In this step-by-step guide, patients can view information about their stay and what to expect. They can see completed and upcoming steps such as nurse and doctor assessments, medication timing, meal order cut-off times, and diagnostic tests. Inability to predict what will happen next, and a lack of control over what happens, can cause stress. The guide helps patients see what is coming and brings some sense of control over what will happen during their hospital stay.

The daily summary and plan for an inpatient stay

Today's Care Timeline displays completed, in-progress, and upcoming labs and imaging. Selecting one of these results takes the patient to the Your Labs & Imaging page.

Patients can order a meal by clicking a meal request link in the step-by-step guide. The link takes them to the meal order service request (see Service Requests). This reduces the need for staff members to collect meal orders from patients.

The meal order form

How is the daily summary generated?

Vital generates the summary automatically from the last 24 hours of the patient's care team notes and test orders. A new summary is prepared after admission and again each morning. If there is not yet enough recent information, Vital keeps checking through the day, and the app displays the most recent summary in the meantime.

Summaries can sometimes oversimplify, so patients should ask the care team for the most accurate information.