Procedure
Place an order
Place an order in Forge for a patient, choose the orderable, add the detail it needs, and send it to the department that acts on it.
Place an order in Forge for a patient, choose the orderable, add the detail it needs, and send it to the department that acts on it. You order from the Add Orders card on the patient record, so the order attaches to the visit in front of you.
An orderable is anything you can order
An orderable is an item in the hospital's approved catalogue: a medication, a test, an imaging study, a procedure, a consultation, or a form to be filled. You pick from the catalogue rather than typing, so every order is a known, priced item.
Place an order
- 1
Open Add Orders
On the record, open the Add Orders card. If the visit carries a diagnosis, the order form opens. If it shows Add Diagnosis First, record a diagnosis on the visit and the form opens.
- 2
Search the catalogue
Type the item into catalogue search. The catalogue is the fixed, hospital-approved list for this site, so you choose the orderable rather than describe it. Choosing it adds a line to the ordersheet, the working list of what you are about to place.
- 3
Add the detail the order needs
Each line asks for the detail its type needs. Fill the line from its pickers, and add a bounded special instruction where the picker leaves something unsaid. The ordersheet is kept for you as you work, so a reload finds it as you left it.
- 4
Preview before you place
Choose Create. Forge previews every line before anything is written: which lines are ready to place, which need attention, and the charge each one carries. Read the preview, so you commit to exactly what you meant.
- 5
Confirm and send
Confirm the preview. Each line places and routes to the department that acts on it. A line that needs attention is flagged on its own, and the rest still place, so one held line leaves the others untouched.
The order is frozen as you placed it
When a line places, Forge records a snapshot of the orderable exactly as it stood. A later change to the catalogue or the price list leaves the placed order as it was, so the history reads as the decision was made.
How an order moves
Once placed, an order moves through a fixed lifecycle. An order that needs verification starts at Submitted; one that needs none starts in progress. You follow each order in View Orders on the record.
Completed and Cancelled are final. On hold pauses work that has begun and returns it to progress when you resume. Read the order lifecycle for the full picture of each state.
Common questions
Does placing an order charge the patient straight away?
A chargeable order raises a charge on the account as it is placed. A medication is the exception: it is charged when pharmacy dispenses it, so its line previews no charge at placement.
One line in my order was held. Did the rest go through?
Yes. Forge places each line on its own, so a held line is flagged while the others place and route.
Where do I watch an order after it is placed?
View Orders on the record shows every order for the patient, grouped into this visit, past visits, and care at other sites, with the state each one is in.
Order for the detail each type needs
Each kind of order asks for the detail it acts on. The pages below carry the specific steps.
- Order a medication for the drug, dose, route and frequency.
- Order a test for a laboratory or imaging investigation.
- Ask for a consultation from another department.
Order a medication next for the detail a prescription needs.