Finding your way around a visit
"Understand the visit page in Ona: where clinical charting, intake, billing, insurance and visit-specific tools appear, including the mobile top bar, chip strip, drawer and Records flow. Archived patients’ visits are read-only, and the header shows coverage and balance at a glance."
Visits live in Visits for the organization and inside a patient record when you need one patient’s visit history. A visit is the workspace for one appointment: clinical charting, summary, forms, consents, billing, insurance, labs, supplements and other visit-specific work can appear from the same page. The visit header shows the patient’s tags and pronouns next to the name, and the patient block opens a peek/info panel. The sidebar utility row shows the patient’s MRN next to the export menu. Archived patients’ visits are read-only, with a banner and disabled actions across the workspace. On smaller screens, the visit switches to a compact top bar with a chip strip for section navigation and a drawer for the full section list. Series visits can also show a series popover in the header.
The Visit title (1) stays visible in the header while you work, along with the patient’s tags and pronouns next to the name. The Overview tab (2) is the home tab on desktop. The Summary section (3) is the first clinical section shown there. The patient block opens a peek/info panel.
What is the visit page in Ona?
The visit page is the working record for one appointment or clinical encounter.
The Visit header (1) stays pinned across the top of the workspace, and it shows the patient’s tags and pronouns next to the name while the patient block opens a peek/info panel. The Charting rail (2) moves you between charting sections and visit pages. The Main visit content (3) shows the section or page you choose.
The top visit bar keeps the visit context visible while you work. On smaller screens, that becomes a compact top bar with a chip strip for the most-used sections and a drawer for the full section list. The left section rail moves you between clinical sections and visit pages on larger screens. The main panel shows the selected section or page.
In the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. The main visit page is the clinical canvas. It starts with Summary on larger screens, then shows enabled charting sections such as Reason for visit, Vitals, Diagnoses, Observations, Allergies, Medications, Hospitalizations, Surgical history, Family history, Social history, OB/GYN history, Vaccines, Supplements, Recommendations, Body map and Notes. OB/GYN history stays hidden for male patients. Body map appears when body map is enabled, and it stays hidden on phone visits. Procedures appears when procedures are enabled. Visit media appears in the clinical canvas. The visit rail can also include visit pages such as Labs, Imaging, DoseSpot and Supplements when those features are enabled. On phone visits, Summary is filtered out and does not appear in the mobile strip. For archived patients, the banner marks the visit as read-only and the canvas stays disabled.
Some rail items scroll within the clinical canvas. Others open a separate visit page. If you choose a clinical section while you are on a separate visit page, Ona returns you to the main visit page and scrolls to that section.
When should I use the visit page?
Use the visit page when you are doing work tied to one appointment. That can include preparing for the visit, reviewing the patient’s current chart, documenting findings, checking intake, creating visit billing documents or following up after the visit.
The Visits list (1) is where the organization’s visit rows live, and it can also show the Notes column or filter and unsigned-note markers. A visit (2) is one appointment you can open from that list.
Use the patient record when your question is broader than one appointment. The visit page can show relevant patient chart records, but it separates what belongs to this visit from what is already on the patient’s chart.
A useful pattern is to start in the visit for the day’s work, then open the patient record only when you need the full longitudinal chart.
How does the clinical canvas work?
In the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. On the visit page, the clinical canvas is the main scrolling chart area for the visit.
The Visit section (1) is the active charting section. The Empty visit band (2) shows the section before anything has been added. The From the chart area (3) holds records that are on the patient’s chart but not yet part of this visit.
The canvas can show:
- Summary, the visit briefing or summary text on larger screens
- Reason for visit
- Vitals and other observations
- Diagnoses, Allergies, Medications and Recommendations
- Hospitalizations, Surgical history, Family history, Social history, OB/GYN history and Vaccines
- Supplements, when supplements are enabled
- Body map, when body map is enabled
- Procedures, when procedures are enabled
- Notes
- Visit media
- Administered, when administered items are available
Clinical sections can show records in two bands: records already linked to this visit and records on the patient’s chart that are not yet part of this visit. When the visit is still empty, Ona can offer Carry all forward so you can pull relevant chart records into the visit. Observations are not carried forward in bulk because they are point-in-time readings.
The Summary can be edited from the visit page. If there is no summary text yet, the action is Add summary. If Ona is regenerating a briefing, the visit can show a processing indicator while that background work runs. For archived patients, the canvas stays read-only and those actions are disabled.
See Understanding the visit Summary for how to use the summary before and after the visit.
How do I move between visit sections?
On the same page, use the section rail on the left side of the visit workspace to move around the record on larger screens. On smaller screens, use the chip strip at the top or open the drawer for the full section list.
The Charting sections (1) stay in the scrolling canvas. Forms (2) opens the visit’s forms page.
