PracSuite setup guide

What you need, the seven setup steps, what happens on a booking call, and what 2care reads and writes in PracSuite.

4 min read

How it connects

2care connects to PracSuite through PracSuite's own API. An administrator at your practice authorises the connection, and access is scoped to the diary and the patient details a booking needs.

Every practitioner's availability is read live during the call. Each booking is written straight back, so your utilisation reporting stays accurate.

Terms used here

Practitioner. A clinician with their own column in the shared diary.
Appointment type. A kind of visit, such as an initial consultation or a review, with its own duration.
Site. One of your practice's locations.
Continuity rule. Your rule for keeping existing patients with their own practitioner.

Before you start

Item	Who provides it
A signed data processing agreement (DPA) with 2care	Signed before any patient data moves
Authorisation of the connection by a PracSuite administrator	Your practice owner or manager
Your practitioners, their disciplines and the sites they work from	Your practice manager
The appointment types callers may book	Your practice manager
Your continuity rules, and how new patients are shared across the team	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.
Authorise the connection. Your administrator grants access in PracSuite, and your onboarding specialist walks them through it.
Connect and check. We confirm that your practitioners, sites and appointment types come through as you expect.
Map your appointment types. Each type keeps the duration set in PracSuite, so an initial consultation and a review are booked at their own lengths.
Agree your continuity rules. Existing patients stay with their own practitioner, and new patients go where there is room, in the way you choose.
Run a test round trip. We book a test appointment, open it in PracSuite 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 PracSuite
Identity	A request for their name and date of birth	The caller is matched to their patient file, so a returning patient is not duplicated
Availability	Open times with their own practitioner, or the right one for their problem	Diaries are read live for that appointment type and site, blocks and buffers 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 PracSuite against the practitioner and type requested
Confirmation	A text with the date, time and address	The reason for attending and the outcome of the call are kept on the file

The agent confirms the appointment only once PracSuite has accepted it. If someone at your desk took the time in the meantime, PracSuite refuses the booking and the agent offers the next open time with the same practitioner, or an earlier one with a colleague.

What 2care reads

Practitioner diaries, checked at the moment of the call
Appointment types and durations, exactly as configured
Patient files, so returning patients are matched
Blocks and buffers a practitioner has set for themselves
Your sites, where the practice runs more than one

What 2care writes

The appointment, against the practitioner and type requested
Patient contact details, confirmed before they are stored
The reason for attending, kept with the booking
Cancellations, released so the hour can be refilled
The outcome of the call, recorded on the file

What 2care never touches

Clinical notes, results and medications
Time a practitioner has blocked out, which is never offered to a caller
Anything outside the access your administrator granted

Shared diaries

When several practitioners share one reception, most booking errors start with the wrong clinician. The agent keeps existing patients with their own clinician and books a whole treatment plan in one call at the right spacing.

When an hour is cancelled, it is released in PracSuite and offered to patients who asked for something sooner, in the order you choose.

Questions

Will it respect a practitioner's own blocks?

Yes. Anything a practitioner has blocked out in PracSuite is treated as unavailable, so it is never offered.

Does it work across our sites?

Yes. Sites come from PracSuite, so a caller is offered the location that suits them.

How long does setup take?

Most practices are live in about 5 business days once the connection is authorised and continuity rules are agreed.

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