Advance Summary Visit

WHAT IS AFTER VISIT SUMMARY?

• An after visit summary (AVS) is a collection of a patient's health information and instructions that pertains to the current clinical encounter (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), 2014). It contains the patient's name and date of birth, recent vital sign, allergies, medication list, problem list, diagnosis, discharge/patient instructions and upcoming appointments (CMS, 2014).

BACKGROUND

• Meaningful Use is a government incentive program that encourages healthcare providers and hospitals to validate the use of electronic health records in a "meaningfully" way (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2017). Stage 1 of Meaningful Use requires providing patients with an after summary visit (AVS) at the end of their office visit (HealthIT.gov, 2014).

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The purpose of providing after visit summary (AVS) is to improve high quality patient care, effective communication between patients and healthcare providers and enhance patient satisfaction. (Federman et al., 2016).

HOW TO PRINT THE AFTER SUMMARY VISIT (AVS)

From the Navigation Tool Bar, click the "Print AVS" button. The EHR will automatically generate and print an AVS. Give the AVS to the patient at the end of the office visit with the patient instructions attached.