Encounters
The Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) is provides information about patients, as well as information about the delivery of care to those patients, always presented in "context". The context might be a clinical question, an encounter with health care providers, a stay in a healthcare facility, or series of events linked in an episode of care.
Most physician interactions with a Connect Care chart occur when patients are in the ER or are hospitalized or are in clinic. Training covers these types of encounters well. However, physicians looking up an in-facility patient need to take care to additionally select the appropriate encounter (e.g., ER visit) for the contributions the physician will make (see Finding Encounters).
Sometimes prescribers may need to interact with the chart outside of a hospital admission or an emergency or clinic visit. One may want to place orders that anticipate a future interaction, add information to the chart outside of an in-person visit, or document an interaction that occurs where Connect Care has not yet deployed (see Encounter Types).
Additionally, “virtual” (patient not physically in a Connect Care setting) encounters that can facilitate care at a distance (see Virtual Encounters).