Setting up online doctor appointments on 1C-Bitrix

Setting Up Online Appointment Booking on 1C-Bitrix

A medical clinic website with only a "Leave a request and we'll call you back" form loses a significant share of conversions — users want to choose a specific physician, a specific time, and receive immediate confirmation. Online appointment booking with slot selection is the standard in healthcare. Implementation on 1C-Bitrix involves connecting to a MIS or managing the schedule within 1C-Bitrix itself when no MIS is present.

Schedule Source

The first design question: where does the schedule come from?

Option A: Schedule in 1C-Bitrix. The clinic administrator manages physician schedules through the 1C-Bitrix interface. Appointments are stored in 1C-Bitrix and forwarded to the MIS (or not forwarded — for clinics without a MIS). Suitable for small clinics without a complex MIS.

Option B: Schedule from MIS. 1C-Bitrix synchronises the schedule from the MIS every N minutes. Appointments are created via the MIS API. The website is only the interface; master data resides in the MIS.

The following describes Option A — a self-contained schedule managed within 1C-Bitrix.

Schedule Tables

-- Physician working hours template
CREATE TABLE local_doctor_schedule_template (
    ID         INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    DOCTOR_ID  INT NOT NULL,         -- ID of the element in the "Doctors" infoblock
    DAY_OF_WEEK TINYINT NOT NULL,    -- 1=Mon, 7=Sun
    TIME_FROM  TIME NOT NULL,
    TIME_TO    TIME NOT NULL,
    SLOT_DURATION INT DEFAULT 30,   -- minutes per appointment
    ACTIVE     CHAR(1) DEFAULT 'Y'
);

-- Specific slots (generated from the template)
CREATE TABLE local_doctor_slots (
    ID          BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    DOCTOR_ID   INT NOT NULL,
    SLOT_DATE   DATE NOT NULL,
    SLOT_TIME   TIME NOT NULL,
    STATUS      ENUM('free','reserved','booked','blocked') DEFAULT 'free',
    APPOINTMENT_ID BIGINT,
    INDEX idx_doctor_date (DOCTOR_ID, SLOT_DATE, STATUS)
);

-- Patient appointments
CREATE TABLE local_appointments (
    ID          BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    DOCTOR_ID   INT NOT NULL,
    SLOT_ID     BIGINT NOT NULL,
    USER_ID     INT,                 -- NULL for unregistered users
    PATIENT_NAME VARCHAR(200),
    PATIENT_PHONE VARCHAR(20),
    PATIENT_EMAIL VARCHAR(200),
    SERVICE_ID  INT,                 -- Service (services infoblock)
    COMMENT     TEXT,
    STATUS      ENUM('pending','confirmed','cancelled','completed') DEFAULT 'pending',
    CREATED_AT  DATETIME,
    CONFIRMED_AT DATETIME,
    CANCELLED_AT DATETIME
);

Slot Generation from Template

An agent running daily generates slots for the next 30 days:

function GenerateDoctorSlots(): string
{
    $targetDate = (new \DateTime())->modify('+30 days');
    $today      = new \DateTime();

    $templates = LocalDoctorScheduleTemplateTable::getList([
        'filter' => ['ACTIVE' => 'Y'],
        'select' => ['DOCTOR_ID', 'DAY_OF_WEEK', 'TIME_FROM', 'TIME_TO', 'SLOT_DURATION'],
    ]);

    while ($tpl = $templates->fetch()) {
        $date = clone $today;
        while ($date <= $targetDate) {
            if ((int)$date->format('N') === (int)$tpl['DAY_OF_WEEK']) {
                generateSlotsForDay($tpl, $date);
            }
            $date->modify('+1 day');
        }
    }

    return __FUNCTION__ . '();';
}

function generateSlotsForDay(array $tpl, \DateTime $date): void
{
    $from     = new \DateTime($date->format('Y-m-d') . ' ' . $tpl['TIME_FROM']);
    $to       = new \DateTime($date->format('Y-m-d') . ' ' . $tpl['TIME_TO']);
    $interval = new \DateInterval('PT' . $tpl['SLOT_DURATION'] . 'M');

    $current = clone $from;
    while ($current < $to) {
        // Do not create duplicates
        $exists = LocalDoctorSlotsTable::getCount([
            'DOCTOR_ID' => $tpl['DOCTOR_ID'],
            'SLOT_DATE' => $date->format('Y-m-d'),
            'SLOT_TIME' => $current->format('H:i:s'),
        ]);

        if (!$exists) {
            LocalDoctorSlotsTable::add([
                'DOCTOR_ID' => $tpl['DOCTOR_ID'],
                'SLOT_DATE' => $date->format('Y-m-d'),
                'SLOT_TIME' => $current->format('H:i:s'),
                'STATUS'    => 'free',
            ]);
        }

        $current->add($interval);
    }
}

Slot Selection Component

Component /local/components/local/appointment.booking/ with the following steps:

Step 1 — Physician/Specialisation Selection. Filter by specialisation from the physicians infoblock. AJAX update of the physician list.

