Unity flags – are you paying attention?

December 24, 2020

Certain infectious diseases are highlighted in the Unity patient chart as a “Flag/Alert”

In Unity, the “Flag/Alert” is used to highlight that a patient has a particular problem (anything ongoing that affects health or care) that colleagues need to be aware of; such as infection risk, safeguarding issues and risk of aggression/violence.

When viewing a whiteboard type view (CareCompass, Discharge, Doctors Worklist, Whiteboard) the flag is shown as an orange flag, so long as you have a declared relationship with the patient.

You can see an example below:

Due to the sensitive nature of this information it is necessary to open the patient’s chart to get more information.

The presence of a flagged problem is indicated by the “**Flag/Alert**” in the demographic banner (see below)

For more information – simply click on the words “**Flag/Alert**”

This will then show all documented problems. Remember to pay particular attention to the “Classification” as this will highlight those problems that have been flagged.

As part of any clinical workflow, it’s essential to be aware of flagged problems. These should be viewed and reviewed regularly especially when:

• Reviewing a patient’s chart for the first time
• Handover
• Admission clerking
• Ward rounds / Post-take ward rounds
• Board rounds
• Discharge planning