What is lead time?
Lead time helps ensure your staff have enough notice to prepare for upcoming appointments. Lead time is the minimum amount of time between when a patient books an appointment and the earliest time they can be seen. For example, if your lead time is 2 hours, a patient booking at 10 AM won’t see any availability before 12 PM that day.
What’s new:
Show more accurate availability. Lead time now reflects the business hours your staff can review bookings, taking into account when your office is closed after hours or on weekends
View and make changes without going through Zocdoc support
Adjust lead times by location to match your operational workflows
Best practices
Keep lead time short whenever possible. Patients often book same-day or next-day care, and shorter lead times can help you capture that demand.
Adjust lead time only if needed. Lead time is set to 2 hours by default. Practices with a 2-hour lead time tend to see higher booking volume and appointment completion rates.
Reducing cancellations can help you qualify for a 1 hour lead time. Practices with a <30% cancellation rate for the quarter are eligible for a 1 hour lead time to help fill last minute time slots.
Setting your lead time
To adjust lead time settings, click the provider name in the top right corner of your Zocdoc account then open Settings and select the Intake tab. From there, select Lead time.
Then, you can choose your practice lead time, which will apply to all providers across your practices. By default, this is set to 2 business hours. You should only adjust your lead time if you need more time to review appointments.
2 business hours (default)
4 business hours
6 business hours
1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 business days
Note: Urgent care or facility profiles can also choose between 15 minutes (default) or 30 minutes.
Tip: Lead time reflects your office’s business hours, taking into account when your office is closed after hours or on weekends.
For example, if your lead time is 1 business day, a patient booking over the weekend will only see appointments starting the following Tuesday, so your staff has 1 full business day (Monday) to prepare.
Managing lead time by location
If your practice has multiple locations, you can choose a lead time for each location, if applicable. To edit, click Manage next to Manage lead time by location.
Then, you will be able to choose a different lead time by clicking Edit next to the office location. Choosing a location lead time means all providers at that location will have that lead time, instead of the default lead time.
All virtual locations must have the same lead time; you cannot set different lead times for different virtual locations.
Tip: If specific providers have a different lead time, you can contact us for help.
Setting your lead time window
Your lead time window is when lead time is applied. This should reflect when you are available to review bookings – typically your business hours.
By default, this is set to Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 6 PM. This ensures that lead time is only applied during those hours. For example:
2 hour lead time: A patient booking on Saturday will see availability starting 2 business hours after your Monday window begins (i.e., the first appointment would be 10 AM on Monday).
1 business day lead time: A patient booking on Saturday will see availability starting 1 business day after your Monday window begins (i.e., the first appointment would be Tuesday).
To set your lead time window, click Edit next to When should your lead time apply?
Then, choose the days and times when your staff can review new bookings and click Save.
Tip: If you want patients to see book appointments as soon as your office opens (e.g., 9 AM), consider starting your lead time window earlier.
For example, with a 2 hour lead time, set your lead time window to 7 AM on Monday, so patients can see 9 AM slots.
How to qualify for a 1-hour lead time
A 1-hour lead time can help you fill last minute time slots. Practices that meet the following criteria in the previous quarter may opt in to a 1-hour lead time:
5+ bookings on Zocdoc
Cancellation rate under 30%
If your practice qualifies, you’ll receive an email from Zocdoc and will see the 1-hour option in your lead time settings. You can choose to enable it at any time.
Tip: To estimate your progress toward a 1-hour lead time, go to the Outcomes page on your dashboard. Select the last 3 months, then divide your cancellations by your completed appointments to calculate your practice's cancellation rate.
FAQs
When should I edit my lead time?
Generally, most practices do not need to edit their lead time. You should only adjust your lead time if needed. Most practices keep the default 2 hour lead time to get more bookings.
You should only adjust your lead time if you need more time to prepare for an appointment. Lengthening your lead time means you will likely get fewer bookings, since patients value near-term availability: 24% of bookings are scheduled within 24 hours.
When should I edit my lead time window?
Similarly, most practices do not need to edit their lead time window. By default, lead time is applied to 8 AM - 6 PM, Monday-Friday. You should only adjust it if you want to change the earliest a patient can book an appointment.
For example, if you want patients to book appointments as soon as your office opens (e.g., 9 AM), consider starting your lead time window earlier. For example, with a 2 hour lead time, you can set your lead time to 7 AM on Monday, so patients can see 9 AM slots.
As a reminder, lead time only determines the earliest appointment a patient could see. You will need to have availability in your calendar in order for patients to actually book the appointment.
How can I edit a specific provider’s lead time?
If specific providers have a different lead time, you can contact us for help. The provider’s lead time would be standardized across locations and it would override the practice or location lead time.
Let’s use an example:
The default practice lead time for Soho Medical is 2 hours.
There are two locations – the Manhattan office has the default 2 hour lead time; the Brooklyn office has a 4-hour lead time, meaning all providers at the Brooklyn office also have a 4-hour lead time.
Dr. Evelyn Hamilton is a specialist who works in both the Manhattan and Brooklyn offices. She requires a longer lead time. Our team can help her set a 1 business day lead time, which will apply to both locations. Her 1 business day lead time overrides the practice and location lead time.
Who can edit lead time?
Users with Practice settings or Full access permissions can edit lead time.
How do working hours affect what patients see?
Some calendar integrations read your working hours directly from your EHR. This means that patients will only see availability within those hours.
For example, let’s say your lead time is 2 business hours and your working hours are 12-5 PM. If a patient is searching for an appointment at 8 AM, the earliest possible appointment they could see is 10 AM.
However, because your working hours are 12-5 PM, 12 PM is the earliest appointment a patient actually sees, because this is when your working hours start.