01Recent Updates
These functions were added or strengthened after the previous help guide was published.
DC prefix) and Emergency/Casualty (ER prefix), ESI Triage Levels 1–5, MLC registry, specialized wards (Day Care Unit & Casualty Ward), clinical Convert to IPD escalation with SBAR handover notes, unified IPD billing merging ER/Day Care charges under distinct group sub-headers, and medical standard Day Care discharge summaries with PADSS criteria (≥9).02Getting Started
Common screen behavior
- Most pages open inside the main workspace without a full browser refresh.
- Filters affect the current list. Clear them before concluding a record is missing.
- PDF/print buttons may open a new tab; allow pop-ups for the HMS domain.
- Red actions may cancel, delete, refund, reject, or finalize and require extra care.
03User Roles & Access
Menus and actions are permission-based. Two users may open the same patient but see different buttons.
| Role area | Typical responsibility | Restricted actions |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Patient search, registration, appointment, token, admission support | Clinical verification and financial correction |
| Doctor / Clinical | Consultation, diagnosis, prescription, orders, discharge | Finance approval and stock administration |
| Nursing / OT | Nursing workspace, bedside care, safety checks, OT status, handover | Scheduling or signed assessment unless assigned |
| Diagnosis | Sample workflow, findings, imaging, verification, report printing | Verified-report edits without reason/permission |
| Pharmacy | Dispensing, returns, inventory, purchasing, supplier and credit workflows | Finance payout approval |
| Billing / Finance | Invoices, collections, refunds, reconciliation, payouts | Payment edits without finance.payment.edit |
| Administrator | Users, permissions, masters, templates, integrations, operations | Infrastructure actions still require confirmation |
For Access denied, note the module and action and ask an administrator to review the role. Never use another person's login.
04Patient Management
- Search first. Use UHID/patient code, name, phone, Aadhaar reference, old UHID, or ABHA.
- Review matches. Compare DOB, gender, guardian, address, and contact number.
- Create or update. Enter demographics, identity documents, photo, guardian/family data, and attachments.
- Open the profile. Use it for OPD, IPD, billing, diagnosis, documents, and health-record history.
- Link ABHA. Verify that the ABHA profile belongs to the same patient first.
05OPD Workflow
Appointment and check-in
- Select patient, doctor, date/slot, or walk-in.
- Confirm department, referral, consultation type, and organization/insurance case.
- Generate the visit/token. Scan & Share patients may arrive through the facility QR.
- Collect or confirm consultation payment according to policy.
Clinical consultation
- Record vitals, complaints, history, examination, allergies/ADR, medications, diagnosis, advice, and follow-up.
- Add medicines with dosage, frequency, route, duration, and instructions.
- Order pathology or imaging investigations and review previous visits.
- Generate referral letters, prescription PDFs, and FHIR e-Prescription records when required.
06IPD Admission, Nursing & Discharge
Admission and beds
- Create admission with department, doctor, date/time, and reason.
- Assign an available Department → Ward → Category → Bed.
- Record HPI/admission history and treating doctors.
- Use bed transfer instead of overwriting the bed to preserve history.
Nursing
- Document shift notes and observations against the correct admission.
- Post bedside consumables, nursing items, and doctor visits promptly.
- Scan paper forms and use Surgery/OT for operative patients.
- Check the patient/IPD banner before every entry.
Discharge
- Complete diagnosis, course, procedures, condition, medication, advice, diet, and follow-up.
- Select and preview the approved discharge template.
- Reconcile pending charges, returns, package adjustments, and balance.
- Verify PDF page breaks, placeholders, dates, letterhead mode, and signatures.
- Generate/share the ABDM discharge summary when requirements are met.
07Day Care & Emergency (Casualty) Module
Designed in compliance with NABH, HL7 FHIR R4, and ESI (Emergency Severity Index) triage standards. This module supports short-stay observation, planned day care surgical/medical procedures (<24 hours), acute casualty resuscitation, and seamless clinical escalation to Inpatient (IPD) with unified billing and SBAR handover.
