How would you model patient encounters and visits in a Clarity-like schema?

How would you model patient encounters and visits in a Clarity-like schema?

• A. Encounters are not linked to patient
• B. PATIENT connected to VISIT/ENCOUNTER via patient_id; include encounter_type, start/end times, location/site, attending provider_id
• C. Encounters are stored in a separate, unrelated table
• D. Use a single wide table with all fields

Answer: (B)

In a Clarity-like schema, patient encounters are captured in a dedicated VISIT/ENCOUNTER table that is tied to the patient with a patient_id foreign key. This relationship lets you join patient data to every episode of care, preserving the link between the person and their visits. The best approach also records essential attributes of each encounter: encounter_type to distinguish kinds of visits, start and end times to define when the encounter occurred, location/site to know where care happened, and attending provider_id to identify who delivered the care. Together, these fields provide a complete, queryable picture of each encounter while keeping data normalized and easy to analyze by patient, time, location, or provider. Options that skip the patient linkage, keep encounters in an unrelated table, or collapse everything into one wide table fail to support reliable joins, flexible querying, and maintainability. The linked, attribute-rich VISIT/ENCOUNTER design is the standard way to model patient encounters.

In a Clarity-like schema, patient encounters are captured in a dedicated VISIT/ENCOUNTER table that is tied to the patient with a patient_id foreign key. This relationship lets you join patient data to every episode of care, preserving the link between the person and their visits.

The best approach also records essential attributes of each encounter: encounter_type to distinguish kinds of visits, start and end times to define when the encounter occurred, location/site to know where care happened, and attending provider_id to identify who delivered the care. Together, these fields provide a complete, queryable picture of each encounter while keeping data normalized and easy to analyze by patient, time, location, or provider.

Options that skip the patient linkage, keep encounters in an unrelated table, or collapse everything into one wide table fail to support reliable joins, flexible querying, and maintainability. The linked, attribute-rich VISIT/ENCOUNTER design is the standard way to model patient encounters.