> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ndumed.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Open and manage patient encounters

> Open an outpatient, inpatient or emergency encounter in NduMed, move it through its statuses, and use the encounter screen for vitals, notes, diagnoses and orders.

An **encounter** is one visit or episode of care: an outpatient consultation (OPD), an inpatient stay (IPD) or an emergency visit (ER). Everything clinical in NduMed, including vitals, notes, diagnoses, prescriptions and lab orders, belongs to an encounter.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Doctors and nurses open and manage encounters. Administrators can view them.

## Find open encounters

Select **Clinical** in the menu. The **Open Encounters** list can be filtered by clinic, type and status.

## Open an encounter

**1. Fill in the Open Encounter form**

* **Patient ID**: NduMed's internal patient number (not the MRN).
* **Type**: OPD (default), IPD or ER.
* **Clinician**: the doctor or nurse responsible.
* **Clinic**: required for walk-ins. If you link an appointment, the clinic comes from the appointment.
* **Appointment ID (optional)**: link the patient's appointment, if they booked one. An appointment can be linked to only one open encounter.
* **Chief complaint**: the reason for the visit.

**2. Select Open**

The encounter screen opens.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Opening an **OPD** or **ER** encounter automatically adds a consultation charge (price list code `CONSULT-GP`) to the patient's bill. IPD encounters do not add a consultation charge; inpatients are charged per bed day. Inpatient encounters are usually created for you when a patient is admitted. See [Admissions](https://docs.ndumed.co/inpatient/admissions.md).

## Encounter statuses

| Status | Meaning | How it changes |
| - | - | - |
| **Open** | Created, patient not yet seen | **Start** moves it to In progress |
| **In progress** | Consultation under way | **Close** when finished |
| **Closed** | Finished; read-only | Cannot be reopened |

You can **Close** from Open or In progress. Once closed, vitals, notes, diagnoses and prescriptions can no longer be changed, and new lab orders cannot be placed.

## The encounter screen

The encounter screen has four panels that update in place:

* **Vital signs**: see [Vitals, notes and diagnoses](https://docs.ndumed.co/clinical/notes-vitals-diagnoses.md).
* **Clinical notes**: drafts, signing and amendments.
* **Diagnoses**: ICD-10 and ICD-11 coded diagnoses.
* **Prescriptions**: see [Prescriptions](https://docs.ndumed.co/clinical/prescriptions.md).

Links at the top, depending on your role and your hospital's modules:

* **Admit**: admit the patient to a ward bed.
* **Order labs**: see [Lab orders and results](https://docs.ndumed.co/lab/orders-and-results.md).
* **Lab results**: the patient's verified results.
* **Visit summary**: a printable summary of the encounter.

## Visit history

The **Visits** tab on the patient record lists all of a patient's encounters.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Encounters brought over from your hospital's previous system carry an **Imported** badge and are read-only.


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