Quick Access: Where to Find Admission Links in the HMS
You can register or admit patients for Emergency / Casualty or Day Care (< 24 Hrs) from 4 primary places across the application:
- Emergency / Casualty (with red ambulance icon)
- Day Care Unit (with clock icon)
- Or under In-Patient & Nursing Care: click Admit Patient Desk
- Top right buttons: Emergency Admission & Day Care Admission
- On Current Admissions: click the green + New Admission dropdown
If patient is brand new, click + New Patient Registration first.
Clinical & Operational Flowchart
The following flowchart illustrates the complete patient lifecycle: acute emergency triage or planned procedure admission, dedicated physical ward allocation, bedside service delivery, discharge disposition, and the audited escalation pathway to full Inpatient (IPD) admission.
1. Key Identifiers & Dedicated Physical Wards
To prevent clinical confusion, enhance patient tracking, and ensure strict auditability, distinct admission prefixes and dedicated physical wards are maintained:
| Admission Type | Registration Prefix | Default Physical Ward | Billing Item Category | HL7 FHIR Encounter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casualty / Emergency | ER-YYYY-XXXXX | Casualty & Emergency Ward (ER-01) |
EMERGENCY / CASUALTY CHARGES |
EMER (Emergency) |
| Day Care (<24 hrs) | DC-YYYY-XXXXX | Day Care Unit (DC-01) |
DAY CARE CHARGES |
SS (Short Stay) |
| Inpatient (IPD) | A-YYYY-XXXXX | General / Semi-Private / Deluxe / ICU / HDU | Multi-Category IPD Billing | IMP (Inpatient) |
2. Emergency / Casualty Workflow
- Rapid Check-in & ESI Triage: Immediate registration at the casualty reception. Clinical staff assign the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) Level based on clinical acuity:
ESI Level Clinical Triage Category Target Door-to-Doctor Time Clinical Examples ESI 1 Resuscitation (Immediate Life-Threat) Immediate (0 min) Cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, severe trauma with shock, anaphylaxis. ESI 2 Emergent (High Risk / Severe Pain) ≤ 10 minutes Acute chest pain, severe dyspnea, suspected stroke, acute abdomen, danger vitals. ESI 3 Urgent (≥2 Resources Required) ≤ 30–60 minutes Stable vitals requiring IV access, laboratory investigations, and X-ray/USG. ESI 4 Less Urgent (1 Resource Required) ≤ 60–120 minutes Simple laceration needing suture, uncomplicated urinary tract infection, sprain. ESI 5 Non-Urgent (0 Resources Required) ≤ 120 minutes Medication refill, minor rash, suture removal, chronic mild symptom review. - Medico-Legal Case (MLC) Registry: If the casualty case involves road traffic accidents (RTA), assault, burns, poisoning, industrial trauma, or suspected foul play, toggle "Is Medico-Legal Case (MLC)". Record:
- MLC Number: Formal hospital police register number.
- Police Station: Jurisdiction police station notified.
- Police Constable Details: Name and badge number of intimating/recording officer.
- Brought By: Ambulance (e.g. 108), Police, Relative, or Good Samaritan with contact number.
- Casualty Bed & Orders: Patient is assigned a bed in the Casualty & Emergency Ward. Doctors post emergency orders (stat labs, ECG, imaging, IV fluids, emergency medicines). Consumables and nursing procedures automatically tag under
EMERGENCY / CASUALTY CHARGES. - Emergency Disposition:
- Treated & Discharged: Once stabilized, settle the emergency bill and generate a casualty discharge slip.
- Escalation / Admission Needed: If the patient requires surgical intervention, specialized ICU/HDU monitoring, or inpatient observation, initiate the Convert to IPD action.
3. Day Care Workflow (<24 Hour Admissions)
Designed for planned surgical, therapeutic, or diagnostic procedures that do not require an overnight bed stay.
