Flu season is approaching, and with vaccination rates dipping across Canada compared to last year, clinics have an important role to play in making it easy for patients to get their shots. Ocean can help streamline that process, giving your team the tools to reach patients proactively, manage high-volume scheduling, and share important public health messages both in and out of the clinic. 

What’s new for 2025

Team-based booking

We’re introducing a new feature this season that’s especially helpful for flu clinics: Team-Based Booking. Traditionally, patients booking online have started by selecting their provider and then choosing from available appointment types. With team-based booking, the order flips. Patients begin by selecting the appointment type, such as “Flu Shot,” and then choose from the providers offering it. In cases where it doesn’t matter who delivers the vaccine, patients can even opt for the first available appointment.

This model reduces friction for patients and helps clinics balance their schedules more effectively. By pooling providers into a single grouped schedule, bookings can be distributed automatically, which is particularly valuable when clinics are running high-volume flu shot days.

Want access to Team-based booking?

We inviting some clinics to receive early access to the new, premium Team-Based Booking feature. If you’re interested, follow the link below to learn more and request access.
Get Access

Offering Online Booking is one of the simplest ways to manage patient flow without overloading administrative staff with manual bookings. With Ocean’s powerful rules and restrictions, clinics can easily tailor their flu-shot bookings to meet their exact needs. Key features and considerations include:

• Create custom flu-shot appointment types with specific parameters (e.g. 5-min time-slot)
• Integrate with existing and/or purpose-built EMR schedules
• Automate chart-creation for new patients (learn more)

You can follow this guide for quick and easy instructions to get started: 

Expanding Your Outreach

Increase flu shot appointments

One of the simplest ways to increase vaccination uptake is by reaching patients where they already are, on their phones and in their inboxes. With Ocean Patient Messages and Reminders, clinics can send targeted invitations directly to patients, encouraging them to book their flu shot. Once those bookings are made, the automated reminders help reduce no-shows, saving your staff from the time-consuming work of follow-up calls.

For high-risk patient groups, this form is especially valuable for screening and tracking as part of program monitoring. 

Ocean Tip:

Add a short footer in each of your templates that links straight to your online booking calendar, making it effortless for patients to schedule an appointment.

Automate Admin with Patient Reminders

Once patients are booked for their flu shot, the next job is making sure they arrive at their appointments! Automating appointment reminders is an effective way to reduce no-show rates and alleviate the manual burden on clinic staff. By sending timely email or SMS reminders, you can ensure patients don’t forget their scheduled visit, all without follow-up calls or manual outreach.

If you already have Ocean Online Booking, our Patient Reminders solution is included in your licence. To add a new reminder rule for flu shot visits, take a look at this guide.

Reinforcing the Message In-Clinic

Public health messaging doesn’t stop at outreach. For many patients, the waiting room or check-in kiosk provides another valuable touchpoint. This year, clinics can use Ocean’s check-in kiosks to display prompts that remind patients to ask about the flu vaccine or schedule a follow-up appointment on the spot. Even something as simple as a QR code poster in the waiting room can encourage patients to scan and book their shot while it’s still top of mind. These small reminders help normalize vaccination and keep the topic visible throughout the patient journey.

For useful clinic resources including a free QR code generator, visit our Brand Assets resource hub.

Looking for more tips?

Catch up on our Flu Season Webinar from last year, where we walked through step-by-step setup tips and best practices for running smooth vaccination clinics.

The webinar is available free in Ocean Academy – just register for an account (separate from your Ocean User Account) to access the full recording!