ERD

Outpatient clinic scheduling database

This outpatient clinic scheduling ER diagram centers the appointment as the record that joins a patient, provider, and physical location. It then treats an encounter as a separate, optional record for the completed visit. That distinction supports common operational states such as booked, cancelled, no-show, checked in, and completed.

UPDATED 2026-09-23
TYPEErd
USE-CASEHealthcare
EXAMPLEOutpatient clinic scheduling database
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CASE ANALYSIS

Scenario

A clinic needs a normalized core schema for booking visits and recording whether scheduled visits became encounters.

Key decisions

  • Medical record number is unique on Patient.
  • Provider NPI is unique for provider identification.
  • Appointment links patient, provider, and location.
  • Encounter is optional per appointment because cancellations may not create a visit.
  • Appointment status preserves scheduling state.

When to reuse this

This core model suits ambulatory scheduling and can be expanded with insurance, referrals, clinical notes, and billing. Protected health information requires appropriate security controls.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why separate Appointment and Encounter?01
An appointment can be cancelled or missed, while an encounter records an actual clinical interaction.
Can an appointment have more than one encounter?02
This model assumes one optional encounter; complex workflows can add a visit or encounter-part table.
What is an NPI?03
It is a U.S. National Provider Identifier used to identify healthcare providers.
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