- Day Care Admission: In Registration, select Day Care. Enter the planned procedure name (e.g. Cataract Extraction with Foldable IOL, Chemotherapy Session, Maintenance Hemodialysis, Upper GI Endoscopy / Colonoscopy, or Tympanoplasty). System generates a
DC-YYYY-XXXXXcode and allocates a bed in the Day Care Unit (DC-01). - Pre-Procedure & Surgical Care: Pre-op nursing assessment, surgical safety checklist, and procedure delivery. Services, procedure fees, and medications are billed under
DAY CARE CHARGES. - Recovery & PADSS Scoring: Before clearing the patient for home discharge, the clinician or recovery nurse evaluates the patient against the Post-Anaesthetic Discharge Scoring System (PADSS):
PADSS Criteria (2 pts each) Score 2 Score 1 Score 0 Vital Signs (BP/Pulse) Within 20% of pre-op baseline 20%–40% of baseline >40% of baseline Activity & Ambulation Steady gait / no dizziness Requires assistance Unable to ambulate / vertigo Nausea & Vomiting Minimal / none, drinks fluids Moderate, managed with antiemetic Severe / persistent vomiting Pain Control Acceptable / mild, oral analgesics Moderate, requires parenteral meds Severe, unmanaged pain Surgical Bleeding Minimal / dry dressing Moderate, 1–2 dressing changes Severe / active bleeding Discharge Threshold: Patient must achieve a total score of ≥ 9 out of 10, be accompanied by a responsible adult, and be oriented to time and place before home discharge. - Day Care Discharge Summary: Select the Day Care Discharge Summary template. It automatically displays:
- Procedure performed, anesthesia technique, and operating surgeon.
- Post-operative PADSS discharge score (≥9).
- Take-home medications with clear dosage, frequency, and duration.
- Dietary, wound dressing, and activity instructions.
- Red-Flag Emergency Warnings: Explicit warnings regarding severe bleeding, sudden fever >101°F, persistent vomiting, wound discharge, or chest pain, with direct 24/7 hospital emergency telephone numbers.
4. Clinical Escalation: Convert to IPD Workflow
When an Emergency or Day Care patient deteriorates, suffers surgical complications, requires prolonged observation (>24 hours), or must be shifted to an intensive care unit (ICU/HDU), the system provides an audited, one-click Convert to IPD escalation workflow.
billing/ipd/panel/{id}) and click "Convert to IPD" in the top header.The SBAR Clinical Handover Framework
NABH standards require structured clinical communication during patient transfers across care settings. The conversion modal enforces the SBAR format:
converted_from_type and converted_from_code. A permanent badge (e.g. Converted from ER (ER-2026-00012)) is rendered across all clinical and billing screens for complete audit transparency.5. Unified IPD Billing with Distinct Group Headers
A core financial requirement of hospital operations is that when a patient converts from Day Care or Casualty to full IPD, no billing charges are lost or split into fragmented invoices. The entire financial account is unified under the Inpatient admission.
- All prior medications, dressings, doctor consultations, lab tests, and procedures delivered in the Emergency room remain intact under
EMERGENCY / CASUALTY CHARGES. - All surgical consumables, daycare room charges, and anesthesia charges delivered in the Day Care unit remain intact under
DAY CARE CHARGES. - Subsequent inpatient charges (Room Bed charges, ICU monitoring, Nursing care, Inpatient pharmacy) accumulate under standard IPD item types.
- Final IPD Bill Print: The final discharge invoice organizes and prints these charges under clearly demarcated sub-headings with line-item rates, quantities, taxes, and category subtotals:
Printed Section Header Content & Scope Typical Line Items EMERGENCY / CASUALTY CHARGES Services rendered during casualty stay Casualty consultation, stat ECG, IV cannulation, oxygen, emergency trauma tray DAY CARE CHARGES Interventions during daycare stay Daycare bed rent, endoscopy tray, daycare nursing observation, dialyzer pack ROOM / BED CHARGES Inpatient ward/ICU charges post-conversion General Ward Bed / Deluxe Room / ICU monitoring charges per diem INVESTIGATIONS & LAB Pathology & imaging investigations CBC, Serum Creatinine, Chest X-Ray, CT Scan, Ultrasound SURGERY & PROCEDURES Inpatient operative interventions Major surgery charges, surgeon fees, OT anesthesia, recovery charges - TPA & Mediclaim Compliance: Insurance third-party administrators (TPAs), Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY), and corporate panels require clear demarcation of pre-admission casualty/daycare expenses from inpatient ward expenses. The unified bill provides 100% itemized transparency.
