Closing chart encounters

OpenEMR Development
#1

jjcanales wrote on Saturday, October 22, 2011:

Overall new version looks great and is working well on my Ubuntu system.  I had this post in the EMR User group but no answer for the last week.  I have not seen this issue raised  recently.   Maybe one of the developers can answer this.  How do you close an encounter?  By closing, I mean, no longer allow editing to occur.  Along with this, can an addendum be made to the chart once it is closed?  An additional feature that would be helpful would be having an "open chart’ (chart needing closing) section; this would be helpful for an encounter that has not been closed (fully documented).  It seems awkward to leave the chart “open” available to constant editing.  If there is an easy way to close the chart that I overlooked, I apologize.  Thanks for help.

Joe

#2

nursejeff wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2011:

I second this concern.  On my prior system I locked the chart note when it was finished and only I could edit it.  I find it odd that the chart note is just left open and never officially sealed or finished.

Jeff Guillory Jr.
NP Health Clinic

#3

tmccormi wrote on Monday, October 24, 2011:

This is an enhancement that has been much discussed, but no one has developed it, or if they have, they have not offered to contribute it.   Personally, it seems pretty easy to me to not go changing encounters from the past and to add create a new simple, ‘Addendum’ form to use when you want to attached some notes.

It’s also a pretty easy enhancement, I think.   Be a nice thing to get funded.

Tony
www.mi-squared.com / @tonymi2
oemr.org / @OEMR_org

#4

yehster wrote on Monday, October 24, 2011:

One reason I suspect this hasn’t been implemented is that it’s actually more complicated than it appears on the surface.  If you lock at the “encounter level”  simply marking an encounter as locked and then not allowing further changes would be problematic to work flow.  Who is responsible for locking and when?   The physician?   The Clinical Staff?  The Billing Folks? Yes, addendum addresses this to some extent, but you have to have logging/auditing of actions otherwise what was the point of locking in the first place? 

#5

jojohit wrote on Wednesday, January 30, 2013:

I’d like to ask someone if they have this code tucked somewhere in their sandbox. Our student-run clinic need this code. The preceptors (providers) need some form of assurane that, with the EMR if they sign an encounter it is supposed to be non-editable. I’d agree that I just need an addendum encounter (create another encounter). Something to start with, otherwise this very important feature will not ever come out and be employed. Please donate the code. TNX.

JP

#6

Hello,
I have decided to bring this topic back instead of creating a new topic on it. Please, how can an encounter be closed. Understandable so, yes when closed automatically by the system, it can be reopened from the billing module, but how can it be closed.