments, against the practitioner the caller asked for
- New patients and updated contact details, read back before they are saved
- The reason for the visit and a summary of the call, kept on the appointment
- Cancellations, released straight away so the time can go to someone waiting
- Reschedules, including a move to another practitioner when the caller asks
What 2care never touches
- Treatment notes, results and medications
- Anything outside the access your API key allows
- Any action your team could not undo: every write records the call that caused it
Intake forms
When a call registers a new patient, 2care can text them a link to your Cliniko intake form so it is filled in before the first visit. You switch this on during setup, and completed forms land in Cliniko as they do today.
Questions
Who in our practice needs to be involved?
One Cliniko admin to generate the key, and whoever knows your appointment types. Most practices are live in about 5 business days.
Our practitioners each work different days. Does it know?
Yes. It reads the diary itself, so each practitioner's working pattern, breaks and blocked time is what the caller is offered.
Can it book a whole treatment plan in one call?
Yes. The full run of sessions is placed at times the patient chooses, each one checked against the live diary.
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