Follow-up and specimens

Follow-up actions belong to a household and a named assignee. Each action has a title, due date, completion date and state. The Licensed Clinician or Clinical Coordinator can enter the next step while the encounter is still fresh. Open and in-progress actions remain visible to the assignee; escalation gives the coordinator a way to see work that needs attention. The action remains tied to the household even if a later visit completes the care.

Specimens belong to a household visit. A specimen record identifies its type, collection date, accession number and processing state. A clinician can move from ordered to collected, while later received, tested or rejected states describe where the item stands. The link to the visit lets the reviewer read specimen evidence in the same episode as notes and observations.

• Follow-up ownership. The assignee and due date make the next action visible after the visit.
• Escalation. An escalated status separates attention-needed work from ordinary open tasks.
• Specimen trace. Accession number and processing state identify the specimen linked to the encounter.

The follow-up record is household based, while the specimen is visit based. Keep that difference clear when an action spans several encounters. If a specimen is rejected, record its state and decide who will contact the household or arrange another collection. A tested specimen can inform review, but the record should retain the actual accession number used by the processing team.

Agree who assigns follow-up work, how due dates are chosen and when an action becomes escalated. Define a simple naming pattern for task titles so a worker can understand an open item without opening every visit. For specimens, agree who records the accession number and who changes its state after a lab handoff. A lab connection can be configured around these records if the program needs external results.

Pilot a case with a specimen ordered during a visit and a follow-up action due afterward. Check the assignee’s view, the coordinator’s open-action view and the clinician’s specimen list. Confirm that the accession number and visit link agree with the physical handoff.

A clinician collects a specimen during an in-progress visit and records the collection date and accession number. The specimen is later marked Received, then Tested or Rejected according to its actual processing outcome. The clinician creates a household follow-up action with an assignee and due date. If the patient needs another contact after a rejected specimen, the clinician marks the action in progress and the coordinator sees it in the open queue. Completion records the date when the action is done.

• Open follow-up actions — See active and escalated tasks with owner and due date.
• My follow-up actions — Give each worker their assigned household tasks.
• Specimen processing — Track ordered, collected, received or rejected specimens by visit.

See follow-up coordination and specimen handling.