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Purpose: This guide helps clinicians and clinical staff use the In-Basket to manage actionable clinical items such as lab results, prescription renewals, co-sign requests, and chart messages.

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Overview

The Clinical In-Basket is a centralized inbox for clinical action items. It consolidates tasks from multiple sources — lab results, prescription renewal requests, referral responses, co-sign requests, CDS alerts, and chart messages — into a single, filterable list so providers can prioritize and act efficiently.

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Key Capabilities

  • Unified clinical inbox: All actionable items in one place, sorted by priority and due date
  • Filtering and classification: Filter by item type, classification (clinical/administrative/billing/regulatory), and status
  • Status management: Track items from new → in progress → completed with a full activity audit trail
  • Escalation: Escalate items to stat priority when urgent attention is needed
  • PM-14 deep-links: Chart messages link directly to the secure messaging conversation

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Who Should Use This Guide

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Prerequisites

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Permissions Required

To use the Clinical In-Basket, you need:
Note: Contact your organization administrator if you don’t have the required permissions.

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Getting Started

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Accessing the In-Basket

  1. Navigate to Clinical in the main menu
  2. Click In-Basket
  3. The list page displays all items assigned to you or your team

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Understanding the Interface

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Common Tasks

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Task 1: Review and Triage Items

When to use: At the start of your shift or when new items arrive. Steps:
  1. Open the In-Basket page
  2. Items are sorted by priority (stat first) and due date
  3. Use the Type filter to focus on specific categories (e.g., Lab Results only)
  4. Click on an item row to open the detail view
Tips:
  • Use the Status filter set to “New” to see unreviewed items
  • Stat items appear with a red badge — address these first

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Task 2: Update Item Status

When to use: After reviewing or acting on an in-basket item. Steps:
  1. Open the item detail page
  2. Click the Status dropdown
  3. Select the appropriate status:
    • In Progress — You are actively working on this
    • Pending — Waiting on external information
    • Completed — Action fully resolved
    • Cancelled — Item no longer relevant
  4. The status change is saved automatically and logged in the activity timeline
Note: All status changes are recorded with your name and timestamp in the activity log.

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Task 3: Escalate an Item

When to use: When an item requires immediate attention beyond its current priority. Steps:
  1. Open the item detail page
  2. Click the Escalate button (requires cl.inbasket.escalate permission)
  3. The item priority is changed to Stat and an escalation activity is logged
Warning: Escalation should be reserved for genuinely urgent situations. All escalations are audited.

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Task 4: View Activity History

When to use: To understand what actions have been taken on an item. Steps:
  1. Open the item detail page
  2. Scroll to the Activity Timeline section
  3. Activities are shown chronologically with actor, type, and timestamp

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Task 5: Access a Chart Message Conversation

When to use: When a chart_message item links to a PM-14 secure messaging conversation. Steps:
  1. Open the chart message item detail
  2. If a linked conversation exists, a View Conversation link appears
  3. Click the link to navigate to the secure messaging thread

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Tips and Best Practices

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Do’s

  • ✅ Review your in-basket at the start and end of each clinical shift
  • ✅ Use filters to focus on high-priority or specific item types
  • ✅ Update item status promptly to keep your team informed
  • ✅ Escalate genuinely urgent items — the audit trail protects appropriate use

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Don’ts

  • ❌ Don’t leave stat items unaddressed for extended periods
  • ❌ Don’t use escalation for routine items
  • ❌ Don’t mark items as completed without taking the required action

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Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

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Issue: No items appearing in the In-Basket

Symptoms: The In-Basket list shows an empty state. Cause: No items are assigned to you, or filters are too restrictive. Solution:
  1. Clear all filters to see all items
  2. Confirm your user account has the cl.inbasket.view permission
  3. Contact your administrator if items should be present

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Issue: Cannot change item status

Symptoms: Status dropdown is disabled or changes fail. Cause: You may lack the cl.inbasket.manage permission. Solution:
  1. Confirm you have the cl.inbasket.manage permission
  2. Contact your organization administrator to request access

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Getting Help

If you can’t resolve an issue:
  1. Check with your clinical supervisor
  2. Contact your organization administrator
  3. Review the specification for technical details
  • Specification: specs/cl/specs/CL-23-clinical-in-basket-provider-messaging.md
  • Integration: docs/architecture/integrations/CL-23-clinical-in-basket-provider-messaging-INTEGRATION.md
  • Related Features: CL-04 (Progress Notes), CL-09 (Lab Orders), PM-14 (Secure Messaging)

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Glossary

Last Updated: 2026-02-25
Questions? Contact your organization administrator.