Workflow pattern
A process across departments
Shows the shape where one process spans several departments, how each hand-off is tracked, and how the record holds the whole path together.
Some hospital processes run across several departments, and each hand-off between them is a place work can stall. This pattern sets out the shape such a process takes, how every hand-off is tracked, and how one record holds the whole path together.
The shape
A process is a repeatable sequence of steps an administrator designs once. A hand-off is the point where one step completes and the next step, owned by a different department, opens.
The shape has one entry and one settled exit. It begins when a case opens against a patient's encounter and ends when the final step closes the case.
Cadence runs the live case, Quest raises a due card for each step, Nexus Manager holds the departments and rosters that decide who owns each step, and Atlas holds the case against the encounter.
Where it starts
The shape starts with a design. An administrator lays out the sequence of steps once, and names the department and role that owns each step.
Each step resolves its owner against the hospital model and the duty roster. A live case then opens against a patient's encounter and moves to its first step.
The path
- 1
The process is designed once
An administrator designs the sequence of steps and names the department and role that owns each one.
- 2
A case opens against an encounter
A live case opens against a patient's encounter and moves to its first step.
- 3
A department completes its step
The owning department completes its step and records the outcome against the case.
- 4
The next department takes the hand-off
Completing a step opens the next, and Quest lands a due card with whoever is on shift in the next department.
- 5
The path stays visible
The case shows its current step and what comes next. An overdue step is flagged for attention while it waits.
- 6
The case closes with its full path
The final step closes the case, and the whole path stays attached to the encounter for a later reader.
What is recorded
| Recorded item | What it captures |
|---|---|
| The process | The designed sequence and the department that owns each step. |
| The case | The live instance running against one encounter. |
| Each step outcome | What the owning department did and when. |
| Each hand-off | The step that closed and the step that opened next. |
| The closure | When the case closed and its full path. |
Tools in the shape
| Tool | Its part in the shape |
|---|---|
| Cadence | Runs the live process, shows the current step, and reuses one design across departments. |
| Quest | Raises a due card for the step and lands it with whoever is on shift. |
| Nexus Manager | Holds the departments, roles and rosters that decide who owns each step. |
| Atlas | Holds the case against the patient's encounter, so departments read one thread. |
What holds throughout
One shared case, many departments
Each department reads and writes the same case rather than a copy of it. The path holds together because every hand-off records against one encounter, so a later reader follows the case from its first step to its last.
Where the shape varies
The shape holds whether the process is an admission checklist, an infection-control protocol, or an insurance approval. What changes is the sequence of steps and the departments that own them. One process design serves many live cases at once.
Common questions
Does each department keep its own copy of the case?
Each department reads and writes one shared case. The path holds together because every step records against the same encounter.
What happens when a step runs late?
An overdue step is flagged, and the case still shows which step it waits on and who owns it.
Can one process run in several departments at once?
One process design runs many live cases, and the same design is reused across departments.
Read how an overdue step is raised and cleared in overdue steps.