Appointments occupy sets of one or more booked slots on a schedule. In the context of this chapter, services and resources are those things that are controlled by schedules. Services are real-world events, such as clinic appointments, the performance of which is controlled by a schedule. Often, these kinds of activities relate to the care of a patient. In other words, appointments for services often schedule a service for one or more patients.
Resources are tangible items whose use is controlled by a schedule.
One schedule applies to one service or resource, since each service or resource can be reserved independently of the others. A schedule consists of slots of time during which the controlled service or resource is potentially available for performance or use. Slots are categorized as open, booked, or blocked. An open slot on a schedule indicates that the service or resource is available for performance or use during that period of time. A booked slot indicates that the service or resource is not available during the time period, because an appointment has been scheduled.