Visit category list needs to be editable

Day-to-Day Users
1

I note the visit category on the NEW ENCOUNTER form is NOT an editable list. Can that be fixed?
Minor- I would like to delete Opthamologic
Major - I would like to add a NO SHOW category. I feel no show is a very important thing to track, I am frustrated that I find no way to do it currently.

2

Hi Harold,

Here are the steps you need:

No show is an appointment status, and is editable here:
Administration->Lists
There select Appointment Statuses and you will see those options.

Visit Category is located here:
Administration->Other->Calendar
Click Categories and create/delete/alter the visit categories as you desire.

Next, navigate to Administration->Practice and select Documents.
Here you should delete the Eye related document categories, and perhaps create any you desire.

Lastly, navigate to Adminstration->Other->Forms and disable the Eye form.

Hope that helps to get you started,
Ray

3

I think what he is asking about and I would also find helpful would be to be able to create an encounter entry that does not involve generating a billing episode to use to document things like a no show event or a phone call that is unrelated to an in office visit. My work around has been to write notes in windows word pad, convert them to pdf, label them as say a phone call and date and then import them as a document. This is kind of a pain, but both of these areas are important for stuff like the no show or phone call stomach ache that later turns out to be a burst appendix.

4

cverk is correct. I specifically want to edit the drop down list of encounter types, to add a no show/cancellation. And I think I would also add phone call. And then I could still enter data relevant without it creating a billing record. I want it to appear in the encounter list and reports, not just on the appointment schedule. I want the no show, or a cancellation, with the stated reason for the cancellation, to be in the history of encounters. How can I do this? I presume the list of possible encounter types needs to be moved to the editable lists under the admin tab. I can not think of any reason for it not to be. So far I am using the “reserved” type.

5

Follow up on this…i need to add telemedicine to the list , how to edit it without breaking links and still generate billing ?

6

Hi @Mohammad ,

This answer from claude:

Adding a new category is safe — go to Administration → Clinic → Calendar → Categories, click Add, and name it “Telemedicine.” That just creates a new category ID; it won’t touch or renumber existing categories, so nothing already linked to another category breaks. The only way to break links is deleting or reusing an existing category, not adding a new one.

One thing worth clarifying though: visit category in OpenEMR is a scheduling/calendar classification (coloring + filtering the appointment list), not a billing object. It doesn’t itself “generate” billing. Billing comes from whatever codes are entered on the encounter’s Fee Sheet — E/M code, ICD-10, Place of Service, modifiers — independent of which category the appointment was tagged with.

So for telehealth claims to go out correctly, what actually matters is:

  • Set Place of Service to 02 (Telehealth) or 10 (Telehealth in patient’s home) on the encounter/claim

Hope that helps :slightly_smiling_face:.

  • Moussa
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