Advancing the Work Flow

An order might be completed in one step by a single individual, or it might involve multiple steps that are completed by several different people.

To facilitate the progress of work done on an order when multiple parties are involved, clinics can pre-define the individual steps required to complete it, identify the group and/or individual responsible for doing each step, assign a status to each phase of the work, and enter this information into File Maintenance > Setup Orders > Task Prototypes. The order's current standing in the work flow will then be displayed in the following columns of every orders grid:

Label	Description
Sequence	If a multi-step sequence has been designated for this order, this number indicates the current step in the sequence. A zero here means no sequence is defined.
Work Group	Indicates which type of employee is responsible for this step of the process, such as Case Manager, Nurse, or PT.
Status	A clinic-defined entry that describes what needs to be done at the current work phase, such as Charting, Invoicing, etc.
Owner	The actual person, if any, who is responsible for this step and will see it in his or her Chart Box. Typically a Work Group or an Owner will be indicated, not both.

As the work progresses on an order with a pre-defined work sequence, SYSTOC will (in most cases) automatically increment the Sequence number, and any other work flow information that was entered in conjunction with that number will update accordingly. Anyone monitoring the information in these fields will know what work needs to be done next, and which group or individual is responsible for doing that work. If the work flow has not been pre-defined, or if the progress of a particular order is not following the standard sequence, it may be necessary to modify the information in these fields manually. This can be done by selecting new entries from the drop down menus available in each field. Or, if a form is attached to the order, these fields can be edited in the sequence and status area that appears above the open form.

For more information about setting up sequences, see Setting Up Work Flow Sequences. For more information on using sequences, see Sequencing Work Flow.