Consultations and visits

A consultation joins the patient, clinician, visit type and scheduled time. Its status shows whether the visit is Scheduled, Arrived, in progress, awaiting review, Completed or Cancelled. Start and end times make the actual care interval visible alongside the original scheduled time. The same record can represent a consultation or a procedure visit, so teams should choose a clear visit type when they open it.

The Clinical Coordinator owns visit planning and can move the record through the operating day. The Licensed Clinician can read consultations and manage the clinical evidence connected to them. That division lets a coordinator see a patient arrive while the clinician records what happened. Operations Overview provides intake and current operational state distribution for a broader daily scan.

• Planned time. Set the scheduled time with the patient and clinician before the visit is expected.
• Actual interval. Record when care began and ended so the practice can distinguish a scheduled visit from a completed one.
• Current state. Keep an awaiting-review visit separate from a completed or cancelled visit during the daily handoff.

Choose visit type wording that staff will use consistently for consultations and procedures. Agree who records arrival, who captures the start and end times, and when a visit moves to awaiting review. Decide how a cancellation is recorded, including the treatment of any notes or charges already attached. The status board should be reviewed with coordinators and clinicians so that each state has a shared operational meaning.

The team also needs a scheduling routine for an assigned clinician who is unavailable. The consultation record holds one clinician and a scheduled date; a change should be checked against patient communication before it is saved. A patient with a changed appointment should still be easy to find through the patient record.

Schedule an initial visit for a patient and clinician, then open the Consultation schedule to confirm the intended appointment appears. On arrival, move the visit to Arrived and then in progress when care begins. Record the start time and ask the clinician to add a note and observation to this exact visit. The coordinator moves it to awaiting review, asks the Clinical Reviewer to check the evidence, then enters its end time and completes it after the reviewer’s handoff. Rehearse a cancellation separately and verify it remains distinguishable from a completed visit on the status board.

• Consultation schedule — Review planned visits and their recorded start and end times.
• Consultation queue — Find active visits by patient, clinician and status.
• Visit status board — Compare visit state without losing the clinician assignment.

Follow consultation and documentation and procedure support. Review roles before assigning staff.