Two-Way Calendar Sync

Two-Way Sync keeps Google and Sessions Health calendars automatically aligned in near real time. Any changes made in one system, such as adding, editing, or deleting events, are instantly reflected in the other. It’s ideal for managing multiple calendars and streamlining your schedule without the risk of double booking.

Setup
How to two-way sync
Adding other Google Calendars
Events in Google
Deleting or Editing Events
Removing Sessions Health calendar from Google
Step by Step Two-Way Sync
Frequently Asked Questions

Setup

To setup calendar sync, click "..." in the upper right corner of your calendar view and select Sync Calendar.

From the following screen, click the box next to Allow your Sessions calendar to sync to an external calendaring application. You will then select how you would like your client names to be displayed in your external calendar.

Use Internal ID - This will display the Sessions Health pre-assigned identifier, or the identifier you set up, in place of the client's name. When using this option, you'll want to make sure your account has Internal IDs enabled under the Account Settings > Clients page. When enabled, the internal IDs are displayed on your Clients page and in each client's record. This will allow you to match the client ID with the client's name. Internal IDs are the most secure option, especially if you are unsure if your 3rd party calendar provider is HIPAA secure.
Use First Name - This option will display the client's first name in your external calendar.
Use Full Name - This option displays your clients' full name in your external calendar. Due to the risk of exposing PHI, we do not recommend this option. Syncing your clients' full names with a non-compliant service would be a HIPAA violation.
Use Initials - This option will display the client's initials in your external calendar.

View of Clients page when Internal IDs are enabled

Note: All client appointments with 2-way sync must originate from your Sessions Health calendar. Client appointments include your client information, service location, services, billing, notes, reminders, etc. which are all components of your Sessions Health account, not your Google account.

How to Two-way Sync

To start, select Two-Way Sync with Google Calendar under the question, "How would you like to sync your calendar?"

Next, click the Connect with Google button and allow Sessions Health to access your Google calendar.

Next, you will want to select a name for your New Google Calendar.

Important: We require creating a new Sessions Health calendar when syncing to a New Google Calendar rather than your primary Google calendar (which is typically listed as your Google email address).

Next, click Start Sync to sync your calendar. This process may take a few minutes. After it's complete, you'll see a checkmark next the the synced calendar.

Sync is complete after you see the checkmark

Other Google Calendars

After your default calendar has been synced, additional Google calendars that you own will appear in the Sessions Health calendar sync page and can be synced as well. You may need to refresh your page after your default calendar has been synced to view the Other Calendars.

Click the Sync button on each tile for the calendar you wish to sync. It may require you to refresh the page to see the status of the sync. You'll see a checkmark inside the tile once the calendar sync is complete.

Important: Do not edit any events from your Google calendar that originated from your Sessions Health calendar. All appointments and events created in Sessions Health will need to be edited from your Sessions Health calendar to avoid issues.

For example, due to the way Google handles events, editing a recurring appointment that originates from Sessions Health from your Google Calendar causes Google to create a duplicate recurring series as an external event instead of a client appointment. Similarly, you should avoid editing any Google created events from your Sessions Health calendar.

Events in Google

When your Sessions Health client events are synced to your Google calendar, you will see a lock icon. The lock icon indicates a client-level event with an un-editable title. To avoid sync issues, these locked events should never be changed from your Google Calendar. You must create and edit Sessions Health events from your Sessions Health calendar.

Note: You cannot create new client appointments from your Google calendar because your client list, service locations, services, etc. all reside in your Sessions Health account.

Deleting or editing events

Events should be deleted or edited from the originating calendar for which the events were created.

Removing my Sessions Health calendar from my Google calendar

To remove your Sessions Health calendar from your Google calendar, login to your Google calendar. Locate the Sessions Health calendar from the left panel, then click the X., then click the Remove calendar button to confirm.

