How to Use The Perfect Patient Management System

🏥 What Is the Perfect Patient Management System?

The Perfect Patient Management System by SaruTech is a comprehensive and modular hospital software designed to manage everything related to patient care. From appointment scheduling and visit documentation to lab requests, prescriptions, insurance billing, and task assignments — it provides a unified, intuitive interface for daily clinical operations.

Whether you're a doctor, nurse, or receptionist, this system helps you:

Stay organized
Improve patient outcomes
Keep medical records centralized
Collaborate efficiently across departments

🧭 Overall Structure and Layout

When you launch the Patient Management page, you'll notice two main areas:

🔲 Sidebar Navigation

Located on the left, this section lets you switch between key operational views:

Appointments
Active Visits
Tasks

🧩 Main Workspace

This is where detailed information appears — including patient files, visit actions, and sub-tabs related to billing, prescriptions, lab requests, etc.

Within each visit, there are multiple sub-tabs such as:

Timeline
Notes
Forms
Labs & Imaging
Files
Prescriptions
Billing
Insurance
Tasks
Patient History
General Info

🗂 Key Modules You’ll Use

Module	Purpose
Patients	View and manage all registered patients
Appointments	Book and manage upcoming patient visits
Visits	Access clinical workflows, patient status, and documentation
Prescriptions	Issue and track medication orders
Lab & Radiology	Submit and review diagnostic investigations
Notes & Forms	Add free-text notes or complete structured documentation
Billing	Create, view, and finalize bills with or without insurance
Tasks	Track tasks assigned to clinical or administrative staff
Files	Upload and view documents and media files
Insurance	Attach insurance policies and coverage to a patient or visit

🧰 How to Navigate the System

🔹 The Toolbar

At the top of the screen is a persistent toolbar that provides:

A back button to return to previous views
A menu icon to show/hide the sidebar
Save, comment, and close buttons (contextual to the visit or patient view)

🔹 Switching Between Tabs

Each visit opens with multiple sub-tabs . You can move between them as you manage different aspects of the visit.

For example:

Log patient complaints in Notes
Submit lab investigations via Labs & Imaging
Add charges via the Bill tab
Review prior surgeries in Patient History

📅 Appointment Management (Staff View)

Managing appointments is a crucial part of clinic workflow. The Appointments tab in the sidebar helps you track upcoming visits, prepare the schedule, and initiate care.

🔍 What You Can See

Each appointment is displayed as a card showing:

Patient Name
Date & Time
Visit Type (Face-to-Face or Zoom)
Assigned Department or Doctor
Appointment Status (Pending, Confirmed, Completed, No Show, Cancelled)

You can filter appointments by:

Department
Assigned Doctor
Appointment Status
Date

🔧 Actions You Can Take

✅ Confirm Appointment – Patient is expected to attend.
🚪 Create Visit – Opens a new clinical visit and marks the appointment as completed.
🖊 Edit Appointment – Change the date, time, type, or assigned doctor.
❌ Cancel Appointment – Removes the slot and marks it as cancelled.
🚫 Set as No Show – Records that the patient did not attend.

💡 Tip: The “Create Visit” action is your fastest route into a patient’s clinical workflow.

🌐 Patient Portal — Booking from the Patient’s Side

The system includes a Patient Portal , allowing patients to take control of their appointments.

🔓 Features Available to Patients

Login securely using their credentials
Browse Departments (e.g., Pediatrics, General Medicine)
Select a Doctor within a department
View Doctor Availability , including working hours and blocked days
Choose a Time Slot that fits their schedule
Book an Appointment

💳 Optional Online Payment

If the clinic has enabled online payments:

Patients can pay immediately using PayPal or Stripe
Admins receive notification of paid bookings
Paid status appears in the billing tab during the visit

🛠 To enable this, administrators enter their Stripe/PayPal keys in system settings.

🧩 Visit Header

At the top of the main panel during a visit, you'll find:

Patient demographics (name, file number, age)
Current visit status and stage (editable dropdowns)
Action buttons:
- 🗃 View full patient file
- 💬 Add comment to timeline
- 💾 Save updates
- 🔒 Close visit when complete
A Visit Selector Dropdown to switch between a patient’s previous visits

🧷 Visit Sub-Tabs Overview

Once a visit is active, the patient’s file is divided into clearly organized tabs . Each tab focuses on a different part of the clinical workflow. You’ll move between them as you provide care, document findings, and manage administrative tasks.

Tab	Purpose
Timeline	View all events and updates related to the visit chronologically
Notes	Write free-form clinical notes
Forms	Fill structured medical or administrative forms
Labs & Imaging	Order lab tests and radiology procedures
Prescriptions	Create and manage medication prescriptions
Files	Upload or preview documents and attachments
Bill	Add charges and track payments
Insurance	Link or edit insurance policy for visit coverage
Tasks	Assign and complete visit-specific tasks
Patient History	View and update medical, drug, and social history
General	Edit demographic and background information

🕓 Timeline Tab

The Timeline is the heart of visit tracking. It automatically logs every action taken during the visit.

Each entry includes:

Description (e.g., “Lab Test Ordered”, “Prescription Issued”)
Who performed the action
Time of action
Optional status update
Direct links to related items (like notes, forms, or lab reports)

🧠 Use this to understand the full history of a visit without switching between tabs.

