Care Plans

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.decodahealth.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Care Plans let you map out a patient’s treatment journey as a series of scheduled steps. Each step can be an appointment, a task, an automated message, or a decision point that splits the plan into multiple possible paths. Dates are calculated automatically from a start date. You can build a plan from a reusable template or create one from scratch.

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Assigning a Care Plan

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From a Template

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From Scratch

Follow the same flow above, but choose Start from scratch instead of selecting a template. This is useful for one-off or experimental plans that don’t fit an existing template. You’ll fill in the same configuration fields (name, description, start date, tags) and then build the plan step by step — clicking Add Step to add each step individually.

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Step Types

Every care plan is made up of individual steps. There are four types:

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Appointment Steps

An appointment step represents a visit the patient needs to attend. When you click on an appointment step, the following fields appear:

• Services — Select one or more services for this visit (e.g., “Initial Consultation”, “Botox Treatment”). You can search and pick from your clinic’s configured services.
• Medications — Optionally select medications to be administered during this visit.
• Measurements — Optionally select which vitals to record at this visit. Options include: Weight, Height, Blood Pressure, Pulse, Temperature, and Waist Circumference.
• Provider Notes — A free-text field for guidance or instructions for the provider at this step (e.g., “Check healing progress from last visit”).
• Messages — Automated SMS or email messages (called sequences) attached to this appointment, each with its own timing (e.g., “1 day before”, “3 days after”). See Appointment Message Sequences.

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Configure an Appointment Step

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Task Steps

A task step represents an internal to-do for your staff. When the task step’s scheduled date arrives, the system automatically creates the task and marks the step as Scheduled — you do not need to do this manually. When you click on a task step, the details area shows:

• Task Title — Required. A short description of what needs to be done (e.g., “Call patient for follow-up”).
• Description — Optional longer details about the task.
• Initial Status — The starting status of the task: Open, In Progress, Completed, or Cancelled.
• Priority — How urgent the task is: Low, Normal, High, or Urgent.
• Assignee — Who is responsible for the task. Use the Person / Team tabs to choose either an individual provider or a team. When you pick a team, the task is assigned to that team when it is created and follows the team assignment rules described in Tasks.
• Start Date — When the task should begin.
• Due Date — Set as a relative duration from the step’s scheduled date (e.g., “3 days after”). The approximate due date is calculated and displayed automatically.
• Provider Notes — Additional guidance for the assigned person.

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Configure a Task Step

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Message Steps

A message step sends an automated SMS to the patient on its own scheduled date. Message steps appear on the timeline alongside appointments and tasks and are sent when their scheduled date arrives. Use a message step for general check-ins or instructions that aren’t tied to a specific visit. For reminders, confirmations, or follow-ups around a particular appointment, attach a sequence to the appointment step instead — see Appointment Message Sequences. When you click on a message step, the details area shows:

• Message Body — The SMS text. You can personalize the message with variables by typing @ in the editor. Available variables include:

To add one, click Add Step and choose Message, then write the body.

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Appointment Message Sequences

Each appointment step can carry its own list of automated messages — also called sequences — that fire relative to the appointment step’s scheduled time. Use them to chain a reminder a day before, a confirmation at the scheduled time, and a follow-up three days after, all attached to the same appointment. Sequences live on the appointment; they don’t appear as separate steps on the timeline. Each appointment card shows a badge with the count (e.g., “3 messages”).

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Add a Sequence

Open the appointment step and scroll to the messages section at the bottom.

• If the appointment has no sequences yet, click Add a Sequence. The editor opens directly.
• If sequences already exist, click View N Messages to open the list, then click Add Message to add another or click an existing one to edit it.

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Sequence Fields

Click Back to return to the appointment details. Sequences save with the rest of the care plan. To remove one, open it and click Remove Message. When a care plan is created from a template, the template’s attached sequences are copied over and can be edited on the patient’s plan.

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Copy a Sequence to Other Steps

If an appointment step’s sequences should also apply to other appointment steps in the plan, you can copy them across in one go. Open the source step, find the Sequences section, and click Copy. A banner appears at the top of the editor — click each appointment step you want to copy the sequences onto, then click Apply to add the same set of messages to every selected step. Click Cancel to back out without changing anything.

