Set your time zones to match current geographic locations for your practice group, locations, practitioners, and even patients. Time zone management helps avoid confusion so you can stay on top of time differences and keep appointments on time.
On Halaxy, you can set the following time zones:
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Time Zone |
Description |
Where to set |
|---|---|---|
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User time zone |
The time zone used when viewing dates and times throughout Halaxy. This applies only to your individual Halaxy account. |
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Location time zone |
The time zone used for setting practitioner hours at each practice location. |
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|
Group time zone |
The default time zone for your practice group that is used to display dates and times throughout Halaxy when there is no user time zone set. |
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|
Patient time zone |
The time zone used to display appointment times when patients receive their appointment reminders. Note: If there is no patient time zone set in their profile, reminders will send appointment times in the location's time zone. |
Tip
Any time differences between patient, practitioner or location are always noted in the calendar. Click the appointment to open the information panel, or hover over the calendar timestamp to open a preview.
Your user time zone affects only your individual account and sets how dates and times are displayed when you are logged into Halaxy. This is especially handy if you are located in a different time zone from your practice location or if you are traveling.
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From the calendar, in the top right, click the
cogwheel icon.
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In the Calendar Preferences pop-up, for Time Zone, select the time zone for how you want to display time in your Halaxy account. (To remove the time zone, click the
red X icon.)
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Click Save.
When you view your calendar, your practice hours and appointments now display according to your set time zone, which is always indicated at the top of your calendar.
All dates and times on Halaxy display in your user time zone, unless where specified. If you do not have a user time zone, your account defaults to the group time zone.
Note
If you remove the user time zone, the calendar displays appointments on the calendar relative to their respective time zone. For example, a 9am appointment in the Melbourne location will appear alongside a 9am appointment in a Perth location, even though these won't take place at the same time. This is because there is no fixed time zone selected for the calendar. (See Application Examples section below for more details.)
Your location’s time zone is used when setting practice hours for all practitioners under each location.
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Click Personal > Locations.
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For the relevant location, click Edit.
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For Time Zone, select your location's time zone. In the time zone field, select a time zone for the clinic. (Note: If this differs from the practice group's time zone, an alert is displayed.)
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Click Save.
Whenever you set a schedule of practice hours for a location's practitioners, you are using that location's time zone. (See Application Examples section below for more details.)
Your practice group's time zone is the default time zone for your practice.
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Click Settings > General.
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Under the Group Settings section, click Edit.
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For Time Zone, select your practice group's time zone.
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Click Save.
If you haven't set a user time zone for your account, all dates and times in Halaxy display in the group time zone.
A patient’s time zone only affects reminders where the patient’s time zone is different to the location’s time zone.
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Open the patient's profile.
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On the top right, click Edit.
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Under the Address section, for Time Zone, select the patient's time zone. (Note: If this differs from the practice group's time zone, an alert is displayed.)
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Click Save.
When the patient receives reminders, the appointment time is displayed in the patient's time zone.
For online bookings, patients can select a time zone to display appointment times.
If the selected time zone is different to the location’s time zone, the appointment reminder and booking confirmation displays the patient’s selected time zone alongside the location’s time zone.
GIF: Selecting a time zone when making an online booking as a patient
Note
Selecting a time zone for online bookings applies only to that particular booking and does not affect future appointments or the patient’s time zone in their patient profile.
Managing multiple time zones can be complex. Every practice is different and uses time zone management in their own way way. Here are some examples of how different time zones are applied when using Halaxy:
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Switching time zones for your account
Example of appointment times and practice hours shifting after changing your user time zone (click the images to zoom)
In the example above:
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The user is viewing practice hours in a Melbourne location.
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In the first image, the account holder set their user time zone to Melbourne, as indicated at the top of the calendar. They are viewing their 9am to 5pm schedule for their Melbourne location.
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In the second image, the account holder set their user time zone to Perth. They are viewing their 9am to 5pm schedule at the same Melbourne location in the Perth time zone, which now displays as 6am to 2pm in Perth time.
