Multi-Location Scheduling

ABA services are delivered in a variety of settings, and PracticeABA is designed to handle the scheduling complexity that comes with multi-location practice. The most common locations include clinic-based sessions at your facility, home-based sessions at the client's residence, school-based sessions at the client's educational setting, community-based sessions in natural environments, and telehealth sessions conducted via video conferencing.

Each location type has different scheduling considerations. Clinic sessions are constrained by room availability and clinic operating hours. Home-based sessions require travel time between locations and are subject to the family's availability. School sessions must align with the school's schedule and may have restricted hours during testing periods or school breaks. Telehealth sessions are the most flexible in terms of scheduling but require the client to have appropriate technology and a private space.

In PracticeABA, each client can have one or more service locations configured in their profile. When scheduling an appointment for a client, the location dropdown shows their configured locations with the corresponding place of service code. The place of service code is critical for billing accuracy, as insurance payers require the correct code on each claim. Using the wrong code can result in claim denials or reduced reimbursement rates.

For clients who receive services in multiple settings, you can set a default location that pre-populates on new appointments and override it when scheduling sessions at alternative locations. This saves time for the most common scenario while maintaining flexibility.

When managing a multi-location practice, the calendar can become dense with appointments across all sites. PracticeABA's location filter helps you focus on one location at a time or view specific combinations of locations.

From the calendar filter bar, click the Location filter and select one or more locations. The calendar will immediately update to show only appointments at the selected locations. This is particularly useful for clinic managers who need to see what is happening at their specific site, or for BCBAs who want to plan their day by viewing only the locations they need to visit.

You can also use the Staff and Location filters together to see a specific staff member's schedule at a specific location. For example, filtering by a particular RBT and the 'Home' location type shows you all of that RBT's home-based sessions, which is helpful when planning efficient route schedules for staff who travel between multiple client homes.

The Location Overview page, accessible from Calendar and then Locations, provides a side-by-side comparison of scheduling density across all your locations. Each location is displayed as a column showing the number of sessions, occupied time slots, and available capacity. This view helps administrators balance the load across locations and identify sites that are underutilized or overbooked.

Telehealth has become an essential service delivery model for many ABA practices, and PracticeABA provides built-in tools for scheduling and managing virtual sessions. When creating a telehealth appointment, select the Telehealth location type, which automatically sets the place of service code to 02 and applies any telehealth-specific billing rules configured for the client's insurance payer.

PracticeABA integrates with common video conferencing platforms to generate session links automatically. When a telehealth appointment is created, a unique video session link is generated and attached to the appointment. This link is shared with the client or caregiver through an automated appointment reminder and is also accessible from the appointment detail panel for the therapist.

Telehealth sessions have some unique documentation requirements. Many payers require that telehealth session notes include confirmation that the session was conducted via video (not audio-only), that the client was in a suitable environment, and that a caregiver was present for certain session types. PracticeABA's telehealth session note template includes these required fields automatically, ensuring your documentation meets payer requirements.

It is important to verify each client's insurance coverage for telehealth services, as coverage policies vary significantly between payers and states. Some payers cover telehealth for all ABA service codes, while others restrict it to specific codes or require prior authorization. These coverage details should be noted in the client's insurance profile so that scheduling staff can create telehealth appointments only for clients with confirmed coverage.

When staff members work at multiple locations throughout the week or even within a single day, coordinating their schedules requires careful planning. PracticeABA provides several tools to help you manage this complexity.

The Staff Location Calendar, accessible from the Staff section, shows each staff member's schedule with location color-coding. At a glance, you can see which days a staff member works at which location and whether their daily transitions between locations include adequate travel time. This view is especially useful for BCBAs who conduct supervision at multiple sites throughout the week.

When scheduling a staff member at a different location than their previous or next appointment, PracticeABA automatically calculates the travel time needed and checks whether there is sufficient buffer time. If the gap between appointments is less than the estimated travel time, a warning is displayed. You can either adjust the appointment time to create more buffer or acknowledge the tight transition if you know the locations are close together.

For practices with multiple clinic sites, you can assign staff members to primary and secondary locations. Their primary location is where they are scheduled by default, and secondary locations are facilities where they can be booked when needed. This assignment helps scheduling coordinators know which staff members are available for each site without having to check individual availability records.

The Multi-Site Coverage Report, available in the Reports section, shows staffing levels at each location for a selected period. This report highlights days and times where a location is understaffed relative to the number of scheduled client sessions, helping you proactively redistribute staff or recruit additional team members for high-demand locations.