> ## 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.

# Front Desk Journey

> The first 24 hours for front office and administrative staff.

<div className="kb-journey">
  <div className="kb-meta">⏱ About 30 minutes to get comfortable</div>

  You're the hub of the clinic — the first person patients talk to and the last one they see on the way out. This is the short path to doing the core front-desk jobs quickly. Work through it once, then keep it handy.

  <div className="kb-outcomes">
    **By the end of your first day, you'll be able to:**

    * Start your morning knowing exactly what's booked and who still owes forms
    * Pull up any patient — or create a new one — in seconds
    * Book, reschedule, and cancel appointments
    * Send intake forms and see who's completed them
    * Take a payment at checkout
    * Reply to patients by text and review past calls
  </div>

  ## Learn these first

  <Steps>
    <Step title="Find anything with search">
      **Cmd + K** (Mac) or **Ctrl + K** (Windows) is the fastest way around Decoda. Open it from anywhere to jump to a patient or page — even ones you can't find in the menu — and to run common actions like **Create Patient**. When you're not sure where something lives, start here.

      [Global Search](/search)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Start your morning on the dashboard">
      Open **Check-In > Dashboard** first thing each day. It's your morning briefing: how many appointments are booked, which providers are light, and — most useful — which patients still haven't filled out their forms. Send a form reminder right from the table so there's less paperwork when they arrive.

      [Daily Dashboard](/modules/check-in/dashboard)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Create a patient">
      Almost everything in Decoda hangs off a patient record, so this is the first thing you'll do for anyone new. Create one from the **Create Patient** action in search, from the **Patients** page, or on the fly while booking, sending forms, or starting a checkout — so you're never stuck mid-task.

      [Patients](/modules/patients/index)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Know the patient chart">
      The chart is your home base for each person — contact details, appointments, forms, notes, payments, and messages all in one place. Spend a few minutes finding your way around it; it's how you'll answer almost any question, whether the patient is at the desk or on the phone.

      [Patient Chart](/modules/patients/patient-chart)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Send and review forms">
      Getting intake, consent, and history forms done *before* a visit keeps check-in fast and your records complete. Send forms to one patient or attach them to a service so they go out automatically when an appointment is booked — then check who's completed them so nobody arrives with paperwork pending.

      [Sending Forms](/modules/forms/sending-forms) · [Submissions](/modules/forms/submissions)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Book an appointment">
      Open the **Check-In** section to reach the calendar, then click **Create Event** and choose the patient, service, provider, and time. The service you pick decides how long the visit runs and which forms and reminders the patient gets.

      [Appointments](/modules/scheduling/appointments)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Check a patient out">
      Collecting payment is the last step of a visit and where mistakes cost the most, so it's worth getting comfortable. From **Billing > Check Out**, add charges, pick a payment method, split payments across methods, and run a card or POS device.

      [Checkout](/modules/billing/checkout)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Text and call patients">
      Patients expect quick replies, and Comms keeps every conversation in one shared inbox so nothing slips. Reply by text from **Comms > Chat**, and review past calls — with recordings, transcripts, and AI summaries — under **Comms > Calls**.

      [Chat](/modules/comms/chat) · [Calls](/modules/comms/calls)
    </Step>

    <Step title="Set up your notifications">
      Notifications are how you catch time-sensitive things the moment they happen — a failed payment, a new message, an appointment change — instead of finding out too late. They're per-user, so turn on the ones that matter to your role and choose in-app, email, or text.

      **Turn these on in-app to start:** new, changed, and cancelled appointments; appointment requests and self-scheduled bookings; incoming messages and calls; form submissions; and failed payments. Switch **Only My Appointments** off so you see the whole calendar — and if your clinic uses Patient Status, turn on Overdue Patient Alerts to catch patients who have been waiting too long.

      [Notification Settings](/modules/settings/notifications)
    </Step>
  </Steps>

  ## A visit, front to back

  Once you've got the basics, here's how the pieces fit together for a single patient visit:

  1. **Before they arrive** — On the **Dashboard**, send form reminders to anyone with paperwork still pending.
  2. **They walk in** — Press **Cmd + K**, type their name, and open their chart. (New patient? Create them right there.)
  3. **Confirm they're ready** — Check that intake and consent forms are complete on the chart.
  4. **During the visit** — The appointment is on the calendar; the provider documents the encounter.
  5. **On the way out** — Go to **Billing > Check Out**, add the charges, and take payment.
  6. **Follow up** — Send a thank-you or next-visit reminder by text from **Comms > Chat**.

  <Tip>
    Keep the **Dashboard** open in a tab during the day — it's the quickest way to spot a no-show, an underbooked provider, or a patient who never finished their forms.
  </Tip>
</div>