Checking Patients In and Out

Every patient visit follows a flow: arrival, treatment, and departure. viggoVet tracks this flow through patient states that you control from the Calendar, the Status Board, and the Treatment Plan page. This guide covers each step; from the moment a client walks in with their pet to the moment they leave.

Checking in a patient

When a client arrives at your clinic with their pet, you check the patient in from the Calendar.

1. Open the Calendar and find the patient’s appointment block.
2. Click the appointment block. A detail popup appears with the appointment information.
3. Click the In patient action link in the popup.

The patient is now checked in. They immediately appear on the Status Board with their In date recorded (e.g., “In 2026-04-04”). From this point, your whole team can see the patient is in the building.

Patient states

Once a patient is checked in, they move between states depending on what’s happening in the clinic. Each state corresponds to a Status Board tab.

Changing states from the Status Board

The Action Menu on the Status Board is the primary way to move patients between states.

1. Open the Status Board on your Dashboard.
2. Find the patient’s row.
3. Click the Actions icon (four-square grid) on the right side of the row.
4. The Action Menu modal opens.
5. Click the state button you want: Out Patient for a day consultation In patient for admission In Surgery for a procedure Check Out when the visit is complete

The patient’s row moves to the appropriate board tab immediately. If you click Check Out, the Out date is recorded and the patient leaves the board.

Changing states from the Treatment Plan page

Available in every plan.

When you are working on a patient’s Treatment Plan, you can change their state without going back to the Status Board.

1. Open the Treatment Plan tab under CLINICAL in the main side bar
2. At the top, next to the patient’s name and avatar, you will find the Appointment Status dropdown menu
3. Select the new state.

Assigning a room

You can assign or change a patient’s room in two places.

From the Status Board:

1. Find the patient’s row on the board.
2. Click the Room dropdown in the Room column.
3. Select the room from the list (e.g., “Isolation,” “Exam 1,” “Surgery Suite”).

The change takes effect immediately. The Room Board tab updates to show the patient in their new room.

From the Treatment Plan page:

1. Open the patient’s Treatment Plan page.
2. Click the Change Room button in the top-right area.
3. The Change Room modal opens with a Room dropdown.
4. Select the room (e.g., “Isolation”).
5. Click Save.

Assigning a provider

On the Status Board, each patient row has a Provider dropdown. Click it and select a different provider from the list. The patient is now reassigned. This is useful when shifts change or a specialist needs to take over a case.

The typical visit flow

Here is how a normal patient visit moves through the system:

1. Client arrives. Open the Calendar, click the appointment, click In patient. The patient appears on the Status Board.
2. Assign room and provider. On the Status Board, use the Room and Provider dropdowns to set where the patient is and who’s handling the case.
3. Consultation. The patient is in Out Patient state while the vet examines them.
4. Admission (if needed). If the patient needs to stay, open the Action Menu and click In patient to move them to admitted status.
5. Surgery (if needed). Open the Action Menu and click In Surgery before the procedure begins.
6. Recovery and discharge. When the patient is ready to leave, open the Action Menu and click Check Out. The Out date is recorded and the patient leaves the board.

What to do if something goes wrong

 You checked a patient in but they don’t appear on the Status Board. Make sure you clicked In patient in the appointment popup (not just opened the popup). Also check that you are looking at the correct board tab.

 You accidentally checked a patient out too early. Open the patient’s appointment on the Calendar and use the status actions to bring them back into an active state. You can also find them via their Treatment Plan if they still have an active plan.

 The patient shows on the wrong board tab. Open the Action Menu on their row and click the correct state button. State changes are instant and can be corrected at any time.

You cannot change the provider on the Status Board. Confirm you have permission to reassign patients. In some configurations, only admin or provider roles can change assignments.

The Room dropdown shows no options. Room options come from your clinic’s configuration. Ask your admin to add rooms in Settings > Configurations.

Note: Contact the viggoVet help if any of these problems persist after following the instructions.