Removing your Sessions Health calendar in Google

Removing Google calendar events from your Sessions Health calendar

If you synced your 2-way Sessions Health calendar with Google, you can switch from the 2-way sync option to 1-way sync. This will clear your Sessions Health calendar from any Google events. You cannot create new client appointments from your Google calendar because your client list, service locations, services, etc. all reside in your Sessions Health account.

Step-by-Step Setup (Two-Way Sync)

Open Your Sessions Health Calendar.
- Go to the Calendar tab within Sessions Health.
Access Sync Settings.
- Click on the three-dot menu (usually in the top-right corner) and select Sync Calendar.
Choose “Two-Way Sync with Google”.
- If prompted, allow Sessions Health to connect with your Google account.
- You’ll see a confirmation message once connected successfully.
Verify in Google Calendar.
- Open Google Calendar in another browser tab.
- On the left under “My calendars,” you should see the new Sessions Health calendar listed.
Set Your Preferred Calendar Options.
- For example, choose which Google calendar you want to sync back into Sessions Health.
- Note that only Google calendars that you own (rather than just “read access”) will sync events back into Sessions Health.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do you offer two-way sync with any other calendars?

Currently, we only offer two-way sync with Google. If you want to sync another calendar (i.e. Apple or Outlook) with ownership, you must first sync those to Google before Sessions Health can pull them in. We also offer one-way calendar sync that is compatible with any software that accepts .ICS calendar formats.

What client identifier options do you have with third party calendars?

You can select to use a client ID, client initials, first name, or full name. Please be careful about exposing PII in calendars outside of Sessions Health. We suggest you refer to HIPAA to make sure you're not making a PII violation.

Why do I not see the changes I made on my Google Calendar in Sessions Health?

When you cancel or no-show an appointment in Sessions Health, it appears crossed out or labeled appropriately within Sessions Health. However, in Google Calendar:

Google Removes the Event:
- By design, when our system sends a “canceled” status, Google interprets that as “delete this event.” This frees up that slot for future scheduling in Google’s ecosystem.
No “Cross-Out” Feature:
- Google Calendar does have “declined event” visuals for invites, but does not maintain a “crossed-out” visual for synced cancellations from external calendars.
Ensuring Time-Slot Availability:
- Many providers want canceled slots to become available for rebooking. If Google kept them “crossed out,” it could look like the time is still blocked.

Generally, Google’s platform will remove canceled appointments altogether, rather than displaying them as canceled. To see historical canceled/no-show appointments for documentation, check Sessions Health directly—that’s where the complete record stays.

Why aren't my updates showing up right away in my Calendar?

Sessions Health pushes changes to Google and checks for updates regularly with two-way sync. While it should be near real-time or at least much faster than one-way, occasional delays can still happen. Make sure you’ve fully completed the two-way sync setup and chosen the correct Google calendar that you own. It's possible to have a stuck cache or old connection. If your Google Calendar still shows old appointments, try removing the Sessions Health calendar from your Google Calendar settings and then re-enabling two-way sync in Sessions Health.

How do I remove a synced Sessions Health Calendar from Google (or "Start over")?

Sometimes you want to completely reset your calendar sync—whether to remove duplicates, fix old sessions, or clear out a malfunctioning connection. Steps typically include:

Disable Sync in Sessions Health.
- Go to Calendar → Sync Calendar → Switch from “Two-Way” to “One-Way” or select “Disable” if available.
- This severs the active link between Sessions Health and Google.
Remove Sessions Health Calendar in Google.
- Open Google Calendar in a web browser.
- Click the gear icon → Settings → Find the Sessions Health calendar under “My Calendars.”
- Click the three dots next to the Sessions Health calendar name and choose Settings and Sharing → Scroll down to Remove Calendar.
Verify It’s Completely Gone.
- Refresh your Google Calendar or close/reopen.
- Make sure the Sessions Health events have disappeared (this may take a few minutes if Google’s cache is lagging).
Re-Enable Sync in Sessions Health.
- Return to the Sync Calendar screen in Sessions Health.
- Choose your sync option again—preferably Two-Way Sync—and walk through the permission steps to connect your Google account.

