Finding your way around a visit

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.

What is the visit page in Ona?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). The visit page is the working record for one appointment or clinical encounter.

The top visit bar keeps the visit context visible while you work. The left section rail moves you between clinical sections and visit pages. The main panel shows the selected section or page.

The main visit page is the clinical canvas. It starts with Summary, then shows enabled charting sections such as Vitals, Diagnoses, Observations, Allergies, Medications, Supplements, Recommendations and Notes. Procedures appears when procedures are enabled. Visit media appears in the clinical canvas. The visit rail can also include visit pages such as Lab Reports, Lab Orders and Supplements when those features are enabled.

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?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit) 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.

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?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). The clinical canvas is the main scrolling chart area for the visit.

The canvas can show:

• Summary, the visit briefing or summary text
• Vitals and other observations
• Diagnoses, Allergies, Medications and Recommendations
• Supplements, when supplements are enabled
• Procedures, when procedures are enabled
• Notes, when notes are enabled
• Visit media

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.

See Understanding the visit Summary for how to use the summary before and after the visit.

How do I move between visit sections?

In the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. Use the section rail on the left side of the visit workspace to move around the record.

Clinical items such as Summary, Vitals, Diagnoses and Notes scroll the main clinical canvas. Visit pages, such as Lab Reports, Lab Orders and Supplements when enabled, open in the main panel. The rail can also show small counts for sections that have related items, and the insurance item can show an eligibility badge when insurance information is available.

The bottom of the rail includes an export menu for visit summary text when export is available. Export options can include Copy to clipboard and Download .txt file.

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.

How do intake, billing, insurance and dispensary work fit into a visit?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). Intake, billing, insurance and dispensary work 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, quote, superbill, patient payment method and invoice. 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 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.

Dispensary pages can include Lab Reports, Lab Orders and Supplements when those features are enabled.

How do feature settings change what I see?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). The section rail and clinical canvas reflect your organization’s enabled features.

Charting settings control which clinical sections appear. If your organization has procedures enabled, Procedures appears. If insurance is enabled, the insurance visit page appears. If fax is enabled, referral tools can appear. If labs are enabled, Lab Reports and Lab Orders can appear. If supplements are enabled, the Supplements page and charting section can appear. DoseSpot prescribing depends on account access.

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?

In the left sidebar, click Visits. 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. 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.

You cannot use a feature-gated visit section unless that feature is enabled for your organization or account. For example, insurance, fax, labs, supplements, procedures and DoseSpot prescribing depend on the corresponding feature or access being available.

Common questions

Where do I open a visit?

In the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit. 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?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). 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 when notes are enabled for the organization.

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?

Open a visit (in the left sidebar, click Visits, then click the visit). 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.