The basics
Once appointment types exist and providers have published time, you share a booking link so patients can schedule without logging into Planbase.
Background: Patient booking overview. Types and rules: Appointment types and rules for patient booking.
Generate a booking link
Open Scheduling → settings cog → Activities.
Open a saved Appointment Type.
Click the link icon next to the name.
Choose how hosts are assigned (see below).
Copy the URL and share it.
Round robin vs 1:1 with provider
These are two booking link modes, not two appointment types.
| Round robin | 1:1 with provider |
Clinician in link | No | Yes (one) |
Times shown | Any eligible free host | Only that host |
Feels like | Best available | Named clinician |
Round robin - share the type only. Patients see open times across anyone eligible to host it (still filtered by rules such as state and payor).
1:1 with provider - same type, locked to one clinician. Only their open times appear.
If the type has required hosts that need more than one person, use Choose providers and pick people for each role, then generate.
A basic round robin link looks like:
https://app.joinplanbase.com/book?organisation_id=...&appointment_type_id=...
If the link controls are missing, patient booking may not be enabled for your organization yet. Contact Planbase.
Optional URL parameters
If you have routing rules, patients are usually asked for the details needed to match them (for example state and insurance). You can pre-fill those in the link, or limit which providers can appear.
provider_ids- comma-separated provider ids. Limits open times to those people.fields- comma-separated list of details to collect before the calendar. Supported keys includestate,insurance,birth_date, andlanguage.patient_id- links to an existing patient so the flow can reuse their profile.state,insurance, and other field keys - pre-fill values so the patient can skip the info step if everything required is already filled.
Defaults:
If you omit
fields, the page still asks for state and insurance.Date of birth and language also appear (language is optional). These matter when you use age or language routing rules.
Example with a pinned provider and pre-filled state:
https://app.joinplanbase.com/book?organisation_id=123&appointment_type_id=456&provider_ids=789&state=CA
What the patient sees
1. Info - a short form (your organization logo if set, otherwise Planbase). They complete the required fields. That data routes them to the right open times (for example state for licensure, insurance for payor enrollment).
2. Calendar - days with open times, then slots on the day they pick. Times use the browser timezone. The type name and duration show where relevant. The host may be a named provider or best available.
If nothing appears, common causes are: no published shifts for eligible providers, missing appointment type duration, availability-required type without marked availability, or rules (state, payor, primary provider, attributes) that filtered everyone out for this patient.
3. Confirm - they review date, time, length, host, and timezone. New patients enter first name, last name, and email. Notes are optional.
4. Done - confirmation says the appointment was requested (for example "We've requested [date] at [time]..."), with provider names when known. The visit then appears on the provider schedule in Planbase.
Tips
Use a separate link per appointment type when pathways differ.
Use a provider-specific link when continuity with one clinician matters; use round robin when any eligible host is fine.
Pre-fill
stateor insurance only when you already trust that data.Be careful with
patient_idlinks - they identify a known patient in your system.