Connect Google and Outlook
Connect your Google or Outlook calendar, and set up two-way sync and conflict calendars to prevent double bookings.
2 min read
If your doctors and coordinators keep their personal schedules in Google Calendar or Outlook, connecting those calendars to MedicalGrow prevents double bookings. External events such as conferences, surgeries or private appointments automatically show as busy on the patient booking page.
Concepts
- Connected calendar: the Google or Outlook account you've given MedicalGrow access to.
- Linked calendar: the external calendar that appointments created in MedicalGrow are written to. The appointment appears there too.
- Conflict calendars: the calendars checked for availability. Times with "busy" events in these calendars aren't offered to patients.
Connect a calendar
Connections are set up per user; each team member connects their own account.
- In Settings → Calendars, switch to the Connections tab.
- Click Add New, choose Google or Outlook, sign in with your account and approve the requested permissions.
- In Linked calendar, choose the calendar MedicalGrow appointments are written to (usually your work calendar). You need write access to that calendar.
- In Conflict calendars, tick the calendars to check for availability, e.g. both your work and personal calendars.
Sync starts once your settings are saved.
Tip
Tick your personal calendar as a conflict calendar too. Event details are never shown to patients; the time is simply blocked as "busy".
Two-way sync
- MedicalGrow → Google/Outlook: a patient's booking appears as an event in your linked calendar, so you can follow your day from the calendar app on your phone.
- Google/Outlook → MedicalGrow: busy events in your external calendar block that time in MedicalGrow. With two-way sync on, external events are also shown in calendar view.
Note
Only events marked Busy block time. An event marked Free in Google won't stop patients booking.
Heads up
If several MedicalGrow users choose the same external calendar as their "linked calendar", you may get duplicate events. Each user should connect their own calendar.
Clinic example
Dr. Mehmet Demir has added November's implantology conference to his Google calendar as "Busy". Because his calendar is connected to MedicalGrow, those days show as unavailable to patients on the "Implant Surgery – Dr. Mehmet" calendar. The coordinators don't need to be told separately.
Troubleshooting
An external event isn't blocking time. Check the event is marked Busy and that its calendar is ticked under Conflict calendars.
Appointments are one hour off in Google. The time zone in the MedicalGrow user profile differs from the Google calendar's. Set both to the same zone. See My profile.
The connection dropped on its own. A Google/Microsoft password change or revoked permission breaks the connection. Reconnect the account from the Connections tab.
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