Concept explainer
Discharge
Explains how a discharge is prepared and recorded, including the summary given to the patient and the closure of the inpatient stay.
A discharge is prepared and recorded in one place, and it closes the inpatient stay once the patient is clinically ready and the account is settled or arranged. This page follows a discharge from the first readiness check to the summary handed to the patient and the closure of the stay.
What discharge does
Discharge is the ordered close of a stay, the last step of the visit lifecycle. Atlas prepares it, holds the readiness checks, and records the outcome; Gate marks the visit completed as the final step. Preparing a discharge gathers everything the stay needs to close: the summary for the patient, the workflows that finish it, the orders that resolve, and the account that clears.
Preparing a discharge
Readiness is checked before the discharge is offered. The check reads the state of the stay and shows what stands between the patient and the door.
The discharge summary
The summary given to the patient is a completed form, filled in Glyph and attached to the record. It carries forward from the record, so the document the patient leaves with matches the stay it describes. Once finished, the summary locks like any completed form.
Recording the discharge
When every required check reads clear, the Discharge control enables. Recording a discharge runs an ordered sequence, and each step writes its own entry.
- 1
Initiate the discharge
Start the discharge from the record. The configured alerts fire, and the patient joins the discharge list the billing desk works from.
- 2
Resolve what is open
If an order is still open, complete it or cancel it. The Discharge control stays disabled while a required check is outstanding.
- 3
Clear the account
Vault decides whether finance clearance is required, and clears it once the account is settled or an arrangement is recorded. The finance reading flows straight onto the discharge.
- 4
Record the discharge
Press Discharge. Atlas re-runs every check fresh, then records the outcome against the stay.
- 5
Close the stay
Gate marks the visit completed as the last step, so the stay closes once the record is settled.
If care resumes
A discharge that has begun can be stood down. If the patient's care resumes after the discharge is initiated, stop the discharge, and the stay stays open where it was. A fresh readiness check reopens the process cleanly when the time comes.
The stay closes last
Atlas re-runs every readiness check at the moment of discharge, even where they read clear a moment earlier. The visit is marked completed only after those checks pass, so a stay closes on the state at the instant of discharge.
After discharge
The stay is closed, and the record keeps a short read-only window for the team that has been caring for the patient, so a clinician finishes writing up without reopening the visit. The record itself stays with the patient across every later visit.
Common questions
What settles a stay before it closes?
Clinical readiness and the account together. The patient reaches clinical readiness, and the account is settled or an arrangement recorded, before the visit is marked completed.
Where does the discharge summary live?
Against the patient record, as a completed form that locks once finished. It carries forward from the stay it describes.
Can a discharge be stood down?
Yes. If care resumes after a discharge is initiated, the discharge stops and the stay stays open, ready for a fresh readiness check later.
Read how the account clears before a stay closes at the discharge finance gate.