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Use Cases Task Assignment

Overview

Task assignment enables coordinated follow-through after an appointment has been scheduled. While scheduling determines when and where care occurs, task assignment determines who is responsible for ensuring the patient is prepared and able to attend.

This use case focuses on assigning ownership of post-scheduling tasks to patients, caregivers, or care team members to support appointment success.

Actors and context

Primary actors

  • Patient
  • Caregiver

Supporting systems

  • Patient-facing application
  • Care coordination platform
  • Scheduling system

Task assignment typically occurs after an appointment is booked and may continue through the appointment date and beyond.

Preconditions

  • A future appointment exists
  • One or more caregivers may be involved
  • The patient or caregivers can accept task assignments
  • Consent exists to share and assign responsibilities

User intent

  • Assign responsibility for appointment-related tasks
  • Clearly identify who owns each task
  • Track progress and completion
  • Reassign tasks when needed

From a patient-facing application, task assignment enables shared responsibility across caregivers while maintaining clarity and accountability.

Tasks as the coordination mechanism

This IG models appointment-related responsibilities using Task resources.

Each task represents a discrete unit of work required to support a scheduled appointment and is explicitly assigned to an owner.

Tasks are linked to an appointment but are managed independently of the appointment lifecycle.

FHIR resources involved

Appointment

The appointment provides the context for task assignment, including:

  • Date and time
  • Location
  • Patient

Tasks reference the appointment they support but do not modify it.

Task (Assigned work)

Tasks represent appointment-related responsibilities.

Key semantics

  • Each task has a single owner
  • Multiple tasks may be associated with a single appointment
  • Tasks progress independently

Key elements

  • Task.focus → Appointment
  • Task.for → Patient
  • Task.owner → Patient, RelatedPerson, or Practitioner
  • Task.code → type of task
  • Task.status → requested accepted in-progress completed cancelled

RelatedPerson (Caregivers)

Caregivers responsible for tasks are represented using RelatedPerson.

RelatedPerson resources enable:

  • Explicit caregiver identity
  • Relationship to the patient
  • Assignment and reassignment of tasks

ServiceRequest (Optional)

When a task represents fulfillment of a service (e.g., transportation, home services, referrals), a ServiceRequest may be used to represent the intent, with the Task representing execution.

This pattern enables consistency across workflows that involve external services.

Examples of tasks that may be assigned after scheduling include:

  • Coordinate transportation
  • Upload insurance documentation
  • Complete intake or consent forms
  • Manage appointment payments or copays
  • Confirm appointment attendance
  • Accompany patient to the appointment

These tasks may be generated automatically or created manually.

Task ownership and reassignment

Tasks are explicitly owned by a single individual at any given time.

  • Ownership is expressed via Task.owner
  • Tasks may be reassigned if the original owner is unavailable
  • Task history may be preserved for audit and coordination

This approach avoids assigning ownership at the appointment level and supports flexible, shared caregiving models.

Task lifecycle

A typical task lifecycle may include:

  1. Task created (requested)
  2. Task accepted by owner
  3. Task in progress
  4. Task completed or cancelled

The IG does not prescribe a rigid workflow but recommends using Task status to reflect progress.

Automation and AI-assisted coordination

Task assignment provides a foundation for automation and AI-assisted care coordination.

Examples include:

  • Automatically generating tasks after appointment booking
  • Suggesting task owners based on caregiver roles or availability
  • Voice-based task confirmation or updates

All automated actions should result in explicit Task creation or updates and remain visible to patients and caregivers.

Task assignment may involve sharing sensitive appointment details and responsibilities.

Implementations should ensure:

  • Appropriate consent for caregiver involvement
  • Clear visibility into assigned responsibilities
  • Minimum necessary disclosure of patient information

Summary

Task assignment enables effective coordination after appointment scheduling by explicitly assigning responsibility for appointment-related activities.

By modeling responsibilities as Task resources linked to appointments, this IG supports flexible caregiving models, clear ownership, and extensible automation without overloading the Appointment resource.