Visit coordination

The Front Desk Coordinator creates an encounter for a patient and clinician, records the scheduled time and visit type, and uses a label the team can recognize. The encounter starts Scheduled. On arrival, the coordinator changes it to Arrived. The Clinician moves it to in progress when care begins. The encounter is the common reference for the visit reason, observations, notes, prescription orders and charges that follow. This lets the clinic trace work to a specific visit instead of only to the patient.

The Business Overview page gives staff an intake and review view within their authorized clinic scope. A saved encounter state matters more than a verbal handoff: the Clinical Lead can pick up an encounter marked awaiting review and examine its linked work before completion. Cancelled remains a distinct outcome for a visit that does not proceed.

• Schedule. The time, patient, clinician and visit type identify the intended visit.
• Progress. Arrival, active care, review and completion are recorded on the encounter.
• Timing. Start and end times can be inspected with the encounter’s status.

Decide when the front desk marks arrival and who records the actual start and end. Agree which clinical review belongs to the Clinical Lead and when a visit may be completed. Use a consistent visit label, especially when one patient has several appointments close together. Staff should identify a cancelled visit before entering new clinical work against it.

A patient is booked for a consultation and arrives early. Front desk opens the Scheduled encounter, checks the patient and clinician and marks it Arrived. The Clinician starts care, records the reason and observations, then sends the encounter to awaiting review after the note is signed. The Clinical Lead checks that the documentation belongs to that encounter before marking it Completed. If the visit is cancelled instead, the coordinator records Cancelled on that encounter; the next appointment gets a separate record. During rehearsal, compare the schedule and the status board so that the team sees the same visit in the right stage.

• Scheduled Visits — Find upcoming and arrived visits with their assigned clinician.
• Encounter Review Queue — Open visits that need a clinical decision.
• Visit Timing — Inspect recorded start and end times for finished care.

Start with patient preparation, continue through visit documentation, and use clinical review for the completion decision.