6. Bed Management & Live Tracking
- Dedicated Casualty & Day Care Wards: Configured in Settings → Bed Master. Default wards
Casualty & Emergency Ward(ER-01) andDay Care Unit(DC-01) are active. Additional day care wards (e.g. Dialysis Unit, Chemo Daycare) can be defined with ward typeDay Care. - Current Admissions Filtering: In Billing → IPD Admissions, users can switch views using live pill buttons:
All— Combined hospital bed census.Inpatient IPD— Standard admitted inpatients.Day Care— Patients occupying Day Care short-stay beds.Emergency— Patients actively under Casualty / Triage observation.
- Automatic Bed Release: When Convert to IPD is executed, the patient's Casualty or Day Care bed is automatically flagged available (
VACANT) for new arrivals, eliminating ghost bed blocks.
08OT Management
Available from IPD Nursing and OT Surgery Queue. Request, scheduling, examination, status, and post-operative actions have separate permissions.
- Create request. Enter procedure, surgeon, priority, indication, and requested schedule.
- Complete pre-op examination. Use the department-specific form; revisions to completed forms require a reason.
- Schedule. Authorized OT staff assign date/time and coordination details.
- Call patient. Update the case when preparation begins.
- Complete safety gates. Confirm pre-op checks and WHO sign-in before starting.
- Record progress. Move through requested, scheduled, called, in progress, and completed; give reasons for cancellation or major changes.
- Sign post-op assessment. Record observations, outcome, instructions, and handover.
09Diagnosis, Laboratory & Imaging
Supported workflows include Pathology, Biopsy, X-Ray, Ultrasound, MRI, CT, and Echo.
Laboratory
- Receive the OPD, IPD, or walk-in request and confirm patient/tests.
- Record sample collection and lab number.
- Enter values; review units, reference ranges, flags, and comments.
- Save draft, then verify/sign according to policy.
- Print individual or compiled reports using the correct template.
Imaging
- Upload images, scans, or DICOM studies against the report.
- Use the viewer/gallery and draft findings/impression.
- Complete doctor verification; AI suggestions require radiologist review.
10Pharmacy / Medical Store
Dispensing
- Create counter, OPD, IPD, or organization-linked invoices in the correct context.
- Confirm medicine, batch, expiry, stock, rate, tax, discount, and quantity.
- Use Medicine Return or Medicine Return 2 for the applicable return flow.
- Use Org. Credit Invoice for corporate/insurance-linked medicine billing.
- Finalize an IPD medicine account only after invoices, returns, discounts, and payments reconcile.
Inventory and purchase
- Maintain drug, generic, formulation, category, company, supplier, batch, tax, and rate masters.
- Create purchase orders, receive invoices/batches, and process purchase returns.
- Monitor expiry, low stock, movement, and supplier ledger reports.
Credit payout request
- Open Pharmacy → Credit Payout Request.
- Review/filter the eligible pool.
- Select valid lines, confirm amounts, add remarks, and submit.
- Monitor status while Finance handles approval and payment.
11Billing, Invoices & Payments
- Bill OPD consultation, procedures, diagnostics, IPD charges, packages, and pharmacy links.
- Apply discounts only with authority and supporting remarks.
- Use payment/refund request workflows instead of informal adjustments.
- Confirm organization/insurance case before posting payer charges.
- Print/export daily collection and balance reports for reconciliation.
Payment Edit
Authorized users can correct payment mode, amount, or recorded user. Amount may be 0.00 for a valid correction but cannot be negative.
12Finance & Accounting
Review pharmacy payout line evidence, approve/reject according to policy, record payments, and retain remarks for each status change.
13Insurance & Organization Cases
- Create/select the case and verify patient, payer, policy, approval, and validity.
- Link OPD, IPD, diagnosis, procedures, and pharmacy invoices.
- Apply approved rates/packages, including Ayushman mappings.
- Use contingent billing when liability depends on case outcome.
- Prepare claim sheets and supporting documents.
- Track submission, query, approval, deduction, payment, and balance.
14ABDM, ABHA & Health Records
ABHA identity
- Create ABHA through supported Aadhaar/mobile OTP flows.
- Verify/fetch profile before linking to the HMS patient.
- Display/download ABHA card and use facility QR for Scan & Share.
Care context and sharing
- Confirm verified ABHA and correct visit/admission.
- Discover/link the care context.
