Patient Flow Overview

Go to Utilities > Patient Flow, keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-F.

Patient Flow allows you to track patients that are on the schedule whether checking in using TopsCheckin, checking out with the Scheduling  Coordinator, meeting with the Treatment Coordinator or being seated chair-side in the clinic. It is the first window that you should open each day in Tops Ortho at every workstation.

There are different views that can be used based on the size of your office, the work flow of your office or your specific role. While the upper and middle sections differ by the view selected, the bottom section of Patient Flow is consistent across all views.

Reception - The upper section provides a photo-view of patients that are Waiting to be Checked Out or Waiting to be Seated. The middle section provides visibility to a list of all patients for the day, except when the patient has been updated to a Seated status. A patient with a status of Seated will not appear in the Reception View until they are updated to a Done or Checked Out status. The reception view can update and view the following statuses: Coming, Waiting, Done, Checked Out, Late and Missed.   The Reception view cannot seat patients.

Clinical - The upper section provides a grid view of patients by chair that are in a Seated or Waiting status. The grid view also allows them to see additional patients that are scheduled to arrive that have not yet checked in.  The middle section provides visibility to a list of patients that reflect either a Waiting or Seated status. The clinical view allows the ability to seat the patient from either the upper section or the middle section.  

Treatment Coordinator - The upper section provides a grid view of patients by chair that are in a Seated or Waiting status. The grid view also allows them to see additional patients that are scheduled to arrive that have not yet checked in.  The middle section provides visibility to a specific list of patients whose appointment has been flagged to "Alert Treatment Coordinator" and reflects a status of Waiting or Seated.  Please see the article referenced at the bottom of this page titled Save Time With Appointment Flags.

All -  The upper section provides a grid view f patients that are in a Seated or Waiting status. The template view also allows them to see additional patients that are scheduled to arrive that have not yet checked in.  The middle section provides visibility to a list of all scheduled patients and their statuses - Coming, Waiting, Seated, Done, Checked Out, Late and Missed.  

Missed - The upper section provides a grid view of patients by chair that are in a Seated or Waiting status. The grid view also allows them to see additional patients that are scheduled to arrive that have not yet checked in.  The middle section provides visibility to only patients that have a status of Late or Missed.

Checking in and TopsCheckin

If you utilize the TopsCheckin application to allow your patients to self-checkin upon arrival, their status in Patient Flow will immediately will update to a  status. If you elected not to have a iPad check-in station for your patients, you can change the status of the patient when they check in at the front desk using Patient Flow.  Once the patient's status is changed to Waiting, the clinic will be notified that there is a patient ready to be escorted back for treatment or the consult.

Please reference the article listed at the bottom of this email for more information on the TopsCheckin application.

Patient Flow Upper Section

Reception View

Clinical, All, Treatment Coordinator and Missed View

The patient's appointment is illuminated after they have checked in. Drag and drop their appointment from the grid to the chair at the top of the window. Select the assistant from the menu that displays.

View drop-down menu

You can change the view of the Patient Flow window to show All, Reception, Treatment Coordinator, Missed or Clinical.

Doctor drop-down menu

If there are multiple doctors, you can select which doctor’s patients are visible on Patient Flow.

Summary

Indicates how many patients are Coming, Late, Waiting, Seated, and Done.

Add a Chair button

Adds a chair to Patient Flow. Adding a chair does not affect the Appt Book. This is not available from the Reception view.

Main drop-down menu

If you have more than one office, you can select the office that you are currently working in or check the appointments in a satellite office.

Waiting to be Seen

Grouped images in the Reception View, the patient is checked in and ready to be seen. 

Ready to Checkout

Grouped images in the Reception View, the patient is checked out and ready to have their next appointment scheduled and then marked as Checked Out.

1. The display options for the Patient Flow window are available within the dropdown menu in the upper left. (i.e. Clinical, Missed, Reception, Treatment Coordinator, All.)
2. Select to display All Doctors, Cycle Through Doctors, or a specific doctor.

Patient Flow Middle Section

Note: Depending on the Patient Flow view selected, some statuses or patients will not appear.

Col

Column the patient is on in the Appointment Book.

Patient Name

Patient’s name, click the double arrows to open the contextual menu and jump to the Patient Info section.

Status

Click the double arrows to change the status of a patient in your office. The default selections are Coming, Missed, Waiting, Done, and Checked Out.

From the Clinical, Treatment Coordinator and All views, if a patient is in a Waiting status, the patient can be seated from the double arrows by selecting a chair and an assistant. Once a patient has been seated, the assistant’s initials will display in Patient Flow and the patient's status will reflect Seated.

HX

Will display a red rectangle, if the patient has a Medical History Alert.

Open Checklist

Will display the number of open checklists. Double click the number to open the patient’s checklist tab.

Approved Checklist

Will display the number of approved checklists. Double click the number to open the patient’s checklist tab.

Dr/Asst

Initials of Dr. and Assistant (the assistant’s initials are shown after the patient is seated). 

Procedure/Appt time/Length/Arrived/Waiting/To Go

All pertain to the scheduled appointment and the amount of time spent in your office. 
  The To Go time is calculated from the Appointment Time and how much time is left of the scheduled length.

Patient Flow - Lower Section

Financial Information

Current financial information, if applicable.

Med Hx/Financial/Schedule Alerts

Displayed from the Patient Information, Status Notes, Alerts Tab. 

Next Procedure

When treatment notes are added to a patient, they are automatically displayed in this area. Or click the double arrows to add.

Add Transaction Button

Click to add financial transactions.

Search for Next Appointment button

If Next Appointment Information is entered, you can search for the patient’s next appointment. This button will initiate the Appointment Search window.

Make a Recall button

If your patient cannot schedule an appointment you can create a recall.