Scheduling & appointments · 3 min read · Intermediate
Appointment types and durations
Your service menu is Amy's booking menu. Set each visit type, how long it takes, and which providers can do it, and Amy books the right length with the right provider every time.
Updated Jul 9, 2026
Amy books from a menu of visit types — the same way your front desk knows a cleaning takes an hour and an emergency exam takes twenty minutes. This menu is what keeps your schedule realistic: it tells Amy how long each kind of visit runs and which providers can perform it, so she never books a two-hour crown into a fifteen-minute gap or sends a filling to a hygienist.
Tip
Your service menu doubles as your booking menu. When you set it up well once, Amy books accurately from then on — the right visit, the right length, the right provider.
What an appointment type is made of
Each type in your menu carries a few simple settings:
- A name the way patients describe it — "New patient exam," "Cleaning," "Toothache," "Crown."
- A duration — how long that visit blocks on the schedule.
- The providers who can do it — so a hygiene visit books with hygiene, and a surgical visit books with the right provider.
- New-patient handling — first visits are usually longer, so you can set a separate length for new patients.
Set up your service menu
- Open Settings → Services. You'll see your list of appointment types, or a blank list ready for your first ones.
- Add or edit a type. Give it a clear, patient-friendly name so Amy recognizes it when a caller describes their visit.
- Set the duration. Enter how long the visit should block. This is the single most important setting — it's what keeps your day from running over.
- Assign providers. Choose who can perform this visit type. Amy only offers times with a provider who's qualified for it.
- Handle new patients. If first visits run longer, set the new-patient length so Amy books enough time.
- Save. Amy uses the update on the very next call — there's nothing else to publish.
Note
Keep names in plain language. Patients don't call to book a "D1110" — they call about a "cleaning" or a "sore tooth." The closer your type names are to how patients actually talk, the more accurately Amy matches them.
How Amy uses the menu on a call
When a caller says why they're coming in, Amy matches that to a type in your menu, looks up its duration, and finds an opening long enough with a qualified provider. If someone describes something that isn't on your menu, or asks a clinical question about what they need, Amy captures it and hands it to your team in What needs to get done rather than guessing. See the full booking flow in How Amy books an appointment.
Keeping durations honest
Durations are a living setting. If a certain visit consistently runs long or short, adjust it — Amy immediately books to the new length. Getting durations right does two things at once: it protects your providers from a packed, overrunning day, and it lets Amy offer patients times that will actually work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to build this from scratch? No. Most of your service menu comes over during setup, and your onboarding contact helps shape it. You just refine names and durations to match how your practice runs.
What if a patient's request matches more than one type? Amy asks a quick clarifying question — "Is this a cleaning, or is something bothering you?" — so she books the right visit rather than assuming.
Can different providers have different lengths for the same visit? Set the durations that fit how your team works. If one provider needs longer for a given visit, reflect that in how you build the type and provider assignments, and Amy books accordingly.
Where do provider hours and days off fit in? Appointment types decide the "what" and "how long"; provider hours decide the "who" and "when." Set those in Provider hours and blackout dates.
How do I stop Amy from booking during lunch or a meeting? Block that time. See Block times so Amy never books them.
Still need a hand?
Reach the Valian team any time at help@valiansystems.com, or open a ticket from the Help Center inside your dashboard. During onboarding, your onboarding contact is at onboarding@valiansystems.com.