Encounter Mode
Every Encounter Place must have one or more encounter modes associated with it before it can be used to record services.
In the following discussion, two types of Service Encounter Places are referenced.
- The physical place at which a service is delivered.
- The physical place from which a service is delivered.
See Encounter Place for more information.
Note: All services are assumed to be "face to face" unless implied otherwise by the
mode.
Encounter Modes
An Encounter Mode identifies either:
- The means of delivering a health service. For example "Telephone".
- The type of physical place at which a health service is delivered. For example, "School". The entire encounter place is "West Leeming Primary School (School)" to identify services delivered at the school.
Use physical places at which a service is delivered with either the means of delivering the service or the type of place at which the service is delivered. For example:
- Millennium Health Service Clinic (Telephone)
- Millennium Health Service Clinic (Aboriginal Health Service)
Use physical places from which the provider travels to deliver a service with the type of place where the service is delivered. For example:
- Millennium Health Service Clinic (School), i.e. the Millennium Health Service Clinic is not a school but the service is delivered at a school.
Examples of Common Places and Modes
| Description | Encounter Place | Encounter Mode |
|---|---|---|
| The physical place at which a service is delivered and the means of delivering a health service | Millennium Health Service Clinic | Administration - no client contact |
| Millennium Health Service Clinic | Telephone | |
| The physical place at which a service is delivered and the type of physical place at which a health service is delivered | Millennium Health Service Clinic | Aboriginal Health Service |
| Fremantle Prison | Prison* | |
| Leeming Primary School | School | |
| Leeming Senior High School | School | |
| The physical place from which a service is delivered an the means of delivering a health service | Millennium Health Service Clinic | Mobile Clinic |
| Millennium Health Service Clinic | Outreach | |
| The physical place from which a service is delivered and the type of physical place at which a health service is delivered | Millennium Health Service Clinic | Client's Home |
| Millennium Health Service Clinic | Prison* | |
| Millennium Health Service Clinic | School |
* Some combinations are mutually exclusive. For example, use only one of the following
combinations, not both:
- A specific prison and the mode of Prison
- A place of health service and mode of Prison
Types of Modes
Communicare provides the following encounter modes:
| Means of delivery | Type of physical place |
|---|---|
| Administration - client contact | Aboriginal Health Service |
| Administration - no client contact | Client's Home |
| Clinic - Consult | Commercial setting (eg pharmacy) |
| Inreach | Community Health Centre |
| Mobile Clinic | Community Services Centre |
| Other | Court |
| Outreach | Day Aged Care Centre |
| Telehealth - Provider | Day Procedure Centre (Free-standing) |
| Telehealth - Recipient | Dental Room |
| Telehealth Video | Dispensary - no client contact |
| Telephone | Drug and Alcohol Agency |
| Health Care Practitioner Office (any discipline) | |
| Health Service | |
| Hospital - All types | |
| Hospital - Emergency Department | |
| Hospital - General Practice | |
| Hostel | |
| Nursing Home | |
| Other (also a means of delivery, read "Other type of place") | |
| Prison | |
| Renal Dialysis Centre (Free-standing) | |
| Respite Care Facility (non-Hostel or Nursing Home) | |
| School | |
| Supported residential accommodation |
Other encounter modes:
- "Contact Attempt Unsuccessful - no client contact" is a special encounter mode which is neither type of place nor means of delivery. (In a future version of Communicare this may become an attribute of the service record, like "withdrawn".)
Modes
Typically, health services use only a few modes for each encounter place, configured by the Communicare Administrator.
Use the following table to help determine which encounter modes to use.
| Encounter Mode | Consultation Delivery | Description | Included in reports | Automated patient status updates? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal Health Service | In person | Use to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the clinic. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Administration - client contact | Administrative - in person | Use to record that although the health service has seen the patient it was not for a clinical reason. | None | Yes |
| Administration - no client contact | None | Use to record administrative work for a patient. | None | No |
| Client's Home | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at the client's home. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each client. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Clinic - Consult | In person | Use to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the clinic. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Commercial setting (eg pharmacy) | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a business such as a pharmacy. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each business. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Community Health Centre | In person | Use at community health centres to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the health service. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Community Services Centre | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a Community Services Centre. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Contact Attempt Unsuccessful - no client contact | None | Use to record attempted contact. | None | No |
| Court | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at court. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each court. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Day Aged Care Centre | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a day aged care centre. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Day Procedure Centre (Free-standing) | In person | Use at day procedure centres to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Dental Room | In person | Use to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended a consulation in the dental room. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Dispensary - no client contact | None | Use to record dispensary work for a patient. | None | No |
| Drug and Alcohol Agency | In person | Use at drug and alcohol agencies to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the health service. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Health Care Practitioner Office (any discipline) | In person | Use to record a clinical consultation for a health care practitioner that does not fit any other category. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Health Service | In person | Use for non-indigenous health services to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the health service. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Hospital - All types | In person | Use in hospitals to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the hospital. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Hospital - Emergency Department | In person | Use in hospital EDs to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the ED. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Hospital - General Practice | In person | Use in hospital-based general practices to record a clinical consultation where the patient attended the practice. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Hostel | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a hostel. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each hostel. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Inreach | In person | Use to record inreach consultations. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Mobile Clinic | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service go out in a mobile clinic to deliver services. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Nursing Home | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a nursing home. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Other | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a service encounter or physical place that is not otherwise described, read "Other means" or "Other service delivery mode". | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Outreach | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service go out into the community to deliver services. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Prison | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a prison. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each prison. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Renal Dialysis Centre (Free-standing) | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a freestanding renal dialysis centre. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Respite Care Facility (non-Hostel or Nursing Home) | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at a respite care facility. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each facility. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| School | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service go to a school to deliver services. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each school or youth club. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Supported residential accommodation | In person | Use to record where workers from the health service deliver services at supported residential accommodation. Use instead of creating a separate encounter place for each centre. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Telehealth Video | Video conferencing | Use to record services where the contact between the Communicare provider and the patient was using video conferencing. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Telehealth - Provider | Telephone or by another device such as a computer, with or without video | Use to record remote telehealth consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Telehealth - Recipient | Facilitator only | Use where a consultation happened between a provider elsewhere and a patient, such as between a specialist and patient at a hospital, and the Communicare provider only facilitated the contact by providing a room and remote conferencing equipment. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |
| Telephone | Telephone | Use to record a clinical consultation performed over the telephone between the Communicare provider and the patient. | nKPI and OSR | Yes |