Patients and care teams

Patient identity starts with a patient number and display name. The Clinical Coordinator records contact details and assigns a clinician. That assignment gives the visit team a clear point of contact for a patient whose next appointment is being planned. The patient record also carries a consent status, so the team can see whether consent needs attention before using a record for a new visit.

• Anchor the record. Register one patient identity with a patient number and assigned clinician.
• Capture the evidence. Record each clinician’s care access purpose and effective period for that patient.
• Check the handoff. End an old care team assignment before relying on a new one for a returning patient.

The Clinical Governance Administrator records why a clinician belongs on a patient’s care team, when that access begins and when it ends. An active assignment records a dated care relationship and its access purpose for the named clinician. For a patient returning after a consultation, check the assigned clinician and the effective care team assignment before booking the next visit. If staffing changes, end the earlier assignment and record the new one with its own purpose.

Agree how patient numbers are assigned, who checks duplicate identities, and who can change an assigned clinician. Decide how the clinic records a change to the care team when an employee moves to another service. The owner of the patient record should also know when to review contact details and consent status.

Take a new patient with a consultation next week. The coordinator enters the identity and phone number, selects a clinician and records the visit. The governance administrator adds an active care team assignment with a purpose and effective dates. Open the patient again and trace the visit, its clinician and the current assignment. Then end that assignment and confirm that the historical patient and visit remain connected.

• Current care team — See active clinician assignments and the patients they cover.
• Active visits — Find visits in progress for the patients receiving care.

Follow the connected records in the operating process and agree the decision points before the first live visit. Use implementation to prepare sample cases with the team. Return to the data model when mapping existing patient and encounter records. The team should confirm that each role can reach the records needed for its own part of the handoff.