Question: Why is my consult letter blank after pulling in my clinical clerk's outpatient note?
Context: If, when using the "Communication" activity in Connect Care, a supervising physician attempts to send a letter populated with an outpatient (ambulatory clinic) note authored by a clinical clerk, the note will not be incorporated into the letter. Outpatient notes authored by clinical clerks will not upload to Netcare, even after they are signed off by a staff physician.
Answer: To use an outpatient note authored by a clinical clerk, the supervising physician must either make themselves the author of the note, or create a copy of the note. The latter option uses the "Copy and Create" function to take the text from the note authored by a clinical clerk and make a new note with the supervising physician as the author; see the steps below. Once these steps are followed, the Communication function can then be used to route the outpatient note as a consult letter to Netcare and selected recipients.
- Click "Edit" on the note authored by the clinical clerk.
- At the bottom left of the note, click the icon that looks like two overlapping pieces of paper (click the camera icon below to see a screenshot. This button will copy the note text and create a new note with the supervising physician as the author. Then, complete the note:
- Add to the note as necessary.
- Select "Send to PCP & referring" or, if desired, use the Communications tool in the "Wrap Up" activity to have a consult letter sent to Netcare.
- Click the "Accept" button.
- Once the visit is signed, the letter will be routed.
