3. Adding a Phone Encounter
In the procedure below, you will learn how a user handles an incoming phone call using the pen program.
Run pen
Start the pen program by selecting "Enter/Review Phone Encounters" from your Daily Operations window or by typing pen at a command prompt. You are now ready for the phone to ring.
Press [F1 -- Add/Edit Encountr]
When the phone rings, press F1 and enter the patient's name. You can also find a patient using their phone number or other criteria. Read Finding Patients and Accounts for more information.
Optional: Update Demographic Information, Schedule, Other
On the Patient Demographics screen, you can view basic information about the patient:
Use the function keys on this screen to quickly access other useful Partner programs, like the Scheduler (sam) and Pediatric Advisor. Below is a list of the functions you can perform from this screen.
- [F1 -- Next Patient]
Press F1 to save your work and begin the next call.
- [F2 -- Edit Patient]
Press F2 to run notjane, the Patient Editor, for this patient.
- [F3 -- Edit CustAcct]
Press F3 to run fame, the Family Editor, for the custodian account of this patient.
- [F4 -- Add PhoneEnc]
Press F4 to add a new phone encounter note or review and edit old phone encounter notes for this patient.
- [F5 -- Imms Record]
Press F5 to review or update the patient's immunization history.
- [F6 -- Schedule Patient]
Press F6 to schedule an appointment for the patient using either sam, Partner's scheduling program, or encount. Contact PCC to configure the scheduling method for F6.
- [F7 -- Patient Forms]
Press F7 to access the patient form-letter page and print form letters for the patient.
- [F8 -- Pedi Advisor]
Run the Pediatric Advisor, if it is installed. Pediatric Advisor is an optional Partner module that contains a library of pediatric handouts.
Press [F4 -- Add PhoneEnc]
When you are ready to add a new phone encounter note or review an old one, press F4. You will see a list of all recorded encounters for this patient. When the screen appears, the most recently recorded calls will be at the top of the list:
Create a New Phone Encounter
Select an empty encounter slot and enter a few details from the current call. Enter the name of the caller, and if desired, their relationship to the patient. You should also verify the caller's phone number, in case you get disconnected, or a provider needs to call them back later.
If the screen is full of phone encounters already, press [F4 -- Go To New Entry] to automatically select the next empty slot.
Press [F5 -- Full Notes]
Press F5 to bring up the Full Notes screen. Use the "Notes Concerning Phone Call" field to record notes as the phone call progresses.
If you need more room for notes, press F4 to add a line.
Add Summary and Status
When finished entering notes, press [F5 -- Bop To Summary] to enter/update the one-line summary of the call and the status (closed, waiting for callback, etc). The status can later be used for creating a list of calls needing a callback.
Optionally, Perform Other Actions for the Patient
If the call requires you to update demographic information, schedule appointments, mail out form letters, or perform other functions, press [F8 -- Go Back] twice to get back to the Patient Demographics screen. From there you have access to many other Partner programs.
Save Your Note and Continue to the Next Patient
When finished with this phone encounter, press [F1 -- Next Patient] to save your work and prepare for the next call.