Configuring cases, care plans, and discharge letters

Clinic configuration is managed from Settings. These settings affect the tools your team sees in patient care workflows, so review them before asking clinicians to start using cases, care plans, or discharge letters.

How do I turn on cases?

Use Settings → Cases to add case tracking to patient charts. Cases group a patient's visits into an episode of care with problems, goals, status tracking, and outcomes.

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, click Cases.

1. Find the Cases setting.
2. Turn Cases on.

Ona saves the change automatically. After it saves, the patient chart can show a Cases tab with problems, goals, status tracking, ICD-10 coded primary and secondary problems, linked visits, and discharge outcomes.

If the save fails, Ona shows Couldn't save and restores the last saved setting.

For help using cases after they are enabled, see Cases.

How do I turn on care plans?

Use Settings → Care Plans to make care plans available for your clinic. Care plans are forward-looking plans of care with health concerns, goals, and recommendations a patient can follow between visits.

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, click Care Plans.

1. Find the Care Plans setting.
2. Turn Care Plans on.

Ona saves the change automatically. After it saves, your team can use reusable protocols, publish patient-facing versions with downloadable PDFs, and track goals with targets and review dates.

If the save fails, Ona shows Couldn't save and restores the last saved setting.

For help using care plans after they are enabled, see Building care plans.

How do I configure chronic care management for care plans?

Use Settings → Care Plans to enable chronic care management when your team needs to log care-management time against a patient's plan. This setting appears only after Care Plans is on.

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, click Care Plans.

1. Turn Care Plans on if it is not already on.
2. In Chronic Care Management, turn Track care-management time on.
3. Enter Minimum billable minutes. This is the number of minutes required in a calendar month before CCM can be claimed.
4. Enter Place of service code. This is the two-digit CMS place-of-service code used on CCM claim lines.

Ona saves these settings automatically. When no saved value is present, Minimum billable minutes shows 20 and Place of service code shows 11.

Minimum billable minutes must be a whole number of at least 1. Place of service code must be exactly two digits.

For help using time tracking after it is enabled, see Care Time and chronic care management.

How do I customize discharge letters?

Use Settings → Discharge letters to control the parts of discharge and termination letters your clinic can change. The page includes wording, optional contents, offered reasons, continuity-of-care resources, and closing text.

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, click Discharge Letters.

1. In Wording, set Service name if the letter heading should name your specialty.
2. Set Grace period. Emergency care and refills continue for this many days, and it sets the default effective date.
3. Add Records request phone if patients should call a specific number for a copy of their records.
4. In Contents, turn Current prescriptions on if the letter should print the patient's active medications as a table.
5. In Continuity of care, select Add resource to add organizations that help patients find a new provider. Each resource needs a name; the link is optional.
6. In Closing text, add Emergency support and a Closing paragraph if your clinic needs custom wording.
7. Select Save.

Ona shows Discharge letters updated after the settings save. Letters signed from then on use these settings.

How do I choose which discharge reasons are offered?

Use Settings → Discharge letters to limit the reasons offered on discharge and termination letters. If you leave none selected, the full list is offered.

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, click Discharge Letters.

1. Go to Reasons offered.
2. Check each reason your clinic wants to offer.
3. Select Offer all if you want to clear your selections and make the full list available again.
4. Select Save.

The section shows how many reasons are selected. With no selections, it shows that all reasons are offered.

What can't I do here?

In the left sidebar, click Settings (at the bottom). In the settings menu, under Configuration, these settings have the following limits:

• Staff and clinicians cannot manage these settings.
• Cases and Care Plans save automatically; there is no separate Save button on those pages.
• Track care-management time is available only when Care Plans is on.
• Minimum billable minutes must be a whole number of at least 1.
• Place of service code must be exactly two digits.
• Discharge letter formal notice wording and e-signature attestation text are not editable here.
• Changes to discharge letter settings apply to letters signed from now on. They do not change letters that were already signed.

Common questions

What does turning on Cases add?

It adds case tracking for patient care. Cases include problems, goals, status tracking, ICD-10 coded primary and secondary problems, linked visits, and discharge outcomes.

What does turning on Care Plans add?

It enables care plan tools, including reusable protocols, published patient-facing versions with downloadable PDFs, and goals with targets, review dates, and outcomes.

Can I use CCM without care plans?

No. Track care-management time appears only when Care Plans is on.

What happens if a cases or care plans setting does not save?

Ona shows Couldn't save and returns the page to the last saved setting.

Do discharge letter changes affect letters already signed?

No. Changes here apply to letters signed from now on. Letters that were already signed are not changed.