Clinical items such as Summary, Reason for visit, Vitals, Diagnoses, Hospitalizations, Surgical history, Family history, Social history, OB/GYN history, Vaccines and Notes scroll the main clinical canvas. Visit pages, such as Labs, Imaging, DoseSpot and Supplements when enabled, open in the main panel. The rail can also show small counts for sections that have related items. When insurance is enabled, the Insurance item can show an eligibility badge, and Billing can show a Balance indicator or a copay state, including a sent payment link. The coverage chip can hide copay text when balance is already shown there.
The bottom of the rail includes an export menu grouped under Download with After visit summary… and Notes… when export is available. After visit summary… opens a dialog where you choose which sections the patient-facing PDF covers before you export it.
The left section rail is shown on larger screens. The visit still opens to the same workspace and sections when the layout changes for a smaller screen, but the mobile strip leaves out sections that do not render there, including Summary and Body map.
How do intake, billing, insurance and dispensary work fit into a visit?
In the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. On the same page, intake, billing, insurance and visit-specific tools are part of the visit workspace but separate from the clinical canvas.
Intake-related pages can include forms, consents and interviews linked to the visit. Forms and consents use the visit and patient context, so your team can review what belongs to this appointment without leaving the visit.
Billing brings together the visit’s services, package and membership billing codes, quote, superbill, patient payment method and invoice. The balance badge shows what is still due, and it can include fee invoice details, a sent payment link for a copay, and an Open fee invoice action when that applies. If the visit is linked to a case, Billing also shows a note that the case bills differently or that the claim follows the case’s policy, authorizations and injury details. If there is no invoice yet, you have permission to write billing, and the visit has a patient, the invoice card can offer Create draft invoice. See Invoicing patients and collecting payments for the patient-payment workflow.
Insurance appears when insurance features are enabled. It can show eligibility and claim information for the visit. When the visit is linked to a case, Insurance also shows a note that the claim follows the case’s policy, authorizations and injury details. When no claim exists, the claim card can offer Generate draft claim. See From visit billing to superbill and claim for how visit billing connects to claims.
Labs, imaging, supplements and prescriptions can appear when those features are enabled.
How do feature settings change what I see?
On the same page, the section rail and clinical canvas reflect your organization’s enabled features, and the visit header still shows the patient’s tags and pronouns next to the name with a peek/info panel on the patient block.
Procedures (1) appears when procedures are enabled. Lab Reports (2) appears when labs are enabled. Lab Orders (3) appears when labs are enabled. Supplements (4) appears when supplements are enabled.
Charting settings control which clinical sections appear. If your organization has body map enabled, Body map appears. If your organization has procedures enabled, Procedures appears. If insurance is enabled, the insurance visit page appears and the Billing item can still surface a copay as a sent payment link. If fax is enabled, referral tools can appear. If labs are enabled, Labs can appear. If imaging is enabled, Imaging can appear. If supplements are enabled, the Supplements page and charting section can appear. DoseSpot prescribing depends on account access and appears with the dispensary pages. On smaller screens, the mobile visit hides sections that are not rendered there, including Summary and Body map.
This means two practices can see different visit pages. It also means a section may disappear if the underlying feature is turned off.
What can't I do here?
Clinicians do not get the same organization-wide operational surface as owners, admins and staff. Owners, admins and staff can use the broader visits list with operational tools, including selecting visits for bulk archive or restore and using Show archived to include archived visits in the list. Clinicians’ dashboards are scoped to their own patients and visits.
A canceled or no-show visit is closed for scheduling changes from the visit edit dialog. You can still view the visit, but the schedule cannot be changed there.
Archived patients’ visits are read-only across the canvas, rail, billing, insurance, intake and visit tools. The archived banner appears on the visit, and the actions in those areas are disabled.
You cannot use a feature-gated visit section unless that feature is enabled for your organization or account. For example, insurance, fax, labs, supplements, body map, procedures and DoseSpot prescribing depend on the corresponding feature or access being available, and the copay hint can show a sent payment link when insurance and billing are enabled. On phone visits, Summary and Body map do not appear in the section strip.
Common questions
Where do I open a visit?
Open the visit from Visits. You can also open a patient record and go to that patient’s visits when you are working from the patient chart.
Why is a section missing from the visit rail?
The section may be turned off in your organization’s feature or charting settings, or it may require account-level access.
What is the difference between the visit Summary and notes?
Summary is the briefing or summary text shown at the top of the visit canvas. Notes is the clinical note area in the visit canvas.
Can I carry prior chart records into today's visit?
Yes, when the visit is still empty and there are eligible patient chart records, the visit can show Carry all forward. It can carry diagnoses, allergies, medications, supplements and recommendations when those sections are enabled.
Why do I see an insurance badge in the visit rail?
When insurance is enabled and the visit has eligibility information, the Insurance item can show an eligibility badge so you can see the insurance state before opening the insurance page. The Billing item can also show a Balance indicator or a copay state, including a sent payment link.
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