Check-out is where a visit becomes revenue and a next appointment — or doesn't. It's also what frees the exam room, so a slow check-out desk backs the clinic up behind it.
The queue
On the Scheduling page, the Checkout queue panel lists everyone waiting, with minutes waiting next to each name and their room and provider.
Press Check out on a row — or click a READY FOR CHECKOUT visit in the day grid.
Empty queue: No one is waiting. Visits land here when the clinical side marks them "Ready for checkout" (or the provider signs off).
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The waiting minutes are the number to manage. A patient standing at a desk for twelve minutes remembers that longer than they remember the visit.
The check-out desk
The header reads Check-out · [patient] with the visit type, date, time and provider underneath. Three panels do the work.
Today's visit — what this visit produced:
- Charges today
- Claim — a claim number and status, or not created yet (clinician sign-off pending)
- Patient responsibility
When there's no claim yet you'll see: No charges captured for this visit yet — the encounter can be billed after sign-off; collect the copay now. That's your instruction — don't hold the patient waiting for billing.
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Collect payment is the payments panel from the previous lesson. Take the copay, take a balance payment if the patient offers, print the receipt.
Booking the follow-up
Schedule follow-up has five interval presets: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months. Hover shows the date each resolves to.
Press one, and ChartVoyant finds open times — Finding open times… then a count like 6 open. Pick a slot, check the provider and length, put the reason from the plan into Reason (from the plan — e.g. med recheck), and press Book Wed, Oct 28 14:00.
Confirmation: ✓ Booked: Wed, Oct 28 at 14:00 · Follow-up.
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Three things that come up:
- No open times. No open 30-min times on Wed, Oct 28 — try another day or provider. Try the neighbouring day or a different provider.
- The practice is closed. Practice closed that day — Thanksgiving. Pick another date.
- Something more complicated. Open full scheduler hands you the month scheduler with this patient already preset.
No follow-up needed is a real answer — tick it rather than leaving the panel blank, so the record shows a decision was made.
Any appointments already booked appear under Already scheduled, so you don't double-book someone who called last week.
Finishing
Finish shows a two-line checklist with
✓or○:- Payment — $25.00 collected this visit, or $140.00 still open, or nothing due
- Follow-up — Booked — Wed, Oct 28 14:00, None needed, Already on the books, or Not booked
Then Complete check-out. If something's outstanding you get a heads-up line — Heads-up: balance not collected · no follow-up — but the button still works: You can finish anyway — the checklist is advisory.
Success: Patient checked out — visit closed on the schedule.
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That last step matters operationally: it marks the visit checked-out and frees the room. Leaving patients in the queue after they've physically gone makes the room board lie, which the clinical side is relying on.
What the check-out desk doesn't do
It handles charges, payment and the follow-up. It doesn't print visit instructions or an after-visit summary — that comes from the clinical side. If a patient asks for their instructions, that's the clinician's note, not this screen.
What usually goes wrong
Waiting for the claim. The claim arrives after sign-off. Collect and release the patient.
Skipping the follow-up because the plan wasn't clear. Ask. An unbooked follow-up in a pain practice is a patient who runs out of medication before their next visit.
Not completing the check-out. The room stays "occupied" and the queue keeps growing.
Treating the advisory checklist as a gate. It's a prompt. Use No follow-up needed and record the balance honestly rather than inventing a payment to get two ticks.