How to Manage a Patient Visit in Helix (From Screening to Discharge)

🏥 Patient Entry After Screening

Once Screening is completed, the patient appears in Today’s Admissions on the Home screen.

📋 What is shown in Today’s Admissions

The patient panel displays:

Patient file number
Patient name
Time of admission
Original booking time (if the visit was booked)
Walk-in flag (if the visit was not booked)
External referral (if assigned)
Insurance company name or contract name

🧾 Services Panel During a Visit

For each admitted patient, the Services panel lists all services the patient is scheduled to receive.

⚡ Available quick actions per service

Screening – opens the Screening page
Open Medical Chart – launches the provider’s chart
Sign Consent – captures a consent signature
Send to PACS – sends data to PACS

These actions are available directly from the Home screen.

🔁 Moving a Patient from Screening to In Service

After Screening:

The patient remains visible under Today’s Admissions
The visit status shows Screening

▶️ To move the patient to In Service:

Locate the patient under Today’s Admissions
Click Send to Doctor

The patient status updates from Screening to In Service.

🩺 Accessing the Medical Chart During the Visit

Once the patient is In Service, doctors can open the Medical Chart from the Services panel.

Click Open Medical Chart (blue button)
The Medical Chart opens over the Home screen
Doctors can continue documenting while the patient remains In Service

(Details of chart navigation and layout are covered in a separate article.)

🧠 Visit Status Visibility During Care

During the visit:

The patient status reflects where they are in the workflow
The Medical Chart, Patient Management options, and Timeline are available based on role permissions
All clinical actions performed during this stage are recorded against the visit

🧾 Discharge: Completing the Visit

❓ Why discharge matters

Discharge indicates that the patient has left the facility
This is especially important for outpatient and day-care surgery clinics
Discharge aligns with NABIDH expectations for accurate encounter status

👤 Who typically discharges the patient

Ideally, the last person who sees the patient
Usually Reception or Cashier

⏱️ Timing

Patients should be discharged as soon as they leave
Patients should not remain overnight in outpatient or day-care workflows

✏️ Editing a Visit After Discharge

🕑 Post-discharge access rules

Doctors can enter or edit notes up to 48 hours after discharge
Nurses can access their Screening page for 24 hours after discharge

📌 Important note

A note is editable only by the user who created it

🔄 Editing a Visit After the Discharge List Resets

The Discharge list resets every 24 hours.

🧭 If the patient no longer appears under Discharge:

Use the Search Patient bar
Find the patient and select Open File
Open Medical History under the demographics ribbon
Select the visit and click Edit Visit
- If Edit Visit is not visible, the 48-hour edit window has expired
The Clinic Record opens in a new tab
Make the required changes and Save
Confirm updates appear in the Medical History panel

📝 Using Follow-Up Notes After the Edit Window

📌 When Follow-Up Notes should be used

After the 48-hour edit window closes
For post-visit communication such as:
- Doctor callbacks
- Patient queries
- Lab or test result updates
- Medication clarifications
- Status updates

🎯 Purpose

Maintains a clear medico-legal timeline
Avoids reopening or re-admitting the visit

🧭 How to add a Follow-Up Note

Open Patient File → Medical History
Select the relevant visit
Click Add Follow-Up Notes
Enter the note and Add

The note is:

Date- and time-stamped
Editable or deletable later if needed

📝 Notes

Patient status transitions are visible on the Home screen
Discharge does not prevent doctors from editing within the allowed window
Follow-Up Notes are used instead of editing once the edit window expires