Episode Type Setup

Episode Types in VetView are the underlying structure of a given patient visit in VetView.  These define the background processes that occur when a patient is checked in or discharged, communications to the owner and referring clinic, what parts of the patient medical record will be required by Medical Records, and how a linked appointment type will eventually transform to a visit when the patient arrives.  

Unlike Appointment Types, which are customized for each Hospital Unit, the Episode Types are shared across all units. 

Add Episode Type

Click on the Add Episode Type button to create a new episode type.  At a minimum, you must have a name to be able to save this episode type.  The episode type will not become available to use until it is linked to an Appointment Type within a unit on the Unit Setup tab. 

Once you have Saved, the Episode Requirements tab will become available.

Episode Type Details

The Episode Type Details are the basic information and actions that will occur as a patient progresses through a visit.

Episode Requirements

Episode Requirements define the portion of the medical record that will appear for the selected episode type.  The requirements may be very minimal, such as only requiring a patient order on a pharmacy refill, or they can be extensive, such as requiring a full History, Physical, Vitals, Diagnosis, and Discharge for a patient surgery.  

Episode requirements have three settings:  Display Label, Required, and Verify.

• Display Label:  This medical record category will automatically appear on the episode, but the document or request does not need to be added.  It can be used as a prompt to consider adding an appropriate document.
• Required:  This medical record category will automatically appear on the episode.  Someone on the clinical staff must add a document or request that matches the medical record category to fulfill the requirement.
• Verify:  The medical record category will automatically appear on the episode.  Someone on the clinical staff must add a document or request that matches the category, and this document or request must be approved by a faculty member or order supervisor.

If an episode does not have a Required or Verified document or request within the category, then it is considered Deficient and flags will appear throughout the system until the issue has been resolved.

For more information on verifying Documents and Requests on an episode, please see How to get my Documents and Requests Verified. 

Add Requirement

Click on the Add Requirement button to add a new medical record category to this episode type.  A blank Add window will appear.

Select the new Medical Record Category from the drop down menu.  (These categories can only be added to each episode type once.)  Choose the level of requirements, and then click on the Save button.  The new episode requirement will appear in the list.

Edit Requirement

To change an existing requirement, click on the row you want to modify, and then click on the Edit Requirement button.  Make the change and then click on the Save button.

Changes made to these requirements only impact new episodes going forward.

Episode Events

Episode events are the communications that queue for RDVMS and owners certain steps occur during the patient's visit.   These communications can fire off immediately for routine reports to RDVMs, or can be reviewed and customized in the case of a Discharge that is being handled by a student.  Whereas the Episode Requirements directly impact what appears on the patient record and ultimately the Medical Records Management screen, the Episode Events control how and when messages appear on the Communications Worklist instead.

Add Action

Click on the Add Action to create a new event.  A large Event Setup window will appear.

Due to the length of this window, discussion will be broken up into two sections.

Event, Action, and Mail Settings

The Event line allows you to choose which event will fire off a communication:  Patient check-in, admit, discharged, order closed, unit transfer, or document verification.  The Daily Update option is also available that entails a manual process on the Communication Worklist, to fire off a specific document or request to an RDVM or Client for inpatients who may not have other major activity for several days. 

The Action line indicates who should receive the communication:  The owner/client, or the referring RDVM and Clinic?  In both cases, the client must have the selected flag turned on under the Client Settings to receive the medical record communications.   Clients with the Do Not Communicate flag turned on will receive nothing.

Auto Send will automatically send this once a document or request has been verified.  Always Send will fire off the communication, even if the document or request has not yet been added to the patient record.  (This may be useful for certain communications that can be done entirely in the Email Body using placeholders.)  Send if Deceased will send the communication even if the patient has a deceased date - this may be recommended for RDVM communications for final discharge updates. 

The Mail Settings store the generic information that will be sent as an email or fax.  These fields support placeholders which will also pull in the appropriate information directly from the patient or client records, allowing you to personalize the communication appropriately.

Documents and Reports Settings

The bottom half of this screen is where you can selected a Document or Request Report to attach to the communication.  You can select an entire medical record group, such that any document or request added to that group on the episode will be included, or you can select a specific report, document, or request catalog item to include as long as it is present on the patient record.

Individual Document / Request is only available under the Event type of Document Verification. 

Add Record Group

Click on the Add Record Group button to add a new medical record category to the Event.

Select the Record group you want to add, and choose the rules: Optional (will send whether this is included or not) or Required (will only send when this item is added.)   You can also select a specific status.  VetView recommends not sending until the contents of a medical record group are Completed, but for certain lab requests you may wish to include Preliminary statuses as well.

Add Report

This option allows you to select a custom local report to add.  System reports are handled under the Individual Document / Request section instead.

Add Individual Document / Request

When the selected Event is Document Verification, you can specify which document or request has to be verified before it is sent. 

Select the Unit, the Catalog, and the specific Catalog Item.

If a document is changed and the status becomes Reverified or Addended, you can also choose to resend the new results.  This may be especially useful for labwork.

Edit Action

To change an existing event, click on the line you want to modify and press Edit Action.  The large Event window will open for you to make the necessary changes.  

Delete Action

Episode Events occur in real time.  Events can safely be deleted without impacting historical data.  Any previously sent communications will still appear in the Comm Worklist and on the patient's Communication Log. 

Select the row you want to delete, and click on the Delete Action button.