Group Sessions: Setup

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Group Sessions allows users to create group sessions, generate group session schedules, assign sessions/schedules to patients, and enable providers to document patient attendance and group notes. The system will then distribute the notes in a read-only format directly to the patient chart with the attendance status, general group duration and description, individual notes, signatures, and annotations (if included). 

Super Admins can set up and customize Group Sessions. While most of the settings are covered during your initial implementation, you can use this checklist to review your settings and make updates as needed.

Enable Group Sessions

Let's review how to enable or disable the Group Sessions.

  1. Click on your initials and select Settings.
  2. Open the Instance tab.mceclip2.png
  3. From the System options area, check Use Group Sessions.mceclip1.png
  4. You can also enable any of the following settings:
    • View individual group sessions (AZ): For Arizona facilities, this feature allows the user to view individual notes (the way they show up in the chart) for all patients in the Group Session view.
    • Show group session attendees/absences in chart: Shows the total number of times the patient was marked as present or absent for each group session in the chart's chart.
    • Show preferred name in sign in sheet: When enabled, the Print sign-in sheet area for each group session will display the patient's Preferred Name + Last Name initials instead of First Name + Last Name initials. The preferred name must be entered on the patient's facesheet.
  5. Scroll to the end of the page and click Update. 

Patient Chart Tab

Enabling Group Sessions automatically creates a Group Sessions tab within each Patient Chart. mceclip4.png

The name of this tab can be updated in the Patient Processes section of Patient Settings.

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If you have previously enabled and disabled the Group Sessions, the tab may be missing from your patient charts. Simply create a new tab with the Group Sess. checkbox enabled to restore the Outcomes tab. This tab type can only be used once per chart. 

Note: Disabling the Group Session feature or deleting the tab will not delete any documented group sessions. If you change your mind, you can re-enable the feature and re-create the tab at any time.

Create Group Session Templates

Group Sessions are created using Templates. Super Admins and users with Manage Templates or Manage Templates - Group Sessions, can create, edit or delete Group Session Templates. Click here for instructions. 

Integrated Billing: Instances with an integrated billing system (e.g., Avea or CMD) have a few additional settings available when creating Group Sessions. Click here to learn more. 

Create Schedule Templates

Schedule Templates allow you to select individual Group Sessions occurrences to build a treatment schedule. Schedules can be assigned to patients, automatically enrolling them in all Group Sessions included in the template. Super Admins and users with Manage Templates or Manage Templates - Group Sessions, can create, edit or delete Group Session Templates. Click here for instructions. 

User Permissions

Super Admin and Records Admin users have access to all group sessions by default. Both roles allow users to start, modify, and delete any group session.

Therapists, Case Managers, Other Therapists, and users with Manage Group Sessions feature can start group sessions. The user who starts an unassigned group session is automatically assigned as its leader. The group leader can edit the group notes while the session is in progress, re-assign the group to another user, or add more group leaders to co-sign the group. Once the group has moved to the next status (Pending Review or Completed), users cannot modify the notes. A Therapist user with a caseload (i.e. the user is part of the patient's care team as Primary Therapist) is automatically assigned as a leader caseload group sessions. 

Here is the detailed chart with Group Session user roles and features:

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In addition, two features allow you to control the review signature for unlicensed staff members:

  • Requires Group Session Review: Requires all group sessions led by this user to be reviewed (signed) by users with the Review Group Sessions feature.
  • Review Group Session: Allows the user to add a reviewer signature for group sessions in the Pending Review status (i.e. lead and signed by a user with the Require Review Group Sessions feature).

Important: Never assign both features to the same user.

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