Point of Care and Care Delivery
Overview
The point of care is where clinical decisions are made, documentation is captured, and patient outcomes are shaped. It is the moment when the right data, tools, and workflows can have the greatest impact on quality, safety, and efficiency. When technology and processes align with that moment, care teams can focus on patients instead of navigating fragmented systems.
Vim is built to deliver the right information and actions at the point of care, inside the workflows clinicians already use. This section defines the concepts that describe where care happens, how clinical and EHR workflows function, and why coordination and documentation matter for care delivery.
Related Concepts
Care Coordination
Definition:
Care coordination is the organized management of patient care activities across multiple providers, settings, and services. It involves information sharing, referral tracking, discharge planning, medication reconciliation, and ensuring appropriate follow-up.
Why it matters:
Effective care coordination reduces duplication, prevents treatment gaps, and lowers avoidable utilization such as emergency department visits and hospital readmissions. When information flows seamlessly across providers and settings, patients experience more consistent, higher-quality care.
Clinical Documentation
Definition:
Clinical documentation is the process of recording patient diagnoses, treatments, procedures, and outcomes in the medical record. Documentation may include structured data fields, narrative notes, problem lists, medication records, and coded diagnoses.
Why it matters:
Accurate documentation supports continuity of care, quality reporting, regulatory compliance, reimbursement accuracy, and risk adjustment calculations. Incomplete or misaligned documentation can create diagnosis gaps, impact contract performance, and introduce financial discrepancies. Clear, timely documentation ensures that clinical intent is reflected in measurable outcomes.
Clinical Workflow
Definition:
Clinical workflow refers to the structured sequence of tasks clinicians and care teams follow to assess, diagnose, treat, and document patient care. It includes pre-visit preparation, patient evaluation, order entry, prescribing, documentation, referrals, and follow-up planning.
Why it matters:
Workflow design determines whether data and insights are acted on or ignored. Even high-quality analytics fail to create impact if they are delivered outside the clinician’s natural flow of work. Aligning technology with clinical workflow is essential to improving efficiency, safety, quality performance, and clinician satisfaction.
EHR Workflow
Definition:
EHR workflow describes how clinical and administrative tasks are performed within an electronic health record system. It includes chart review, note documentation, order placement, coding, referral entry, messaging, and closing encounters.
Why it matters:
The EHR is the primary interface through which most clinical work is executed. Optimized EHR workflows reduce clicks, limit duplicate data entry, and improve the accuracy of documentation and coding. Technology that integrates seamlessly into the EHR can enhance performance without disrupting care delivery.
Point of Care
Definition:
Point of care refers to the time and setting in which healthcare services are delivered to a patient, including office visits, hospital encounters, bedside interactions, and telehealth sessions. It is the clinical moment when decisions are made, orders are placed, documentation is completed, and care plans are shaped.
Why it matters:
The point of care is where intent becomes action. Delivering relevant data, insights, and workflow support during this moment can directly influence clinical decisions, documentation accuracy, and patient outcomes. Information delivered too early or too late loses impact; embedded at the point of care, it drives measurable performance.
Point of Care Technology
Definition:
Point of care technology includes digital tools and systems used during patient encounters to support decision-making, documentation, coordination, and communication. This may include electronic health records, clinical decision support systems, embedded applications, AI-powered assistants, and real-time data integrations.
Why it matters:
Technology that works inside existing workflows reduces friction and increases adoption. When tools are embedded directly into the EHR and aligned with clinical context, they enhance efficiency and accuracy. Tools that require separate logins, portals, or disconnected processes often add burden and decrease utilization.
Provider Workflow
Definition:
Provider workflow refers specifically to the daily sequence of clinical activities performed by a physician or advanced practice clinician. This includes reviewing patient history, conducting assessments, ordering diagnostics, documenting findings, managing medications, and coordinating referrals or follow-up care.
Why it matters:
Provider workflow efficiency directly affects burnout, productivity, and patient experience. When workflows are fragmented across multiple systems or disconnected from real-time insights, clinicians spend more time navigating technology than delivering care. Streamlined workflows support better decision-making and sustainable performance.