Care tasks

A care task records the action to take, the patient, the assigned person and a due date. Its status moves among Open, in progress, Completed, Escalated and Cancelled. A completion date records when the action was actually finished. This is the working record for patient coordination, distinct from a referral follow-up that documents a particular referral’s later outcome.

The board gives the team a short view of open, in-progress and escalated work. The open task list shows the assigned person for day-to-day ownership. A manager can inspect due dates and escalations across the team. The patient link keeps the action attached to care context, while the task text says what the owner must actually do.

• Assign. The Referral Coordinator records the action, selects the patient and assigned person, and sets a due date.
• Work. The assigned Clinician or coordinator moves the task to in progress while carrying out the action.
• Resolve. The owner records completion or escalates the task when another decision is needed.

Use task text that describes an observable action. “Check referral outcome with the patient” gives the next person more direction than “Follow up.” Agree when an overdue task should be escalated and who accepts an escalation. A due date should trigger review but should not silently turn an open task into a completed one.

Decide how to handle cancellations. A Cancelled task should mean the action is no longer required, while Completed means it happened. If the same patient has several tasks, the team needs each action and due date to remain distinct. The care team should also review who may see patient-linked tasks when assignments change.

A clinician asks for a patient call after a specialty visit. The coordinator records the task, assigns the clinician and sets Friday as the due date. The clinician opens the open task list, moves the task into progress, completes the call and records the completion date. If the call uncovers a new issue requiring a manager, the task can be Escalated instead of marked complete.

Rehearse a second patient task that is cancelled before work starts. Ask the manager to explain which item still needs action by reading the board and due dates. The task text, assignee and status should carry the handoff without relying on a separate message thread.

• Open Care Tasks — Patient coordination work with owners, dates and current states.
• Care Task Board — Active tasks grouped for team review.

Review care coordination and set role access.