What Is a Workflow?
A workflow is a named, ordered sequence of tasks and steps that an appointment moves through. Each step represents a discrete action or station in your clinic’s process — for example: Reception, Vitals, Doctor Consult, Lab, Billing. Prvaha’s workflow engine is built around two levels:- Tasks — top-level groupings within a workflow (e.g., “Pre-Consult”, “Consult”, “Post-Consult”)
- Steps — individual actions within each task (e.g., “Record vitals”, “Doctor review”, “Issue prescription”)
- Fields — structured data inputs (text, numbers, dates, drug selections, diagnosis entries, lab investigation inputs, vitals, and more)
- Documents — file attachments relevant to that step
- Permissions — control over which roles can view, complete, or overview each step
- Completion actions — what happens when the step is marked done (e.g., move to next step, trigger a notification)
| Workflow Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
in_progress | The appointment is actively moving through workflow steps |
completed | All steps are done and the workflow is closed |
cancelled | The workflow was stopped before completion |
archived | The workflow record is retained but no longer active |
| Step Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
pending | The step has not started yet |
completed | The step was finished successfully |
skipped | The step was intentionally bypassed |
approved | The step output was reviewed and approved |
rejected | The step output was reviewed and sent back |
cancelled | The step was cancelled |
Default vs. Custom Workflows
Prvaha provides a default workflow that covers the standard appointment flow for most clinics. You can use this out of the box without any configuration. When your clinic’s process differs — for example, a dermatology appointment requires a photo documentation step, or a physiotherapy session has multiple treatment stages — create a custom workflow tailored to that use case. You can maintain as many active workflows as your clinic needs and assign the right one at the time of booking. Workflow configurations go through a lifecycle of their own:| Config Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
draft | Being built; not yet available for use on appointments |
active | Available for selection when creating appointments |
archived | No longer in use; retained for historical records |
Creating a Workflow
Name your workflow
Give the workflow a clear, descriptive name — for example,
General OPD, Physiotherapy Session, or Lab Visit. Add an optional description to help staff understand when to use it.Add tasks
Organise your workflow into task groups. Click Add Task and give each task a name (e.g.,
Pre-Consult, Consult, Billing). Tasks appear in order and help staff navigate large workflows.Add steps to each task
Within each task, click Add Step. For each step:
- Give it a name (e.g.,
Record Vitals,Doctor Consultation,Issue Invoice) - Add the fields the responsible staff member needs to fill in
- Set permissions (which roles are responsible for this step, which can view it)
- Configure any documents required at this step
Set the workflow to Active
When your workflow is ready, change its status from
Draft to Active. Only active workflows appear in the appointment booking form.Applying Workflows to Appointments
When creating or editing an appointment, select the workflow to use from the Workflow field in the appointment form. The appointment then follows that workflow’s exact sequence of tasks and steps. Once an appointment has an active workflow:- Each staff member sees the steps assigned to their role when they open the appointment.
- Steps can be completed, skipped, approved, or rejected using the action buttons on each step.
- The workflow’s overall status updates automatically as steps are completed.
- The doctor, receptionist, and admin can each see the current position in the workflow at a glance.
You can reassign workflow steps to specific staff members. Use the Assigned To field on each step to route a step to a particular doctor, nurse, or lab technician.
Appointment Transitions
Appointment transitions let you configure automated actions that fire when an appointment’s status changes. Set these up under Dashboard → Preferences → Appointment Transitions. Examples of what you can automate:| Trigger (Status Change) | Example Automated Action |
|---|---|
Appointment moves to CONFIRMED | Send a confirmation email or WhatsApp message to the patient |
Appointment moves to BOOKED | Send a booking acknowledgement notification |
Appointment moves to READY_FOR_BILLING | Notify the billing desk that an invoice is due |
Appointment is CANCELLED | Send a cancellation notice to the patient |
Transitions work alongside workflows but are independent of them. A transition fires on a status change regardless of which workflow the appointment is using.
Workflow Step Actions
Staff interact with workflow steps using the following actions:| Action | Who performs it | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Complete | Responsible staff member | Marks the step as completed and advances to the next step |
| Skip | Responsible staff member or Admin | Marks the step as skipped — the workflow moves forward without the step being filled in |
| Approve | Reviewer (e.g., senior doctor) | Marks a completed step as approved |
| Reject | Reviewer | Sends a completed step back for revision, marking it rejected |
| Undo | Admin or responsible staff | Reverts a completed step back to pending so it can be re-done |
AI-Sourced Workflow Data
Prvaha supports AI-assisted data entry within workflow steps. Certain fields can be populated automatically from AI transcription output — for example, diagnoses or clinical notes detected in the consultation transcript. These AI-sourced entries are flagged in the step as coming from theai source and are marked as editable, so the responsible clinician always reviews and confirms them before the step is completed.