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Multi-Service Appointments

If an appointment step has more than one service, automated sequences configured at the service level (Settings > Services > Sequences) only fire for the appointment’s primary service. Sequences tied to the other services on the same appointment are skipped. Sequences attached directly to the step are not affected.

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Decision Steps

A decision step is a point in the care plan where the treatment path splits into two or more options, called branches. Each branch contains its own list of appointment, task, message, and (optionally) further decision steps. Only one branch can be selected for a given patient — the others are skipped. Branches can contain their own decision steps, letting you build multi-level paths (for example, a first decision picks the treatment type, and a nested decision inside the chosen branch picks the dosage). When a branch is skipped, everything inside it — including nested decisions and their branches — is skipped automatically. Example: A hormone therapy care plan might have an initial consultation, followed by a decision step where the provider chooses between three dosage options. Each option has its own follow-up appointments and lab work.

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Configure a Decision Step

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Branching

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How Branches Appear on the Timeline

Before a branch is selected: The decision step appears with all its branches displayed. Each branch shows its name, tags, and a preview of the steps it contains. The steps inside unselected branches show estimated dates but are not yet actionable. After a branch is selected: The selected branch’s steps appear in the main timeline as regular steps, with their dates calculated from the decision step’s date. All steps in the non-selected branches are automatically marked as Skipped. The decision step itself is marked as Completed.

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Selecting a Branch

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Auto-Select by Scheduling the First Step

You can also pick a branch by scheduling its first appointment. When the decision step is up next on the active path, the Schedule Appointment button appears on the first appointment of every branch. Booking it selects that branch, marks the decision step as Completed, and skips the other branches in one step — there’s no separate confirmation prompt.

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How Branching Affects Scheduling

When a branch is selected, the system recalculates dates for the selected branch’s steps and for any steps that come after the decision step.

1. Anchor point — the decision step’s scheduled date serves as the starting point.
2. Branch step dates — each step in the selected branch is scheduled based on the time gap configured between steps, starting from the decision step’s date.
3. Downstream steps — any steps in the main care plan that come after the decision step have their dates recalculated based on when the last step in the selected branch is scheduled. This recalculation cascades through all subsequent steps that have relative timing.

Before a branch is selected, step dates inside all branches are shown as estimates (with a ~ prefix). These dates are not final until the branch is actually selected.

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Editing Branches

Before a branch has been selected, you can freely edit the decision step and its branches:

• Add or remove branches — click Add option or remove a branch from the decision step details.
• Add, remove, or reorder steps within a branch — works the same as editing steps on the main timeline.
• Rename a branch — update the branch name in the decision step details.
• Change branch tags — add or remove tags from individual branches.

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Step Statuses

Every step in a care plan has a status that reflects where it is in the patient’s treatment journey.

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Status Transitions

Not every status change is allowed. The table below shows which transitions are valid. Key points to keep in mind:

• You cannot directly complete a Pending step — it must first be Scheduled. For appointment steps, you schedule manually by clicking Schedule Appointment. For task steps, the system automatically creates the task and marks the step as Scheduled when the scheduled date arrives.
• Once a step is Completed, it stays Completed. This cannot be undone.
• Both Missed and Skipped steps can be reset to Pending if you want to try again.
• Scheduled steps are the most flexible — they can be completed, skipped, or reset to Pending.
• When a branch is selected on a decision step, all steps in the non-selected branches are automatically marked as Skipped, and the decision step itself is marked as Completed.

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Automatic Status Updates

Step statuses stay in sync with their linked appointments and tasks. When the status of an appointment or task changes, the care plan step updates automatically: You do not need to update the step manually in these cases — the system handles it for you. These automatic updates are recorded in the edit history and labeled as appointment or task syncs so you can tell them apart from manual changes.

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Change a Step’s Status

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Dates on the Timeline

Each step on the timeline shows a date. How the date is displayed depends on the step’s status and whether it has a fixed or estimated schedule.

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Completed Dates

When a step is completed, the timeline shows the actual completion date rather than the original scheduled date. This keeps the timeline reading chronologically so you can see when each step was actually finished.

