Case Contact Information

As part of the program's implementation, each organization must decide how they will configure the contact and resource data that they want to capture in association with the patient record. The data is configured in Case Settings and is comprised of a combination of resource and contact data fields. Once selected, these fields appear on the Contacts and Files screen in case demographics.

Resources are those people, rooms, equipment that you schedule in your organization in relation to the treatment of the patient: Practitioners, Attending Physicians, Therapists, etc.

Contacts can be any agency or person who is not part of the practice but who directly affects or is involved with the patient’s case. Examples in the medical field include primary physicians, attorneys, and referrals (external vs. internal).

In its default configuration, the program displays the following fields on the Contacts and Files tab:

Primary Physician: This corresponds to a data that is entered through contact maintenance.

Referral Source: This corresponds to data that is entered through referral maintenance.

NOTE – Generally, think of the Referral Source as how the patient found out about your office. This could be another provider, a family member, an advertisement. Do not confuse Referral Source with Referrals which are entered on the Referral tab in case demographics and are generally treatment recommendations by other providers (e.g., a specialist). The Referral Source and a Referral can be one in the same; however, Referral Source is generally intended to record where business came from as opposed to a prescribed or recommended treatment.

Practitioner: This corresponds to data that is entered through resource maintenance.

Employer: This corresponds to data that is entered through employer maintenance.

NOTE – In addition to the default data entry fields, an additional four fields derived from six contact and resource options can be selected. Alternatively, reconfigure Primary Physician or Practitioner to something else more relevant to your organization’s workflow. Whatever your system configuration, complete the data entry fields according to the guidelines of your own registration or patient maintenance workflows.

Adding Contacts to a Case

Navigate to the patient demographic screens
Click the Cases tab. Either:

Click New as part of a new patient entry or
Click Edit in the line item for the case appropriate to your current need.

Click the Contacts and Files tab. The left portion of the screen is composed of the Case Contact Information panel and lists the contact and resource data that your organization has configured for capture. The descriptions on the button indicate the type of data the field captures.
Click the button for the contact/resource you wish to enter. The corresponding Search screen will appear.
Locate the appropriate contact or resource. Their description will appear to the right of the button, and a link (Clear) will appear. Use Clear to remove data selected in error. Alternatively, repeat the process and make the appropriate selection.
Do either of the following:

Continue entering data in the other case demographic screens or
Save the patient: Click the Accept button for new patients. This will temporarily store the changes you have made in case demographics until the patient is saved. Click the Save button for existing patients. Your changes to the case will be recorded, and you will be returned to the Cases tab.

Choose whether to "Go to Grid after Save" and then click Save on the main demographic screens to commit all of the changes to the patient record.

*Files are discussed in the topic at the link provided.