How to Create and Work with Encounter Lists

Sensei Cloud gives you the ability to create Encounter Lists, which are lists of procedures that providers commonly perform. Encounter Lists allow practices that do not select procedures upon appointment booking to quickly and easily select frequently performed procedures and add them to the list of rendered services for a patient's appointment at the time of treatment.

These lists can be created and managed from the Clinical menu of the Administration tab (Administration > Clinical > Encounter Lists).

Creating New Encounter Lists

To create a new Encounter List:

1. From the Administration tab, select Clinical > Encounter Lists.
2. From the for drop-down list, select a fee schedule. 
   
   Note: See How to Use Multiple Procedure Lists / Fee Schedules for more information.
3. Under Actions, click Create New Encounter List.
4. Enter a name for the list.
   Note: There must be a unique name per fee schedule, but you can repeat a list name across schedules (e.g., Dr. Watson's Codes for each fee schedule).
5. Select whether you want the list to be the practice default for the selected procedure list / fee schedule.
   Note:
   -- There can only be one default encounter list selected for a given procedure list / fee schedule.
   -- The default Encounter List is the list that is initially displayed when you select the procedure list / fee schedule when adding the procedures rendered during a patient's appointment via the Manage Appointment link in the Clinical Chart (EMR).
   
   See Using Encounter Lists for more information.
6. Use the Add a Procedure field to search for and select procedures to add to the list. 
   
   Note: You can click-and-drag procedures and change their order within the list using the icon. Click the X icon to remove a procedure from the list. 
   
7. Click Save. 

Editing Encounter Lists

Existing Encounter Lists are stored in a list for the selected procedure list / fee schedule. The list includes the Encounter List name, whether it is the default, the number of procedures included, and the status (active or inactive).

Encounter Lists can be edited at any time.

To edit an Encounter List:

1. Click on the name of the list. The fields become editable.
2. Make the needed changes (e.g., add, edit, or remove the included procedures, etc.).
3. Click Save.

Note:
-- Encounter Lists are automatically updated to reflect changes to the associated Procedures. Any changes to the Office Code or Office Description for the Procedures included in the Encounter List(s) are reflected going forward when using the Encounter List.
-- If a Procedure is marked as Inactive, it is removed from the Encounter List to prevent users from inadvertently selecting a Procedure that is no longer being used. 

Using Encounter Lists

When working in a patient's Clinical Chart (EMR), you can select a specific Encounter List from the Manage Appointment screen and quickly and easily click on procedures to add them.

To use Encounter Lists when adding procedures to a patient's appointment:

1. From the Patient tab, select Clinical > Clinical Chart (EMR).
2. Click Manage Appointment. The Manage Appointment screen is displayed.
   
3. Select the Encounter List tab.
   
   Note:
   -- The Manage Appointment screen defaults to the Appointment Procedures tab. This view displays what has been currently scheduled for the day's appointment. From here, you can manage the procedures currently assigned to the appointment, defer/remove scheduled procedures that did not happen, add procedures that were not originally scheduled, and add previously planned procedures (from treatment plans), etc.
   -- The Encounter List view can be used to quickly add procedures to the appointment's delivered services with a single click. The added procedures are also reflected in the Appointment Procedures view.
4. Select a procedure list / fee schedule from the drop-down list.
5. Select one of the Encounter Lists that are available for the selected procedure list / fee schedule.
   
6. Click on a procedure to add it. A message is displayed indicating that the procedure is successfully added to the patient's appointment.
   Note: 
   -- The procedure count in the Appointment Summary is updated as you add procedures. 
   -- You can click a procedure multiple times if you need to add more than one (e.g., if there is more than one extraction).
   -- An alert icon is displayed next to the Appointment Procedures tab if procedures that have been added require you to select anatomy. Click Appointment Procedures and then enter the required information before completing the appointment.
7. Enter notes for checkout as needed.
8. Click Save or Complete Appointment.
   Note: You cannot complete the appointment if there are procedures that are missing required anatomy information. 

See How to Track Visits with the Clinical Chart (EMR) and Oral Surgery Clinical Chart (EMR) for more information.