CAREFUL

What are Actions?

Introduction

Actions are tasks assigned to healthcare team members for patient care. They help track what needs to be done for each patient, who's responsible, and when it's due. Actions form part of the overall care plan and ensure nothing falls through the cracks during handovers or shift changes.

Before You Start

  • Permissions: Any team member can create, view, and manage actions for patients in their teams
  • Prerequisites: The patient must already exist in the system and be assigned to a team you're a member of
  • Assignment rules: You can only assign actions to users who share a team with the patient

What Makes Up an Action?

Every action includes:

  • Action name: A brief title summarizing the task
  • Assigned to: The team member responsible for completing it
  • Patient: Which patient the action relates to
  • Due date and time: When it needs to be completed (optional - defaults to end of day if time not specified)
  • Description: Additional details about what needs to be done (optional)
  • Status: Automatically calculated based on due date:
    • Open (blue): Not yet due
    • Soon (yellow): Due within 24 hours
    • Overdue (red): Past the due date
    • Closed (gray): Completed
  • Progress updates: Notes added as work progresses
  • Attachments: Documents or images related to the action
  • Outcome: Result and attachments added when closing the action

How to Create an Action

There are two main places to create actions:

From a Patient Profile:

  1. Navigate to the patient's profile page
  2. Click the Actions tab
  3. Click the Add Action button (or use the kebab menu ⋮ and select Create Action)
  4. Fill in the action details:
    • Action name (required): Brief summary of the task
    • Assignee (required): Search for and select the team member - only users who share a team with this patient will appear
    • Due date (optional): When the action should be completed
    • Due time (optional): Specific time - if not set, defaults to end of day
    • Description (optional): Additional context or instructions
    • Attachments (optional): Upload relevant documents or images
  5. Check Create another if you want to add multiple actions in succession
  6. Click Submit

The assigned user will receive a notification about the new action.

From My Actions Page:

You can also create actions from the main My Actions page accessible from the sidebar, though this is less common as you'll need to select the patient first.

How to View Your Actions

  1. From the sidebar, click My Actions
  2. You'll see a table with all actions assigned to you:
    • Status badge (color-coded)
    • Patient name
    • Title of the action
    • Location (if set)
    • Due Date
  3. By default, only open actions are shown, sorted by due date (soonest first)
  4. Click any action title to see full details
  5. Use the kebab menu (⋮) on each row for quick actions

How to View Action Details

  1. Click an action title from any action list
  2. The Action Detail page shows:
    • Action name
    • Assigned to: Clickable link to the user's profile
    • Created on: When the action was created
    • Due date with status badge
    • Due time
    • Description
    • Progress updates: Chronological list of all notes added, showing:
      • Author name
      • Timestamp
      • Update content
      • Any attachments
    • Outcome (for closed actions only): Final result and attachments
  3. Click any attachment to open it in a carousel viewer

How to Add Progress Updates

Before completing an action, you can document progress:

  1. From My Actions or the Action Detail page, click the kebab menu (⋮)
  2. Select Update Progress
  3. The Add Note to Action dialog appears showing previous updates
  4. Enter your progress note in the text area (required)
  5. Upload attachments if needed (optional)
  6. Click Submit

The note is added to the action history with your name and timestamp. All team members can see these updates.

How to Complete an Action

Quick Complete (from My Actions list):

  1. Click the checkmark icon (✓) next to the action
  2. A confirmation button appears: Click to Complete
  3. Click the confirmation
  4. The action is immediately marked as closed with no outcome text

Complete with Outcome Details:

  1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) on the action row or in the detail view
  2. Select Complete Action
  3. The Close Action dialog appears
  4. Enter the outcome or result (optional but recommended for clinical documentation)
  5. Upload supporting documents if needed (optional)
  6. Click Submit

Once closed:

  • The action status changes to Closed
  • The closure timestamp and your user ID are recorded
  • The action cannot be reopened or edited (security measure)
  • It moves out of the default open actions view

How to Reassign an Action

If someone else needs to take over an action:

  1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) on the action
  2. Select Reassign Action
  3. The Reassign Action dialog appears
  4. Search for the new assignee using the autocomplete
  5. The system validates that they share a team with the patient
    • If they're ineligible, you'll see an error explaining why
  6. Select a valid team member
  7. Click Submit

Both the original assignee and the new assignee receive notifications. The action moves to the new assignee's My Actions list.

Important Rules About Actions

  • Actions cannot be edited after creation - this is a security measure to maintain an audit trail
  • You can only add progress notes and complete actions assigned to you
  • Assignment eligibility: Only users who share a team with the patient can be assigned
  • During handovers: When you hand over responsibility for a patient, all their actions are automatically reassigned to the person accepting the handover
  • Immutable outcomes: Once an action is closed, the result cannot be changed

Viewing Team Actions

Beyond your personal My Actions view, you can see team-wide actions:

  • From a patient profile, the Actions tab shows all actions for that patient (regardless of assignee)
  • Team owners and administrators have access to organization-wide action views
  • All views use the same status badges, quick complete, and kebab menu patterns

Tips

  • Use descriptive titles: Keep action names brief but clear so they're scannable in lists
  • Set realistic due dates: Actions turning red (overdue) create visual noise - be honest about timelines
  • Document progress: Add updates as you work, especially for long-running actions - it helps during handovers
  • Use the quick complete carefully: The checkmark icon closes actions instantly with no outcome - use the full complete dialog for proper clinical documentation
  • Batch creation: Check Create another when setting up multiple actions for a patient at once
  • Filter and sort: Your My Actions view remembers your preferences (show closed, sort order) in session storage
  • Handovers: Learn how actions are automatically reassigned during patient handovers
  • Patient Profiles: Understand how to view and manage patient information
  • Teams: See how team membership affects action assignment eligibility

Need more help?

Our support team is happy to help with any questions about this topic.

Email support about this page