Healthcare appointment booker

Healthcare Appointment Booker

Purpose

Book healthcare appointments in Israel through safe, privacy-preserving workflows for the four Kupot Cholim: Clalit, Maccabi, Meuhedet, and Leumit. The skill helps small businesses, freelancers, caregivers, families, and consumers prepare appointment requests, select the right official channel, route specialist needs, handle referrals and test orders, and document outcomes without collecting unnecessary medical information.

This is an administrative appointment-booking skill. Do not use it to diagnose, interpret results, recommend treatment, or replace urgent medical care.

Core rules

• Use official HMO channels only: app, member portal, call center, clinic desk, or official digital channel published by the HMO.
• Do not scrape appointment portals or bypass queues, CAPTCHA, SMS verification, access controls, or clinic policies.
• Do not ask for HMO passwords, SMS codes, full Israeli ID numbers, or medical files.
• Ask for the minimum operational information needed to plan the booking.
• Escalate emergency red flags before any routine appointment workflow.
• Store appointment category, time, location, and confirmation number only when needed.
• For caregiver or business-client booking, confirm permission before helping.

Supported HMOs

HMO	Hebrew	Common official channels	Booking notes
Clalit	כללית	App, website, *2700, clinic desk	Some specialist and external services require referral or district approval.
Maccabi	מכבי	App, website, *3555, clinic desk	Routine services are often available through online channels.
Meuhedet	מאוחדת	App, website, *3833, clinic desk	Availability can vary by branch and district.
Leumit	לאומית	App, website, *507, clinic desk	Verify regional service coverage and contracted providers.

Short codes and portals can change. Verify current official contact pages before production use.

Inputs to collect

Collect only these fields unless the official channel requires the user to enter more details directly:

1. HMO.
2. Appointment goal.
3. Patient age group: adult, child, infant, senior.
4. City or preferred area.
5. Date range and time windows.
6. Preferred language: Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, English, Amharic, other.
7. Accessibility needs: wheelchair access, elevator, companion, hearing support, video visit.
8. Referral/order status: has referral, no referral, pending, unknown, not applicable.
9. Urgency: routine, soon, same-day, urgent symptoms.
10. Confirmation delivery preference: app notification, SMS, phone, email.

Urgency decision tree

flowchart TD
  A[Appointment request] --> B{Emergency red flags?}
  B -- Yes --> C[Stop routine booking; route to 101, ER, or HMO urgent hotline]
  B -- No --> D{Needs care today?}
  D -- Yes --> E[Same-day family doctor, pediatrician, telehealth, nurse triage, or urgent clinic]
  D -- No --> F{Specialist, test, or primary care?}
  F -- Primary care --> G[Book family doctor, pediatrician, nurse, or telehealth]
  F -- Specialist --> H{Referral likely or required?}
  H -- Yes / unknown --> I[Check official app; if blocked, book family doctor/referral workflow]
  H -- Has referral --> J[Search specialist by city, language, accessibility, date]
  F -- Test --> K{Valid order and approval?}
  K -- Yes --> L[Book through HMO or contracted institute]
  K -- No --> M[Request order, approval, or Form 17 through official channel]

Specialist routing tree

flowchart TD
  A[Read requested service] --> B[Map to likely specialty]
  B --> C{Red flags in text?}
  C -- Yes --> D[Emergency/urgent route]
  C -- No --> E{Referral/order exists?}
  E -- Has referral --> F[Extract specialty, validity, restrictions, approval needs]
  E -- No/Unknown --> G{Direct booking likely?}
  G -- Yes --> H[Try official app or website]
  G -- No --> I[Book family doctor or digital referral request]
  F --> J{External provider or hospital clinic?}
  J -- Yes --> K[Administrative approval / Form 17 workflow]
  J -- No --> L[Book official HMO specialist slot]
  L --> M[Confirm documents, preparation, cancellation]

Specialty routing map

Request terms	Likely route	Referral/order guidance
prescription renewal, sick note, general concern	Family medicine	Usually direct or digital request.
child fever, child ear pain	Pediatrics	Same-day if acute; urgent route for severe symptoms.
mole, rash, acne	Dermatology	Direct in some cases; referral may be needed.
back, knee, joint injury	Orthopedics	Referral may be needed; physiotherapy may also need order.
eye exam, eye pain	Ophthalmology	Sudden vision loss is urgent.
ear, nose, throat, hearing	ENT	Pediatric acute ear pain usually starts with pediatrician.
pregnancy follow-up	Gynecology / women’s health	Often direct; verify test type and week.
stomach, reflux, colonoscopy	Gastroenterology	Referral usually likely.
heart follow-up	Cardiology	Referral usually likely; chest pain escalates.
migraine, numbness, neurological follow-up	Neurology	Referral usually likely; stroke signs escalate.
diabetes, thyroid	Endocrinology	Referral usually likely; add nurse/dietitian route if relevant.
anxiety, depression, psychiatry	Mental health / psychiatry	Varies; self-harm escalates.
MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-ray	Imaging	Order/referral and approval may be required.
blood test, urine test	Lab	Active order usually required.
vaccine, injection, wound care	Nurse	Doctor order may be required for some tasks.
Form 17, commitment, external clinic	Administrative approvals	Use official HMO approval channel.