📝 Notes Tab

Use this section for general, free-form clinical notes such as:

Chief complaints
Observations
SOAP notes
Communication logs

Each note:

Can be written using a rich-text editor
May include attachments (e.g., images or PDFs)
Automatically appears in the Timeline

🖨 You can also print or download notes, and each entry shows the staff member who authored it.

📄 Forms Tab

Forms are ideal for structured documentation. You can:

Search and select from existing templates (e.g., “Admission Form”)
Fill out fields like vital signs, checkboxes, dropdowns, and text areas
Attach files to the form (e.g., signed consents)
Save the form to be reused in follow-up visits

🧾 Once saved, forms are linked to the visit, visible in the Timeline, and tagged with creator and last editor.

🔬 Labs & Imaging Tab

This tab handles:

Lab test orders (e.g., Full Blood Count, Malaria)
Radiology requests (e.g., X-Ray, CT Scan)

🧪 For each request:

Select the procedure
Mark if it’s outsourced
Add reasons or clinical notes
Track the status (e.g., Specimen Received, Result Approved)

✅ All results appear in the Timeline and can be approved, revised, or printed.

💊 Prescriptions Tab

This is where medical staff issue medications for the current visit.

🧾 How to Prescribe

Click “New Prescription” and enter:

Medication Name (auto-complete supported)
Dosage (e.g., 500mg)
Route (e.g., Oral, Intramuscular)
Frequency (e.g., Twice Daily)
Duration (e.g., 5 days)
Purpose (clinical reason)
Optional: Number of Refills

📦 Pharmacy Workflow

Prescriptions go through a status lifecycle :

Pending
Sent to Pharmacy
In Process
Ready for Pickup
Completed / Cancelled / Refilled / Expired

💡 Each update appears in the visit’s Timeline and can be sent digitally to the pharmacy module.

🧾 Billing Tab

This tab tracks all financial charges for the visit.

🔧 Key Features

Balance Display : Shows the outstanding amount and any portion covered by insurance
Add New Bill : Manually enter billable services or items (e.g., Consultation, Test, Medication)
Automatic Charges : Lab, imaging, or prescription actions can auto-generate bills
Email Balance : Sends a summary to the patient (if email is on file)

Each bill record includes item name, price, insurance coverage, and net balance.

💳 Insurance Tab

This tab lets you assign and manage insurance coverage for a visit.

🔍 Features

Add or select an insurance policy from the patient’s record
Set coverage percentages and authorization flags
Upload documents like insurance cards or approval letters
Link insurance to specific bill items

✅ Every insurance action is recorded in the visit’s timeline.

📌 Tasks Tab

Tasks allow staff to manage clinical or administrative follow-ups related to the visit.

➕ Creating a Task

To create a new task, provide:

Title
Description
Due Date
Assigned To (staff member)
Priority (Urgent, High, Medium, Low)
Status (Pending, In Progress, Completed)

✅ Tasks are color-coded by priority and include visual status indicators.

📁 Files Tab

The Files tab acts as the document repository for the current visit.

You can upload:

PDFs
Lab reports
Radiology images
Consent forms
Scanned handwritten notes

📥 Each file is stored against the visit and logged in the Timeline with details of who uploaded it.

📚 Patient History Tab

This tab provides a consolidated view of a patient’s long-term medical record.

Includes:

Medical History : Past surgeries, chronic illnesses, allergies
Medical Conditions : Chronic diseases (e.g., asthma, diabetes)
Social History : Alcohol use, smoking, exercise habits
Drug History : OTC medications, herbal treatments, previous prescriptions

💡 Ideal for reviewing long-term patterns and preparing for major treatment decisions.

⚙️ General Tab

The General tab allows you to update patient demographics or background information during the visit.

Editable fields include:

Full Name
Date of Birth
Sex
Nationality
Phone, Email, Address
Next of Kin
Notes or flags

🛡 Changes affect the patient’s master record and are time-stamped in the Timeline.

🔒 Closing a Visit

Once care is complete, click “Close Visit” or “Lock” from the visit header bar.

This will:

Prevent further editing
Freeze prescriptions, billing, and notes
Mark the visit as completed

🔐 Only authorized staff (e.g., admins or supervisors) can unlock a visit if changes are later required.

✅ Checklist Before Closing

Finalize and approve lab or radiology reports
Issue prescriptions and dispense if needed
Apply and confirm insurance coverage
Add all charges and receive payments
Resolve tasks or delegate them for follow-up

📊 Global Dashboard Toggle

Within the Patient Management page, there is a Chart button/icon located in the top toolbar. This allows users to toggle the view between:

1️⃣ Main View (Default)

Left side: Tabs for Appointments , Active Visits , and Tasks
Right side: The selected patient’s visit file

2️⃣ Visits Dashboard and Charts

Replaces the patient workspace with department-wide statistics
Visual summaries include new visits, appointment trends, lab tests, billing summaries, and staff activity

🔄 Switch between views at any time without losing your place in the patient file.

🔁 Toggling Between Departments

If your facility runs multiple departments or units, users can toggle between them using a department switcher in the toolbar or sidebar.

✅ Helps staff see only relevant workload and coordinate patient flow across services.

💬 Visit Comments & Notes Tracking

During any visit, staff can click the comment icon in the top toolbar to:

Add short remarks
Record observations or admin notes
Tag staff members

These comments appear immediately in the Timeline with timestamps and author details.

✍️ Notes with Change Tracking

The Notes tab saves every version with full change history:

What changed, when, and by whom
Attachments logged per version

🧠 Essential for accountability, shift handovers, and legal documentation.