EncounterLocation

Tracks a patient's physical location throughout a healthcare encounter including ward assignments, room transfers, and bed movements. Essential for bed management, resource tracking, infection control, and facility capacity planning.

Overview

EncounterLocation provides a history of where a patient has been during an encounter. For inpatients, this tracks admission location, transfers between units (ED to ICU to ward), and specific room/bed assignments. Each location assignment has a status (planned, active, reserved, completed) and time period, enabling real-time bed management and retrospective analysis of patient flow.

Key Concepts

Location Hierarchy

Patient locations are tracked at multiple levels:

Level	Example	Purpose
Building	Building A	Campus navigation
Ward	Medical Ward 2	Unit assignment
Area	East Wing	Section within unit
Room	W2-215	Room assignment
Bed	Bed A	Specific bed

Location Status

The status field tracks assignment state:

Status	Description	Use Case
`planned`	Future location assignment	Scheduled transfer
`active`	Patient currently at location	Current occupancy
`reserved`	Held for incoming patient	Bed reservation
`completed`	Patient has left location	Historical record

Physical Type

The physicalType field categorizes the location:

Type	Description	Typical Use
`building`	Facility building	Multi-building campuses
`ward`	Nursing unit/ward	Department assignment
`area`	Section of a unit	Isolation wing, pods
`room`	Patient room	Room-level tracking
`bed`	Specific bed	Bed management

Time Period

The period field captures occupancy duration:

start - When patient arrived at location
end - When patient departed (null if still there)

Used for length of stay analysis, room turnover metrics, and capacity planning.

Department Reference

The location field links to FacilityDepartment:

Provides organizational context
Enables department-level reporting
Supports staffing analysis

Use Cases

Initial Bed Assignment

When admitting patient:

Create EncounterLocation with status: "active"
Set location to admitting department
Assign room and bed
Set period.start to admission time
Set physicalType: "bed"

Patient Transfer

When moving patient between units:

Update current location to status: "completed"
Set period.end to transfer time
Create new EncounterLocation for destination
Set status: "active" with new period.start
Complete handoff documentation

Bed Reservation

When planning a transfer:

Create EncounterLocation with status: "planned"
Set anticipated period.start
Assign target room and bed
Update to active when patient arrives
Environmental services notified for preparation

Emergency Triage

In emergency department:

Create location for triage area
Update to treatment room when assigned
Track multiple moves within ED
Final location before admission or discharge
Use for ED throughput metrics

Capacity Dashboard

For bed management:

Query all active EncounterLocations
Calculate occupancy by department
Identify available beds
Track pending discharges
Project capacity needs

Related Entities

Entity	Relationship	Description
Encounter	Belongs to	Parent encounter
FacilityDepartment	References	Department/ward assignment
Period	Contains	Occupancy time period

Calculated Fields

Field	Type	Description
`isActive`	boolean	True when status is active and current time within period
`durationMinutes`	number	Time spent at this location

Enums

status

Value	Description
`planned`	Location assignment scheduled for future, patient not yet arrived
`active`	Patient is currently occupying this location
`reserved`	Location held for patient but not yet occupied
`completed`	Patient has departed this location

physicalType

Value	Description
`building`	Entire building within a healthcare campus
`ward`	Nursing unit or ward within a facility
`area`	Designated area or section within a unit
`room`	Individual patient room
`bed`	Specific bed within a room

9 properties

Schema

Properties

Property	Type	Mode	Description	Required
encounter	Encounter	stored	Reference to the healthcare encounter this location assignment relates to	Required
location	FacilityDepartment	stored	The department, ward, or organizational unit where the patient is located during this portion of the encounter	Required
status	string	stored	Current state of the location assignment indicating whether it is planned, actively in use, reserved for future use, or completed Values: `planned, active, reserved, completed` Example: `"active"`	Required
period	Period	stored	Time period during which the patient occupied this location - start marks arrival, end marks departure or transfer to another location Example: `{"@type":"Period","start":"2024-11-30T14:30:00Z","end":"2024-11-30T18:45:00Z"}`	Optional
room	string	stored	Specific room identifier within the department or ward where the patient is located Example: `"ER-102"`	Optional
bed	string	stored	Specific bed identifier or designation within the room for precise patient positioning and assignment tracking Example: `"Bed A"`	Optional
physicalType	string	stored	Type of physical location categorizing the spatial unit for facility planning and resource allocation purposes Values: `room, bed, ward, area, building` Example: `"bed"`	Optional
isActive	boolean	calculated	Whether the patient is currently at this location - true when status is active and period includes current date/time, indicating ongoing occupancy	Optional
durationMinutes	number	calculated	Total time in minutes the patient spent or is spending at this location, calculated from the period start and end times	Optional

Examples

Example 1

{
  "@type": "EncounterLocation",
  "encounter": {
    "@type": "Encounter",
    "identifier": [
      {
        "@type": "ClinicalIdentifier",
        "value": "ER-2024-567890"
      }
    ],
    "status": "in-progress",
    "class": "emergency"
  },
  "location": {
    "@type": "FacilityDepartment",
    "facility": {
      "@type": "Facility",
      "name": "City General Hospital"
    },
    "type": {
      "@type": "HealthReferenceDepartmentType",
      "code": "ER",
      "label": "Emergency",
      "category": "emergency"
    },
    "name": "Emergency Department",
    "location": "Building B, Ground Floor",
    "status": "active"
  },
  "status": "completed",
  "period": {
    "@type": "Period",
    "start": "2024-11-30T14:30:00Z",
    "end": "2024-11-30T16:15:00Z"
  },
  "room": "ER-102",
  "bed": "Bed 3",
  "physicalType": "bed"
}

Example 2

{
  "@type": "EncounterLocation",
  "encounter": {
    "@type": "Encounter",
    "identifier": [
      {
        "@type": "ClinicalIdentifier",
        "value": "IP-2024-987654"
      }
    ],
    "status": "in-progress",
    "class": "inpatient"
  },
  "location": {
    "@type": "FacilityDepartment",
    "facility": {
      "@type": "Facility",
      "name": "City General Hospital"
    },
    "type": {
      "@type": "HealthReferenceDepartmentType",
      "code": "ICU",
      "label": "Intensive Care Unit",
      "category": "critical-care"
    },
    "name": "Medical ICU",
    "location": "Building A, Floor 4",
    "status": "active"
  },
  "status": "active",
  "period": {
    "@type": "Period",
    "start": "2024-11-30T16:30:00Z"
  },
  "room": "ICU-405",
  "bed": "Bed 2",
  "physicalType": "bed"
}

Example 3

{
  "@type": "EncounterLocation",
  "encounter": {
    "@type": "Encounter",
    "identifier": [
      {
        "@type": "ClinicalIdentifier",
        "value": "IP-2024-987654"
      }
    ],
    "status": "in-progress",
    "class": "inpatient"
  },
  "location": {
    "@type": "FacilityDepartment",
    "facility": {
      "@type": "Facility",
      "name": "City General Hospital"
    },
    "type": {
      "@type": "HealthReferenceDepartmentType",
      "code": "MED",
      "label": "Medical Ward",
      "category": "inpatient"
    },
    "name": "General Medical Ward",
    "location": "Building A, Floor 2",
    "status": "active"
  },
  "status": "planned",
  "period": {
    "@type": "Period",
    "start": "2024-12-02T10:00:00Z"
  },
  "room": "W2-215",
  "bed": "Bed A",
  "physicalType": "bed"
}