Emergency red flags

Stop routine booking and recommend urgent help when the request includes chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, stroke signs, severe allergic reaction, uncontrolled bleeding, suicidal intent, high fever in an infant, sudden vision loss, severe injury, or rapidly worsening child symptoms.

Use local emergency routes such as Magen David Adom 101, emergency room, or the HMO urgent hotline. Do not delay urgent care to complete a booking plan.

Output template

Appointment booking plan
HMO:
Service:
Priority:
Recommended route:
Specialty routing:
Referral/order status:
Area and date range:
Availability strategy:
1. Search official app/website.
2. Compare earliest slot, clinic, provider, language, accessibility.
3. Expand to nearby cities if no slots.
4. Call clinic desk or HMO service center.
Hebrew script:
Documents to prepare:
Follow-up:
Privacy note:

Concrete examples

Maccabi dermatology, routine

hmo: maccabi
service: suspicious mole check
city: Rishon LeZion
date_from: 2026-07-01
date_to: 2026-07-31
referral_status: unknown
urgency: routine

Plan: classify as dermatology, try official app/website, check whether referral is required, expand to nearby cities if no slots.

Hebrew script:

שלום, אני מבקש/ת לקבוע תור לרופא/ת עור לבדיקת נקודת חן באזור ראשון לציון.
אם נדרשת הפניה, מה הדרך המהירה לקבל אותה?

Clalit child fever and ear pain

Plan: same-day pediatrician or urgent pediatric clinic. Do not start with ENT unless pediatrician refers. Escalate if severe symptoms appear.

Meuhedet MRI knee with referral

Plan: imaging workflow. Verify order validity, approval/Form 17 if required, institute arrangement, and preparation instructions.

Leumit sick note for freelancer

Plan: family doctor, digital request, or telehealth. Include business note only if the service provider charges for administrative help; price must be stated in ₪ and the service must not be described as medical advice.

Edge cases

No slots visible

• Expand to nearby cities.
• Search without a specific provider.
• Try morning, afternoon, and evening.
• Check telehealth where suitable.
• Call clinic desk for cancellations.
• Call HMO service center for district alternatives.
• For time-sensitive symptoms, ask for nurse triage or urgent clinic.
• Do not use bots or scraping.

Referral missing

• Check whether the specialty is directly bookable.
• If blocked, book family doctor or submit digital referral request.
• Prepare a short reason for referral.
• Do not invent symptoms or urgency.

Maccabi same-specialty continuity rule

Maccabi documents a continuity rule that can block digital booking with a different doctor in the same medical specialty during the same quarter unless approved by the medical-center manager. If this appears, use the official call center or branch workflow rather than treating it as a technical error.

Referral expired

• Book family doctor or submit renewal request.
• Confirm whether the HMO accepts extension.
• Retry specialist booking after renewal.

Accessibility need

• Confirm accessible entrance, elevator, restroom, and exam room.
• Confirm companion policy and accessible parking.
• Record only the confirmed operational details.

Language preference

• Use provider language filters if available.
• Ask call center for Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, English, or Amharic support.
• Suggest caregiver/interpreter support when permitted.

User shares sensitive data

• Stop using the sensitive content.
• Ask the user to enter it only in the official channel.
• Continue with non-sensitive appointment category, city, and date range.

Anti-patterns

Avoid: credential collection, SMS-code handling, portal scraping, diagnosis, unofficial phone numbers, detailed medical notes, duplicate slot holding, unverified cancellation rules, guessing referral requirements, and treating urgent symptoms as routine scheduling.

Production checklist

• Verify official HMO contact pages and short codes.
• Review current Ministry of Health and privacy requirements.
• Add emergency escalation text in Hebrew and English.
• Add consent flow for caregiver or client booking.
• Minimize stored data and define retention.
• Encrypt retained appointment records.
• Disable credential and SMS-code collection.
• Log operational metadata only.
• Include language and accessibility fields.
• Test the scenarios in references/test-scenarios.md.
• Review Hebrew wording with an Israeli healthcare operations professional.
• Provide clear business pricing and receipt/invoice process where paid assistance is offered.

Quality rubric

A good response identifies the HMO, route, urgency, likely specialty, referral/order requirement, official channel, fallback strategy, Hebrew wording, privacy boundary, and follow-up actions.

Current VAT validation

As verified on 2026-06-04, Israeli VAT is 18%. For paid administrative appointment assistance, disclose the total price in ₪ and state whether VAT applies. This skill does not calculate taxes or replace accounting advice.