This page covers care plan steps on plans assigned to a patient. Step statuses and scheduling are not available on templates — only on active patient care plans. For how to configure step fields, see Care Plan Step Types.
Step Statuses
Every step in a care plan has a status that reflects where it is in the patient’s treatment journey.| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | The step has not been acted on yet. It is waiting for someone to take action. |
| Scheduled | An appointment has been booked or a task has been created for this step. The step is linked to an actual appointment or task in the system. |
| Completed | The step is finished — the appointment was attended or the task was done. This is a final status and cannot be changed. |
| Skipped | The step was intentionally skipped by staff. It will not be acted on. |
| Missed | The linked appointment was marked as a no-show. The patient did not attend. |
Status Transitions
Not every status change is allowed. The table below shows which transitions are valid.| From | Can change to |
|---|---|
| Pending | Skipped |
| Scheduled | Completed, Skipped, or back to Pending |
| Missed | Back to Pending (to reschedule) |
| Skipped | Back to Pending (to re-activate) |
| Completed | Cannot be changed (final) |
- 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.
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:| When this happens | The step becomes |
|---|---|
| Appointment is completed | Completed |
| Appointment is marked as no-show | Missed |
| Appointment is cancelled | Skipped |
| Task is completed | Completed |
| Task is cancelled | Skipped |
Change a Step’s Status
Select the Step
Click on the step you want to update. Its details appear on the right side of the page.
Change the Status
Find the Status field. The menu shows only the valid transitions from the current status — you will not see options that are not allowed.
The status field only appears on care plans that have been assigned to a patient. It is not available on templates.
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. These steps need attention — either schedule the appointment, complete the task, or change the step’s status.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.Click Schedule Appointment
Click Schedule Appointment on the right. This takes you to the appointment form.
Review Pre-filled Details
The appointment form is pre-filled with:
- The patient already selected
- The services from the step
- The scheduled date from the step
- Any provider notes from the step