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Estimated Dates

Some steps are scheduled relative to the step before them (for example, “2 weeks after the previous appointment”). If the previous appointment has not been completed yet, the system cannot calculate an exact date — so the date is shown as an estimate. Estimated dates appear with a ~ prefix (e.g., ~Apr 10, 2026) in muted text. Hovering over an estimated date shows: “Estimated — will update when the previous appointment completes.” Once the previous appointment is completed, the estimated dates recalculate automatically based on the actual completion date and become exact.

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Overdue Steps

If a step is still Pending after its scheduled date has passed, it is marked as overdue. Overdue steps appear with a red alert icon and red date text so they stand out on the timeline. Steps with estimated dates are never marked as overdue, since the date may still shift.

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Schedule an Appointment from a Step

When an appointment step is Pending and has at least one service selected, a Schedule Appointment button appears in the step details. This lets you create a calendar appointment directly from the care plan. If the next thing on the active path is a decision step, the button also appears on the first appointment of every branch — see Auto-Select by Scheduling the First Step.

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Care Plan Suggestions During Check-in

When creating an appointment during the check-in flow for a patient who has an active care plan with a pending appointment step, a suggestion banner appears in the appointment form. The banner shows the care plan name, the number of services in the next pending step, and the scheduled date. Clicking Pre-fill from care plan automatically populates the appointment with the correct services and links the appointment to the care plan step.

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Editing a Care Plan

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Change the Name, Description, or Tags

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Add, Remove, and Reorder Steps

• Click Add Step to add a new appointment, task, message, or decision step to the plan. Task steps are only available if your organization has the Tasks module enabled.
• Remove a step by clicking its delete option. When a step is removed, the dates of the steps that follow it adjust automatically.
• Drag and drop steps to change their order in the timeline. Scheduled dates stay pinned to their original values during reordering.
• For decision steps, you can add or remove branches and edit the steps within each branch before a branch has been selected.

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Edit Step Details

Click on any step to see its details. What you can change depends on the step type:

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Delete a Care Plan

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Progress Tracking

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How Progress Is Calculated

Progress is based on how many steps have been completed out of the total number of non-skipped steps. Example: A care plan has 3 steps. If 2 steps are marked complete, progress shows as 2 of 3 steps (67%). If the care plan has decision steps with branches, only the selected branch’s steps count toward the total. Steps in non-selected branches are skipped and excluded from the progress calculation. The decision step itself counts as one completed step once a branch is selected.

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Where Progress Appears

• Patient Overview tab — each care plan card shows a progress summary with a step count (e.g., “3/6 steps”) and a percentage, color-coded by status.
• Care plan detail page — the progress summary appears at the top next to the care plan name.

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Progress Colors

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Cycles

Cycles let you repeat a group of steps multiple times within a care plan. This is useful for recurring treatments — for example, a patient who needs the same set of appointments repeated every 4 weeks for 6 rounds.

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Create a Cycle

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Cycle Progress

Each cycle shows a progress indicator in the sidebar displaying how many passes are complete out of the total. A colored badge on each step identifies which cycle and pass it belongs to. You can toggle between viewing all passes or only the current pass using the eye icon in the Cycles section of the sidebar.

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Editing Cycle Steps

When you edit a step that belongs to a cycle, you are asked how the change should be applied:

• This pass only — only change the step in the current pass.
• This and future passes — apply the change to this pass and all subsequent passes.
• All passes — apply the change to every pass in the cycle.

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Renaming a Cycle

Click the cycle name in the sidebar to rename it. This is helpful when a care plan has multiple cycles and you want to label them clearly (e.g., “Infusion Cycle”, “Follow-up Cycle”).

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Print a Care Plan

You can print a care plan from anywhere a care plan card appears — the patient’s Overview tab, the patient sidebar, or the task detail view. Click the print button on the care plan card to generate a printable view of all appointment steps in the plan. If the plan has branches, only the selected branch’s steps are included.

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Where Care Plans Appear

Care plan information appears in several places throughout the application so staff can always see treatment context at a glance.

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Patient Overview Tab

Active care plans appear on the patient’s Overview tab, showing progress (completed steps out of total) and the current status of each step. You can expand any care plan to see the full step timeline. Click Assign Care Plan to add a new plan.

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Patient Sidebar

When you open a patient’s sidebar (e.g., by clicking a patient name from the calendar or check-in), a Care Plans section displays all active care plans for that patient with their progress and step details.

