Group Encounter Management

The Group Encounter Management (BH) template enables you to modify existing group encounter dates or create new group encounters with any date (future dates not allowed).

Unlike patient encounters that are patient-specific and cannot be applied to multiple patients at one time, a group encounter can be shared among multiple patients. Group encounters are commonly used in group therapy where multiple patients attend the same session at the same time. One of the main benefits of using a group encounter is that you can complete documentation for all members on a single note within the group encounter. Since the encounter is shared among multiple patients, the documentation can be seen from each patient’s chart. Certain templates have been designed specifically for group encounters and can only be accessed from within a group encounter such as the Group Progress Note (BH) template.

When creating a new group encounter from the File > New > Group Encounter, the encounter uses the current date and time. If the encounter is not for the current date then staff are not able to accurately document in the patient’s chart as the dates do not match. You can use the Group Encounter Management (BH) template to create a Custom Group Encounter with the correct date (no future dates) to complete your documentation.