What it does
When a patient books a minor-ailment service, the Start step of the appointment's Workflow offers Start assessment. Clicking it opens the Minor Ailments assessment wizard for that visit:
the condition is preselected when the booked service is mapped to an assessment form
the patient is loaded when the appointment is linked to their dispensing-system profile
if an assessment was already started from this appointment, the same draft is resumed instead of a second one being created
The button is in the appointment's details wherever you open them (the appointment page, the side panel or the dialog), in the Start step between Check In and Complete. It shows only for minor-ailment appointments that are not cancelled or marked no-show.
From a patient profile
A dispensing-system patient profile (opened from Find Patient or from a linked appointment) has a Start Minor Ailment button in its header. It opens the wizard with that patient already loaded; you pick the condition on the first step. Nothing is tied to an appointment in this case.
Before you start
Check the patient in first. Appointments follow Check In → Start → Complete. The button stays greyed out ("Check the patient in, then start the minor ailment assessment.") until the patient is checked in. Checking in a minor ailment patient shows a "Patient checked in" prompt offering Start Minor Ailment straight away.
Pressing it starts the appointment. The appointment moves to In Progress, the Start step shows as done, and Open assessment in the Complete step reopens the draft. Complete on the appointment stays greyed out until you have started it.
Same day only. An appointment from a previous day cannot be started.
Minor Ailments must be turned on for your pharmacy. If it is off, the appointment shows the plain Start with the note "Minor ailment assessments are turned off for this pharmacy. Use Start and Complete to record the visit."
Without PhoxHub, or without patient linking. If your pharmacy has no PhoxHub connection, or head office has PhoxHub or patient linking turned off for your store, Start assessment opens the assessment straight away with the patient's details from the booking. Nothing is loaded from your dispensing system.
With PhoxHub and patient linking on, link the appointment first. The Start step says "Link to PhoxHub to start the assessment, or continue without linking to use the booking details." Use Link patient in that step (see Linking Appointments to Dispensing-System Profiles), or Continue without linking to use the booking's details. Once linked, the wizard opens with the patient already loaded.
What you see
Situation | Where the wizard opens |
Service mapped to a form, appointment linked | Phase 1 with the condition and patient set — press Next to begin the assessment |
Service mapped, appointment not linked | Phase 2 (Patient) with the name search already run — select the patient |
Service not mapped to a form | Phase 1 (Ailment) with the search prefilled with the service name and a note that no form is mapped. When the service name is one the wizard knows ("Mild Acne", "Pink Eye"), the note names the suggested condition and the list shows it — you still pick it |
A draft already exists for this appointment | That draft, where you left it |
Why a service might not be mapped
The booking site's service names ("Pink Eye", "Heartburn") and the wizard's conditions ("Conjunctivitis (bacterial, allergic or viral)", "Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)") are different lists. Head Office maps each minor-ailment service to its assessment form in the service catalog. Some services (for example shingles or contraception) have no assessment form, and the wizard never guesses one from the name.
If a service you book often opens without a condition, ask Head Office to set its Pharmacist assessment form in the service editor.
Good to know
Choosing a patient inside the wizard does not link the appointment to that profile. Use Link patient on the appointment for that.
The saved assessment remembers which appointment it came from, which is what lets Open assessment reopen it later.
Submitting the assessment marks the appointment complete. You do not need to press Complete on the appointment afterwards; the success dialog confirms it. If the appointment was already completed or cancelled, it is left as it is.
For the wizard itself, see Minor Ailments Wizard.
Need help?
Open the Help Center from the ? icon in the header, or press Shift + ? for keyboard shortcuts.