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Patient Appointments Tab

On the patient’s Appointments tab, each appointment that is linked to a care plan displays a badge showing the care plan name and step number. This lets you quickly identify which appointments are part of a treatment plan.

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Calendar

On the calendar, appointment cards that belong to a care plan show a small badge with the care plan name next to the appointment title. This provides at-a-glance visibility into which calendar events are part of an active care plan.

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Appointment Sidebar

When you click an appointment in the patient sidebar, appointments linked to a care plan display a badge above the appointment title showing the care plan name and step number.

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Tasks

When a task is created from a care plan step, the task displays a care plan badge showing the plan name and step status. Clicking the badge opens a popover with the full care plan timeline so you can see the task’s place in the overall treatment plan.

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Edit History

Every change to a care plan is recorded automatically. You can view the full edit history at any time to see exactly what happened, who made the change, and when it occurred.

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Opening the Edit History

Click Show history on the care plan card on the patient’s Overview tab. A window opens showing the full timeline of changes with before-and-after details.

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Reading the Edit History

The history window has two panels:

• Left panel — Timeline of changes. Each entry represents one change (or a group of related changes). The most recent change appears at the top. Each entry shows an icon for the type of change, a short summary, who made the change, and when.
• Right panel — Snapshot of the care plan. Shows what the care plan looked like at the selected point in time. Steps that were affected by the selected change are highlighted so you can quickly spot what changed.

Click any entry in the left panel to see the care plan as it looked at that point.

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What Gets Tracked

The system records changes automatically. The following types of changes are tracked: Care Plan Changes: Name, description, start date, tags, location, assigned by, creation, and deletion. Step Changes: Steps added or removed, status changes, services, medications, measurements, scheduled dates, provider notes, and task field updates. Branch Changes: Branch selections (who selected and when), branches added or removed, and changes to steps within branches. Automatic Changes: Changes that happen automatically when linked appointments or tasks are updated are labeled so you can tell them apart from manual edits:

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Snapshot Highlights

When you select a change in the timeline, changes are visually highlighted in the snapshot: Click on a highlighted step to see the specific fields that changed, including the old and new values.

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Templates

Care plan templates are managed in Settings > Care Plans. Templates define a reusable set of steps with default timing, services, and configuration. When you assign a template to a patient, the steps are copied into the new care plan and can be fully customized for that patient.

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Create a Template

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Edit a Template

From the Care Plans settings page, click on a template name to open the editor. The editor has two main areas:

• Step list (left side): Shows all steps in order. Click any step to select it.
• Step details (right side): Displays the selected step’s full configuration for editing.

You can update the template’s name, description, and tags at any time from the editor.

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Set Time Gaps Between Steps

Between each pair of steps, a clickable button shows the time gap (e.g., “2 days”, “1 week”). Click it to set how much time should pass between one step and the next. When the template is assigned to a patient, these gaps determine the scheduled dates for each step based on the care plan’s start date.

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Reorder Steps

Drag steps using the grip handle on each step card to reorder them. The order determines the sequence patients see in their care plan. You can also remove individual steps by clicking the X that appears when you hover over a step card.

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Manage the Template List

The template list page provides several ways to organize your templates:

• Columns shown: Name, Tags, Description, Steps, and Created Date.
• Sort: Click the Name, Steps, or Created Date column headers to sort ascending or descending.
• Delete: Remove a template you no longer need directly from the list. You will be asked to confirm before the template is deleted.

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Tags

Tags are colored labels that help you organize and quickly identify care plan templates and patient care plans. For example, you might use tags like “Weight Loss”, “Post-Surgery”, or “Dental” to categorize plans by treatment type. Every template and every care plan must have at least one tag. Tags can also be added to individual branches within decision steps.

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Create a Tag

Tags are created inline — there is no separate settings page for them. You can create a new tag anywhere a Tags section appears (template editor, care plan editor, etc.).

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Add or Remove Tags

• To add an existing tag, click it from the list of available tags below the selected ones.
• To remove a tag, click the X on a selected tag to deselect it.

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Delete a Tag

You can permanently delete a tag by hovering over it in the tag list and clicking the trash icon.