Step 2 — Date and Time Selection. Calendar with highlighted available dates. On date selection — AJAX request for available slots:

// AJAX handler /local/ajax/get-slots.php
$doctorId  = (int)$_POST['doctor_id'];
$date      = $_POST['date']; // Y-m-d

$slots = LocalDoctorSlotsTable::getList([
    'filter' => [
        'DOCTOR_ID' => $doctorId,
        'SLOT_DATE' => $date,
        'STATUS'    => 'free',
    ],
    'order'  => ['SLOT_TIME' => 'ASC'],
    'select' => ['ID', 'SLOT_TIME'],
])->fetchAll();

header('Content-Type: application/json');
echo json_encode(['slots' => $slots]);

Step 3 — Patient Form. Name, phone, email, comment. For authenticated users — data is pre-populated from their profile. Phone number validation.

Step 4 — Confirmation and Booking.

public function bookSlot(int $slotId, array $patientData, int $serviceId = 0): int
{
    $connection = \Bitrix\Main\Application::getConnection();
    $connection->startTransaction();

    try {
        // Atomic slot reservation
        $connection->queryExecute("
            UPDATE local_doctor_slots
            SET STATUS = 'reserved'
            WHERE ID = ? AND STATUS = 'free'
        ", [$slotId]);

        if ($connection->getAffectedRowsCount() === 0) {
            throw new \RuntimeException('This slot is already taken');
        }

        $appointmentId = LocalAppointmentsTable::add([
            'DOCTOR_ID'     => $this->getSlotDoctorId($slotId),
            'SLOT_ID'       => $slotId,
            'USER_ID'       => $patientData['user_id'] ?? null,
            'PATIENT_NAME'  => $patientData['name'],
            'PATIENT_PHONE' => $patientData['phone'],
            'PATIENT_EMAIL' => $patientData['email'],
            'SERVICE_ID'    => $serviceId,
            'COMMENT'       => $patientData['comment'] ?? '',
            'STATUS'        => 'confirmed',
        ])->getId();

        // Update slot — status and appointment link
        LocalDoctorSlotsTable::update($slotId, [
            'STATUS'         => 'booked',
            'APPOINTMENT_ID' => $appointmentId,
        ]);

        $connection->commitTransaction();

        // Notifications outside the transaction
        $this->sendConfirmationSms($patientData['phone'], $appointmentId);
        $this->sendConfirmationEmail($patientData['email'], $appointmentId);

        return $appointmentId;

    } catch (\Exception $e) {
        $connection->rollbackTransaction();
        throw $e;
    }
}

The transaction with UPDATE ... WHERE STATUS = 'free' and affectedRows check protects against the race condition where two users simultaneously book the same slot.

Cancellation and Rescheduling from the Personal Account

A patient can cancel an appointment no later than N hours before the visit:

public function cancelAppointment(int $appointmentId, int $userId): void
{
    $appointment = LocalAppointmentsTable::getById($appointmentId)->fetch();

    if (!$appointment || (int)$appointment['USER_ID'] !== $userId) {
        throw new \RuntimeException('Appointment not found');
    }

    $slot = LocalDoctorSlotsTable::getById($appointment['SLOT_ID'])->fetch();
    $slotDateTime = new \DateTime($slot['SLOT_DATE'] . ' ' . $slot['SLOT_TIME']);

    if ($slotDateTime <= (new \DateTime())->modify('+2 hours')) {
        throw new \RuntimeException('Cancellation is only possible at least 2 hours in advance');
    }

    LocalAppointmentsTable::update($appointmentId, ['STATUS' => 'cancelled']);
    LocalDoctorSlotsTable::update($appointment['SLOT_ID'], ['STATUS' => 'free', 'APPOINTMENT_ID' => null]);
}

Scope of Work

• Schedule template, slot, and appointment tables
• Slot generation agent
• Booking component: physician selection → date → slot → form → confirmation
• AJAX handlers for slots
• Race condition protection for concurrent bookings
• SMS/email notifications and reminders
• Personal account: appointment history, cancellation

Timeline: 3–5 weeks for a self-contained system without MIS. 6–10 weeks with MIS integration.