It gives the details and a well-known collection of workflow patterns in such a way that hours are split across the days of your working week.
In PrognoCIS, the Work Pattern screen offers accessibility for the Provider and Resources of the clinic to create a Work Pattern as per their required Time Slot and Locations.
Also, the user can control the total number of appointments that are scheduled during a provider's working hours in the Work Pattern.
Properties: This button is exclusively visible to users with read access to the Properties Master screen. Access to this button is strategically granted to enhance user functionality. Clicking the Properties button triggers a popup, presenting a list of properties from the
Properties
Master screen in PrognoCIS that cater to the
Work Pattern.
Work Pattern: Select the Provider from the Provider dropdown list available at the top-right corner of the screen.
Select the Day of Week from the list box. The Clinic Weekly Off days cannot be selected.
For the selected Day, select the Location, Start Time, and Close Time. The list box shows the 24-hour time slots in 15-minute intervals.
For example, a doctor works at Location A from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at Location B from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and again at Location A from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The list of locations is defined in the Settings → Configuration → Clinic → Parameters option.
It is easy to select All Days (other than clinic holidays) and select the Work Pattern. The user can further select a specific day of the week if it follows a different pattern.
This is a one-time entry and affects the Appointment Schedule option.
A Work Pattern can be defined in two ways for a Provider, namely Default and Exception.
Default Work Pattern: The Default definition allows the provider to define one or more work patterns to have different schedules at work over a period during the year.
It shall be defined within the given limits of the Start and Finish dates. For every work pattern definition, for all or specific weekdays, a provider can choose
among the locations to work on at the selected times.
If two work patterns overlap with respect to date or time, then the one defined earlier takes precedence in the implementation of the working schedule over the later default definition.
Along with the Location, Start Time, and End Time columns, the Type column is also displayed on the Work Pattern screen. The Type column is defined for Encounter Types, and there are approximately 30 Encounter types in the system.
When the property appointment.enctype.slotcolor is turned ON, the Type field is displayed as a dropdown list on
the Work Pattern screen, from which a single Encounter Type can be associated with the selected Work Pattern time slot.
The appointment time slot is displayed depending on the defined color of the Encounter Type.
When the property appointment.workpattern.overlap.allow is turned ON, the Type field is displayed as a three-dotted
button to set multiple Encounter Types. In this way, multiple Encounter Types can be associated with the selected Work Pattern. This property works in correspondence with the appointment.enctype.slotcolor property.
On clicking the
button, a popup is invoked displaying multiple Encounter Types. Each Encounter Type has a Comments text field. Encounter type-specific information or comments can be entered in this field, and this comment is displayed on the Appointment Schedule screen. By default, the Comments and Max Allowed # Appts text box fields are disabled, and on checking the checkbox associated with the Encounter Type, these corresponding text boxes are enabled. A maximum of 25 characters can be entered in this field.
If the Enc Type checkbox is unchecked after a comment (description) is entered in the corresponding text field, then the respective comment is deleted and the text field is disabled.
Encounter Type comments are displayed on the Appointment Schedule screen as per the value set in the property appointment.locationdisplay.applicable.
There are four values set for this property as follows:
For example, if the value "15 – Loc Name and EncType Code and Comments" is set in the property, then on the Appointments → Schedule screen, <Location Name> <EncType Code> - <EncType Comments> (i.e., Alabama (Office Visit) – Virtual Consultation) is displayed to the user.
Also, the Time Slot Comments text box field is displayed on the popup below the Encounter Types. This field is also displayed as disabled by default and is enabled only when at least one Encounter Type is selected. A maximum of 50 characters can be entered in this field.
If a Time Slot Comment is entered for a specific Encounter Type, and then the Encounter Type checkbox is deselected, the entered comment will not be saved.
Note:
- If for an Encounter Type, a Time Slot Comment is added, and for the same Encounter Type, an Encounter Type-level comment is also present, then on the Appointment Schedule screen, only the Time Slot-level comment will be displayed.
- The aforementioned functionality of the Type column is applicable to the Exception Work Pattern.
Exception Work Pattern:
The Exception definition allows the provider to define exceptional schedules for a day depending on a specific condition.
For example, the first Monday of the month or every second Tuesday, etc. These exceptional work patterns need to be defined in the range of the Start and Finish dates. The exceptionally defined schedules
override the default work pattern for that day.
Solutions to Obvious Queries:
1. Can we have a working schedule for a doctor at Location 1 for August and September, and Location 2 for September and October?
Yes, we can do that by defining three work patterns: the first shall have a schedule for August at Location 1; the second shall have a schedule for September for Location 1 and Location 2; and
the third shall have a schedule for October for Location 2.
2. What if a doctor works at Location 1 from Monday to Thursday during August, September, and October, and wishes to work on all Fridays at the same time and same Location 1 in October?
We can achieve this by modifying the Finish Date from October to August of the existing default work pattern and defining another default work pattern for October, wherein the doctor shall work Monday through Friday at the same time and Location.
3. What if we define a Default work pattern for all days of the week, with Sunday and Saturday as weekly off days, and then if Saturday is made a working day, would the work schedule for all days be defined for Saturday too?
No. As we had defined the Work Pattern for all days during which Saturday was a weekly off, we will now need to redefine the existing Default work schedule for all the days, including Saturday as a working day.
Copy Work Pattern:
As a step towards the automation of clinic workflow, clinics can conveniently copy the Work Patterns of one Provider to others, incorporate them, and start using them without having to create them from scratch.
On clicking the button, the Copy Work Pattern popup is displayed, showing the list of existing Work Patterns in the system. Upon selecting a Work Pattern, the Work Pattern is applied and ready for use. If the user selects a Work Pattern wherein the Finish Date is before today's date, then a message in bold red is displayed to the user with the suggestion to change the 'Finish Date' in order to apply the Work Pattern.
Note:
- A Provider cannot copy his or her own Work Pattern; it is not available on the Copy Work Pattern list.
- At the time of editing the Work Pattern information (after copying), the Copy Work Pattern button remains disabled until the user successfully saves the changes.
Telemedicine Work Pattern for Telemedicine Providers
Telemedicine Work Pattern Same as In-Clinic Work Pattern checkbox: This checkbox is available only when the Telemedicine Provider checkbox on the Provider Master screen is checked. By default, this checkbox is checked for all Telemedicine Providers.
To define a Telemedicine Work Pattern that is not part of the In-Clinic Work Pattern, deselect the checkbox Telemedicine Work Pattern Same as In-Clinic Work Pattern. Once the checkbox is deselected, a separate table is displayed on the Work Pattern screen. Select the Start Time and End Time to define the telemedicine work pattern time slot
and click the Save button to save the changes.
Note: The Telemedicine Work Pattern, or Telemedicine as a feature, does not require a location for the telemedicine encounter to be carried out.Hence, the Location column is not added to this table.
If the user selects a Start Time on the second row that is part of the Start Time or End Time of the previous row, then a validation message 'Telemedicine Timing in Row 1 overlaps with Telemedicine Timing in Row 2' is displayed on the screen. This functionality applies to all rows. If the user adds an End Time that is before the Start Time of the Telemedicine Work Pattern in the same row, then a validation message 'For Telemedicine, Start Time >= End Time on Row No XX' is displayed on the screen.
Note: The user can define a telemedicine work pattern that
is different from the in-clinic timings, or they can overlap as per the Provider's convenience.
| See Also: | Appointment Scheduler | Location Master | Provider Master |