Walk-in Patients

Overview

Walk-in patients are those who arrive at the clinic without a prior appointment. SehaFile's Walk-in feature lets you register these patients quickly and add them directly to a doctor's queue. The system creates an appointment record with a queue number, bypassing the normal slot-booking process. This ensures walk-ins are tracked in the same workflow as scheduled patients.

How to Register a Walk-in Patient

1. Navigate to the Queue Page — From the sidebar, click Appointments > Queue. Or use the dashboard quick action button labeled “Walk-in” which links to /appointments/queue.
2. Click “+ Walk-in” Button — At the top of the queue page, click the Walk-in button to open the walk-in form.
3. Select the Patient — Search for an existing patient by name, phone, or National ID. If the patient is new to the clinic, register them first using the New Patient form, then return to walk-in.
4. Select the Doctor — Choose which doctor the patient will see from the active doctors list. Consider current queue lengths when deciding.
5. Add Notes (optional) — Include the reason for visit or any urgent notes (e.g., “Acute chest pain - needs priority” or “Follow-up for lab results”).
6. Submit — Click the submit button. The system calls POST /appointments/walk-in with the patient_id, doctor_id, and notes. A new appointment is created with:
   • Status: “checked_in” (immediately in queue)
   • Scheduled date: today
   • Queue number: auto-assigned (next in sequence)
   • Check-in time: current timestamp

Walk-in vs. Scheduled Appointments

Managing Walk-in Flow

1. Check current queue — Before adding a walk-in, review the Queue Board to see how many patients are waiting for each doctor.
2. Inform the patient — Tell the patient their queue number and estimated wait time based on the current queue length.
3. Monitor progress — Watch the Queue Board as patients move from “Waiting” to “With Doctor” to “Completed.”

FAQ

Can I assign priority to a walk-in?

The walk-in form itself does not have a priority field. For urgent cases, add it to the Waiting List with “Urgent” priority instead, or note it in the comments and inform the doctor directly.

What if the doctor has no availability today?

Walk-ins bypass the slot system entirely. You can add a walk-in to any doctor regardless of their schedule. The patient will simply wait in the queue.

Does the walk-in patient get a reminder?

No. Since walk-in patients are already at the clinic, no SMS or push reminder is sent. Reminders are only for future scheduled appointments.