Provider Manual · Part VI

Encounter completion — charges & finalize

Close out the visit: E/M and CPT charges, patient instructions, follow-up scheduling, medication reconciliation, favorites, and signing the encounter.

6 sections~4 min read3 screenshots
VI
Part VI · continued

Encounter completion — charges & finalize

Close out the visit: E/M and CPT charges, patient instructions, follow-up scheduling, medication reconciliation, favorites, and signing the encounter.

6.9Charges & E/M

Code the visit (E/M & CPT)

The Charges section captures the billing codes. Pick an Evaluation & Management level with one click and Hero EMR fills in the matching CPT; add any procedure or other CPT codes by search.

  1. Choose the E/M level. The buttons Straightforward, Low, Moderate, High, New Low, and New Moderate map to the right code — e.g. Moderate → 99214 — Established patient office visit, moderate complexity (30–39 min). Picking a level turns the E/M tracker chip green.
  2. Add other CPT codes. Use Search CPT codes for procedures, vaccines, or anything beyond the office visit. Manage curates your charge favorites.
Charges section with one-click E/M level buttons, Moderate selected and resolved to CPT 99214 Established patient office visit moderate complexity; below it an Instructions section; the E/M tracker chip is green
One-click E/M selection resolves to the matching CPT (here 99214) and completes the E/M tracker.
6.10Instructions

Patient instructions

Hero EMR drafts after-visit patient instructions from your note. Review them, edit, or write your own, then they travel with the visit summary the patient receives.

  1. Review the draft. The Instructions section proposes plain-language instructions based on the note’s plan.
  2. Edit or add your own. Use Edit to revise, + Add instructions manually to write from scratch, or Copy to clipboard to reuse elsewhere.
6.11Follow-up

Schedule the follow-up

The Follow-up section is pre-set from your note’s plan and lets you confirm the timing and book the next visit without leaving the encounter.

  1. Confirm the timing. Pick 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or Custom. Hero EMR shows a Recommended follow-up date based on your choice.
  2. Set the visit type and book. Choose the Visit Type and Duration (you can save a default), then Schedule Now to create the appointment, or leave it as a follow-up request to be booked later. The F/U tracker chip turns green once set.
Plans stay in sync. If you later addend the signed note and change the plan, Hero EMR updates the matching unscheduled follow-up request automatically — see Visit types for how follow-up types and durations are defined.
6.12Med management

Reconcile medications

The Med Management section is where you reconcile the patient’s list as part of closing the visit. It shows what this encounter adds and lets you discontinue anything no longer needed.

  1. Confirm new medications. New Medications From This Encounter lists what you prescribed today (read-only here — edit it back under Writing a prescription).
  2. Discontinue what’s ending. Under Active Medications, check any medication to discontinue it when the encounter is finalized. Each row shows strength, route, and sig so you can decide at a glance.
Med Management section listing the new clonazepam order and five active medications each with a checkbox to discontinue on finalize
New medications from the visit, plus checkboxes to discontinue active medications when you sign and close.
6.13Favorites

Build favorites to move faster

Favorites turn the codes and orders you use most into one-click chips. They’re personal to you and appear at the top of the matching section.

Diagnosis favorites

Open Manage Favorite Diagnoses from the gear (or Add favorites). Use the Search tab to star codes; the My Favorites tab lists and reorders them. Favorites show as quick-add chips under My Favorite Diagnoses.

Order favorites

Click the star on any order to save it, then re-add it later from the Favorites tab in the Search Orders window.

Charge favorites

Use Manage in the Charges section to keep your common CPT/E/M codes one click away.

Manage Favorite Diagnoses dialog with Search and My Favorites tabs, an empty favorites list, and a Delete all Favorites action
The favorites manager — star codes on the Search tab and they become quick-add chips.
6.14Sign & close

Sign and close the visit

When the footer tracker is satisfied, Sign & Close Visit finalizes everything at once. It is the single action that turns your worksheet into a signed, billed, transmitted encounter.

  1. Clear the tracker. Make sure Dx, Orders, Linked, E/M, and F/U are green. Amber items tell you what’s outstanding (an unlinked order, no E/M level, and so on).
  2. Sign controlled prescriptions first. Any controlled order must be signed via EPCS before it can be transmitted.
  3. Click Sign & Close Visit. Finalizing signs the note, sends the queued orders and prescriptions, submits the charges to billing, applies any medication discontinuations, and creates the follow-up request — in one step.
Need to change something afterward? A signed encounter can be addended; when an addendum changes the plan, Hero EMR reconciles the related unscheduled follow-up request automatically. Already-scheduled or completed follow-ups are left alone — adjust those by hand.

Need help? Email support@heroemr.com.