An appointment and a visit are related, but they are not the same thing in CoolFocus.
• An appointment is time on the schedule — someone is expected to come in.
• A visit is the care record for when the client is actually here and you Start Visit.
Appointment
• Lives on the Scheduler calendar (and List).
• Created by staff, online booking, walk-in setup, or a scheduling integration.
• Holds the service type, location, date/time, client, reminders, and pre-visit forms/consents.
• Can exist with no visit yet (no-show, cancelled, or still in the future).
Visit
• Created when staff choose Start Visit (Visit Board, appointment panel, or appointment workspace) while the client is present.
• One encounter on a specific day — charts, that day’s notes, tests, and visit documentation live here.
• Almost always hangs under a case (the longer story for one pregnancy or concern).
• Is what staff work in Care after check-in.
Rule of thumb: The calendar books the appointment. Starting care creates the visit.
1. An appointment is booked (or a walk-in appointment is created for today).
2. Forms and consents can be sent and completed before anyone starts a visit.
3. When the client is on site, staff Start Visit.
4. CoolFocus creates (or reuses) the visit, links it to the appointment and a case, and brings completed forms into the visit record.
You do not need to start a visit just to read submitted intake forms — you can open completed forms from the appointment. Starting the visit is what opens the day-of care record and applies form answers to case/visit fields as configured.
• A future appointment on the calendar
• A no-show or cancelled appointment with no Start Visit
• Reminder texts about an upcoming appointment (those attach to the appointment/messaging flow, not a visit chart)
A case is the umbrella over visits about the same ongoing concern (usually one pregnancy). Multiple visits can belong to one case. Cases are not appointments; they sit above visits. For the full booking → case → visit story, see the Related articles below.
• Appointments — Scheduler (Calendar, List, Reminders)
• Day-of handoff — Scheduler → Visit Board (appointment becomes an active visit when you Start Visit)
• Visit documentation — Care visit Workspace (charts, forms on the visit, files)
The staff entry flow saves real records as you continue: Client demographics, Case, then Visit. It does not create a separate intake holding record. Creating a client starts with demographics; creating a case lets you choose the client and ends on the new case. Starting a visit for a client with no case can open the case step first, when your permissions allow case creation. When a client already has cases, choose the case for this concern or create a new one.
The current screen headings are Create Client and Create Case. Use Save and continue to save the current step. Leaving the flow does not undo earlier saved records; unsaved answers on the current step still need saving.
Client forms and consents are the paperwork clients fill in through a link or portal. They can be sent and reviewed independently of this staff entry flow.
• The Visit Board
• From Booking to Visit: How Records Flow
• Visits Overview
• Appointments
