Create an encounter

This flow shows how to open an encounter for a patient. The end state is an open encounter that holds the clinical work of one episode of care.

:::info Prerequisite Read Encounter to learn what an encounter is. Read Patient to learn how a patient record works. :::

Before you start

• You need a role with create encounter permission in the facility. Admin, Doctor, Nurse, and Facility Admin hold this permission.
• The patient is registered in Care. If the patient is new, complete Create a patient first.
• Know the department that is responsible for the encounter. Care requires at least one department.
• Your deployment controls which encounter types you can select, and which type is selected first.

Steps

1. Open the patient

In the facility menu, select Patients. Search for the patient. Open the patient from the results.

2. Start the encounter

Select Create Encounter. Press e to open the same form from the patient page.

The Initiate Patient Encounter panel opens.

If the patient comes from an appointment, open the appointment instead. Select Start Consultation to create the encounter and start the consultation. Select Create Planned Encounter to record a future episode.

3. Complete the encounter details

Field	Notes
Date and Time	The start of the encounter. Only a Planned encounter accepts a future date.
Type of Encounter	Inpatient, Ambulatory, Emergency, Observation, Virtual, or Home Health.
Status	Planned, In Progress, or On Hold.
Priority	The urgency of the episode. Routine is selected first.
Tags	Optional labels for the encounter.
Departments	At least one department is required.

4. Save the encounter

Select Create Encounter. Press Shift+Enter to submit the form.

Care confirms with the message "Encounter created successfully". Care then opens the encounter.

After you create the encounter

Next step	When
Assign a bed	The patient occupies a bed. See Update the location of an encounter.
Manage Care Team	You must record the people responsible for the patient.
Record clinical data	You start the consultation.
Mark as Completed	The episode ends. See Close an encounter.

Related

• Concept: Encounter
• Reference: Encounter (technical)
• Flow: Close an encounter