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Creating appointments for locations in different time zones
Example of creating an appointment for a location in a different time zone (click images to zoom)
In the example above:
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The account holder set their user time zone to Melbourne.
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They are creating an appointment for a practitioner from the Perth location (pink).
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Setting the appointment time is done in the selected location's time zone (1pm, Perth time), but an alert also displays the appointment time in the current user time zone.
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After saving, the appointment information panel displays the appointment time in all relevant time zones.
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The appointment displays on the calendar at 4pm because the calendar is currently set to Melbourne time zone, indicated at the top of the calendar.
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Managing the calendar for multiple locations with a user time zone
Example of viewing multiple practitioner schedules in different locations and time zones (click to zoom)
In the example above:
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The account holder set their user time zone to Melbourne and is viewing the calendar in Melbourne time.
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There are two practitioners working in two different locations in different time zones. AG works in the Melbourne location (blue), and KW works in the Perth location (pink).
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Both practitioners work a 9am to 5pm schedule in their respective time zones. The calendar is displaying both these schedules in the user time zone, which is Melbourne time. This is why KW's hours display as 12pm to 8pm.
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The appointment at the Perth location is scheduled for 12pm in Perth time, but displays on the calendar as 3pm because the user time zone is currently set to Melbourne.
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The time difference between the account holder (Melbourne) and KW (Perth) are indicated with the
clock icon. By hovering over this icon, a preview displays the appointment time in all relevant time zones.
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Managing the calendar for multiple locations without a user time zone
Example of viewing different location schedules (in different time zones) when no user time zone is selected (click to zoom)
In the example above:
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The account holder did not set a user time zone, so the calendar is not fixed to any time zone.
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When there is no user time zone, the calendar defaults to displaying schedules relative to their own time zone.
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Both practitioners the Melbourne and Perth locations display their own 9am to 5pm schedules on the calendar concurrently, even though they do not actually take place at the same time.
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Both locations have appointments scheduled at 12pm in their respective time zones. The appointments both display at 12pm on the calendar. This is because there is no user time zone selected.
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No time differences are indicated because there is no current time zone set for the calendar.
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Scheduling for locations in different time zones
In the example above:
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The practice group has two locations in different time zones: Melbourne and Perth.
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The practice group is based in Melbourne and is set to the Melbourne time zone.
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A location's time zone is displayed if it is different from the group's time zone. In this case, the Perth time zone is displayed.
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Each location sets practitioner work hours according to their location's time zone.
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The practitioners both have a 9am to 5pm schedule in their respective locations and time zones.
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Scheduling for practitioners in different time zones
In the example above:
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This is a schedule for two practitioners working for a Melbourne-based telehealth practice.
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The first practitioner lives in Melbourne and works from 9am to 5pm.
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The second practitioner lives in Brisbane and also works from 9am to 5pm.
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Their work hours must be set in the time zone of the location they are assigned to.
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In this case, the second practitioner's hours are set at 8am to 4pm in Melbourne time - which is 9am to 5pm in Brisbane.
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Sending reminders to patients in different time zones
Example of a scheduled appointment reminder for a patient in a different time zone
In the example above:
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The practitioner is in Perth and the patient is in Adelaide.
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The appointment is at 2pm (Perth) for the practitioner, but it is at 4:30pm (Adelaide) for the patient.
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When the patient receives the appointment reminder, the appointment time is provided in the patient's time (Adelaide).
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If you have patients in time zones different from you, make it a habit to set their time zone in their patient profile. This ensures that their reminders provide their appointment times in their time zone.
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If you typically book patient appointments for multiple locations in different time zones, try removing the user time zone. This displays calendar appointments relative to each time zone, making it easier for you to just create appointments without needing to note any time differences.
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Assign different Open Hours colours for each location. By colour coding your calendar, you can stay organised when viewing multiple time zone schedules.
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When in doubt, always check the appointment details. Appointment times are always listed in all relevant time zones.
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