- Select e-Prescription, Discharge Summary, Diagnostic Report, Immunization, Wellness, Health Document, or supported invoice.
- Preview FHIR R4 data: identity, dates, practitioner, coding, and attachments.
- Share and monitor gateway/bridge status.
Consent and HIU
- Request consent only for a legitimate purpose and date range.
- Track requested, granted, denied, expired, and revoked status.
- Fetch health information only after grant; data may contain FHIR documents and attachments.
15Hospital Stock
- Configure category, item, units, conversion, location, min/reorder, and expiry control.
- Departments raise indents with quantity and purpose.
- Authorized users approve, reject, or revise.
- Storekeepers issue approved quantities and batches.
- Create purchase orders and goods receipts.
- Review consumption, issues, expiry, low-stock, reorder, and daily-use reports.
16Reports & Dashboards
| Area | Examples | Review focus |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical | OPD, diagnosis workload/TAT, discharge, OT queue | Completeness and delays |
| Billing | Collections, balances, refunds, credit invoices | Mode/user totals and exceptions |
| Finance | Cash book, bank audit, POS, doctor payout | Unmatched/unapproved items |
| Pharmacy | Stock, expiry, movement, sales, returns, supplier ledger | Negative stock and expiry risk |
| Insurance | Organization dues, claims, deductions | Aging and documents |
| Audit | NABH edits, billing logs, user actions | Who changed what, when, and why |
Use drill-down links from totals to source records. Retain the same dates and filters while reconciling.
17Administration & System Operations
Application administration
- Manage users, groups, permissions, passwords, and active access.
- Maintain doctor, referral, insurance, bank/payment, charge, diagnosis, medicine, and stock masters.
- Configure OPD, diagnosis, and discharge print templates.
- Configure AI, HealthPlix, ABDM HFR/gateway/bridge, and report-doctor mappings.
System Operations
- Review OS/uptime, CPU, memory, disk, RAID, database, web, PHP-FPM, and SSH health.
- Use Update HMS only during an approved window and review its log.
- Restart services only when needed. Reboot/shutdown require confirmation and coordination.
18Security, Audit & Compliance
- Never disclose passwords, OTPs, API keys, or tokens.
- Single-active-session protection may end an older login.
- Grant the least permission required and review access after role changes.
- Clinical verification, payment edits, refunds, cancellations, OT changes, and completed-form revisions require audit evidence.
- Verify SNOMED CT/ICD-10 codes against documented clinical meaning.
- Follow NABH, ABDM/FHIR, NHCX, privacy, retention, and hospital policies.
19Backup & Maintenance
- Schedule database and uploaded-document backups and test restoration.
- Retain an off-server/off-site copy according to policy.
- Apply code updates and migrations in a controlled sequence.
- After deployment test login, dashboard, patient search, billing, PDF, uploads, jobs, and integrations.
- Monitor storage, database growth, logs, failed queues, ABDM tasks, and large attachments.
- Keep production error display disabled; use protected logs.
20Troubleshooting
| Problem | Check | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Access denied | Role, permission, module | Ask Admin; do not borrow credentials. |
| Page/form does not load | Session, network, URL/status, console | Refresh dashboard, reopen, report exact URL/status. |
| Save does nothing | Required/invalid number or date fields | Correct highlighted fields; report console/network details. |
| DataTables warning | Empty table, screen URL, table ID | Report URL and table ID. |
| Unexpected token < | HTML server error returned instead of JSON | Capture endpoint/status; Admin checks logs. |
| PDF mismatch | Template, paper mode, placeholders, pasted HTML | Preview intended template and report record/template. |
| Wrong stock | Batch, conversion, return, issue, receipt, transfer | Reconcile ledger before adjustment. |
| Payment mismatch | Invoice, mode, user, amount, refund/void | Use approved correction and document reason. |
| ABDM pending/failed | ABHA, consent, HFR/token, bridge/task log | Identify failure; preserve request ID. |
| OT changed elsewhere | Stale version warning | Refresh, review history, re-enter update. |
Include in a support request
- Exact URL and module
- Date/time and user role, never password
- Patient/IPD/invoice/case code through approved channels
- Steps, expected result, and actual result
- Screenshot and console/network status