My first attempt at solving this problem within OpenEMR is to think through the use-cases as actual interactions within the current UI. To do this, I have re-created the flow diagrams posted here with references to the Appointments, Encounters, Flow Board, etc. that would be used to execute the tasks that desire Units Support.
These diagrams are attached as a PDF:
Units Support - Flow Diagrams in OpenEMR.pdf (393.6 KB)
Here is also a quick sketch that I did while creating these diagrams, to show my thoughts more visually: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOf49oKaRWgzVH5Se6b4kcMD0YBtBFotG4Hd2uTIYHKBQSlJfS9CksMKE-kdbwa5A/photo/AF1QipNzjnwlahgzy0rkLBAlNSUXMY3PgJoIsJ113D9J?key=OU9Mc1JQVGNQcmF0b3ZPVVoxd1lsdnN2bEFpclRB
My suggestions and questions are included in the PDF and can be summarized as:
- Updates to the Appointment (and maybe Encounter) screens to include:
a. New “Visit Category” called “Inpatient” or “Inpatient Care”
b. New “Unit” and “Bed” fields, similar to current “Room Number” field - New column in Flow Board called “Location” containing:
a. Facility
b. Unit
c. Bed - New dialog to enable “Transferring” of patients between Facilities
and Units/Beds within facilities
a. this can be triggered by clicking on Status or Location… I’m not sure which is preferable. - New dialog (or modifications of the current Status dialog) for (new) “Discharged” status