What is the Visit Note feature?
Elation’s Visit Note feature is used to record a patient encounter. The Visit Note feature offers many structured fields for storing important details regarding a patient encounter.Why is the Visit Note feature valuable?
Storing patient encounter details in a structured way allows for better collaboration amongst various providers and organizations that are caring for the same patient. You can easily view visit notes within a patient’s chart or share a copy of the structured visit note with any provider or organization. This will also help you comply with medical and legal standards for completing a patient encounter.Visit Note functionalities
Visit Note Formats
In Elation, there are 6 different Visit Note Formats that provide you with different layouts for storing clinical information when documenting a clinical encounter. Each layout has its own characteristics that makes it suitable for different documentation workflows and preferences. You can find the different visit note formats under the “Visit Note” button in the gray navigation bar. Click here to learn more about the various visit note formats. We recommend finding one or a few that align with your charting style.Visit Note Categories
The Visit Note Categories control the title or “heading” of your note, as well as whether or not that note will be counted in the denominator of eligible patient visits in Meaningful Use calculations. Click here to learn more about how to manage your visit note categories and how to set defaults.Timer
Two timers will appear at the top of visit notes when Provider level users are drafting visit notes; Time with patients & Time documenting. The Time with patients timer will start automatically when a new visit note draft is open for Provider level users. The Time with patient timer can be used to document the total amount of time spent with a patient. Providers can click “Pause” to pause this timer at any time and click “Resume” to resume the timer. If Provider level users save the visit note as a draft and open the draft again, they must click the “Resume” button to resume the Time with patient timer again. The Time documentingtimer is a timer that must be started manually. The Time documenting timer can be used to document the amount of time it takes providers to complete visit note documentation. Providers must click “Start” to start the Time documenting timer. Once the timer is started, providers can click “Resume”, “Pause” or “Stop” to manage the timer.Assessments section
Every Visit Note Format in Elation contains an Assessment field except for the Simple Note. There are two ways to document clinical assessments during a patient encounter.- You can type out a text narrative in any of the assessments fields in Elation
- You can use the ICD database to enter coded assessments in any of the H&P and Pre-Op Visit Note formats.
Procedures section
There are two ways to document procedures performed during a patient encounter.- You can type out a text narrative in any of the procedure fields
- You can use the CPT code database to enter coded procedure
Care Plan section
The Care Plan is a patient-centered planning tool that focuses on your patient’s specific needs, goals, and preferences. It represents a “snapshot” of care at a single point in time to be easily shared with other providers and teams to ensure continuity of care. Each Visit Note Format has a Care Plan section except for the Simple Note. Click here to learn more about how to best utilize the Care Plan field in your visit notes.Billing Section
Customers who submit claims to insurance payers for services rendered can use the Billing Section to store claims related details. Click here to learn more about how to enter billing information in your visit notes.Template Options
You can utilize Visit Note, Physical Exam (PE) and Review of Systems (ROS) templates with your visit notes. Click on the relevant links below to learn more about each type of template: You can also utilize external templating software alongside Elation. Click on the Templates Guide- Using templating softwares with Elation to learn more.Best Practices
We have compiled the best workflows related to patient encounter documentation for you to reference below:- Best practices for documenting a patient encounter
- Using Clinical Profile documentation to facilitate charting
- Best practices for co-signing visit notes
- Using visit note automation for appointments
- Converting paper or other external visit notes into Elation visit notes
Related Articles
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Best practices for documenting a patient encounter
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Using Clinical Profile documentation to facilitate charting
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Visit Note Formats
- Visit Note Categories Guide
- Visit Note Templates Guide
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Assessments
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Procedures
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Care Plans
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Physical Exam (PE) & Review of Systems (ROS) Templates
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Best practices for co-signing visit notes
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Using visit note automation for appointments
- Visit Note Documentation Guide- Converting paper or other external visit notes into Elation visit notes
- Billing Guide- Creating a Super Bill and coding for your visit