Channel Scheduling Overview - hmislk/hmis GitHub Wiki
Channel Scheduling Overview
The Channel Scheduling hub is the starting point for all administrator and scheduling tasks related to channelling sessions. It provides quick access to schedule management, session instance management, activity management, and fee editing.
Navigation
Menu → Channelling → Channel Scheduling
Requires the ChannelSessionManagement or ChannelSheduleManagement privilege.
Hub Page Layout
The hub page (/channel/channel_scheduling/index) shows a left panel with six action buttons:
| Button | Function | Privilege Required |
|---|---|---|
| Channel Schedule Management | Create and edit the master schedule templates (recurring session definitions) | ChannelSheduleManagement |
| Bulk Hospital Fee Editing | Update hospital fees across multiple sessions at once | ChannelSheduleManagement |
| Channel Session Management | View and manage individual session instances — change dates, times, max patient counts, cancel instances | ChannelSessionManagement |
| Channel Activity Management | Manage appointment activities and status workflows | ChannelSessionManagement or ChannelSheduleManagement |
| Channel Scheduling for All Doctors | Open the schedule management view pre-filtered to show all doctors | ChannelSheduleManagement |
| Retired Channel Schedules | View schedule templates that have been retired (deactivated) | ChannelSheduleManagement |
The right side of the hub page loads the selected tool's content without leaving the page.
Who Can Be Scheduled
A channel schedule can only be created for a staff member recorded as a Consultant. If you select a doctor who is recorded under any other staff type, saving is refused with:
Channel sessions can be created only for Consultants. Please correct the staff record to a Consultant before adding a schedule.
This keeps the schedule in step with online booking. Booking agents receive their doctor list from the consultant records only, so a schedule created for a non-consultant would publish sessions that agents cannot match to any doctor, and the doctor would not appear for booking.
To resolve it, have the staff record corrected to a Consultant first, then create the schedule.
Schedules that already exist for other staff types stay editable, so they can still be corrected or retired.
Workflow: From Schedule to Booking
Understanding the two-level structure is key:
Service Session (master template)
└─ defines: consultant, speciality, days/dates, time, fees, numbering type
↓ generates
Session Instances (individual occurrences)
└─ each instance has: specific date, status, bookings, max count
↓ receive
Channel Bookings (patient reservations)
Administrators work at the Service Session level to define recurring schedules. Front-office staff work at the Session Instance level to manage day-to-day bookings.