Tip: If you are still seeing old Sessions Health events in Google after removing everything, you may need to manually delete those old events from Google Calendar. This happened to one of our users, who reported that after removing the Sessions Health calendar, they had to also individually delete old events to fully clear them.

How do I 'clear cache' or completely reset everything if I'm still seeing old or unwanted sync data?

While there isn’t a direct “clear cache” button in Sessions Health, you can effectively do this by:

Disabling calendar sync in Sessions Health (go to Calendar → Sync Calendar → disable or switch to One-Way Sync).
Removing the Sessions Health calendar from Google Calendar’s “My calendars” list, located in the left side panel.
Making sure there are no leftover events in Google from Sessions Health—delete them if needed.
Returning to Sessions Health → enabling or reconfiguring Two-Way Sync to start from scratch.

How can I change how clients are displayed in my Google Calendar after the sync?

Changing the way client identifiers are displayed requires a triggering event from your Sessions Health calendar. We recommend removing the existing synced calendar from your Google calendar and re-sync it from your Sessions Health account.

To re-sync all events, first select how you want your clients displayed. Then, toggle your sync type back and forth (ex. if you have 2-way sync, change the sync to 1-way, then back to 2-way). Re-syncing your calendar will display the updated client identifier you chose.

Your Google Calendar may have duplicate records (from both the older and newer sync instances). In that case, you can just remove/unsubscribe the older instance from your Google Calendar.

If I have 2-way sync enabled and a Google event is set to "Busy", will that also be displayed as "Busy" on my Sessions Health calendar?

Yes, Sessions Health will pull in the correct status of your Google event. This is helpful if you want to block your Sessions Health calendar from being scheduled by clients using your online booking during events you set on your Google calendar.

What if my Google Calendar events keep appearing "locked" in Sessions Health?

A “locked” icon in Sessions Health indicates that these events originated from Google during a Two-Way Sync.
Because Sessions Health sees them as “Google-owned,” it won’t let you edit them within Sessions. You’ll need to make changes (time changes, cancellations, etc.) directly in Google Calendar, and those changes will sync back to Sessions Health.

Can I add other external EHR calendars to my Sessions Health calendar?

Currently, we only support two-way syncing with Google calendars that our customers own. We’re unable to sync directly with external calendars. If you don’t see a secondary calendar appear under Other Calendars to sync with, please ensure that you’re the owner of the calendar you’re trying to sync, rather than a shared user. You may need to reach out to the external calendar provider to verify ownership.

How do I remove Sessions Health access to my Google calendar?

If you need to remove Sessions Health access to your Google calendar, you can make this change within your Google account. Sign in to your Google account and go to Manage Your Google Account. Click Security and scroll to the Your connections to third-party apps & services panel. Then select Delete all connections you have with Sessions Health.

My Outlook (or Alma or Rula) calendar is synced with Google, but those events don't show up in Sessions. What can I do?

Make sure your Outlook/Alma/Rula calendar is not just “read-only” in Google. Sessions Health can only pull events from a Google calendar that you fully own or have “Make Changes and Manage Sharing” permissions on.
Often, third-party platforms (like Headway or Alma) share the calendar with your Google account in read-only mode, which means Sessions Health cannot read or write those events for Two-Way Sync.
Some providers can “import” external events into a personal Google calendar (one they own), which then allows Sessions Health to see them. If you’re unsure how to do this, contact your external calendar’s support or Google support.

Is it possible to sync multiple providers calendars to a single Google account?

Each Sessions Health user sets up their own two-way sync. If multiple providers share a single Google account, they risk overlapping data or confusion over event ownership.
Best Practice: Each provider should have their own personal Google account for two-way syncing to avoid collisions and keep PHI secure. This also ensures that Google can track changes per user accurately in Sessions Health.

Need More Help?

Visit our Support Center for additional articles and tutorials.
Join our Sessions Health Community for additional support.
Or email support@sessionshealth.com, and we’ll be happy to assist you further.