Inpatient Baby Admission - hmislk/hmis GitHub Wiki

Inpatient — Baby Admission

Baby admission creates a child BHT linked to the mother's existing admission. It is used when a newborn needs to be formally admitted as a separate patient (with their own BHT, clinical record, and final bill) while remaining associated with the mother's admission episode.

Page: Inpatient Admission Profile → Admit Baby
XHTML: /inward/inward_admission_child.xhtml
Controller: AdmissionController.navigateToAddBabyAdmission()
Entry point: Button on the mother's Admission Profile Dashboard

When to Use

Use this flow when a newborn requires:

Their own BHT and billing record (e.g., NICU admission, paediatric specialist care)
Separate pharmacy dispensing (e.g., neonatal medications billed to the baby's account)
A distinct discharge date from the mother

For a routine delivery where the baby shares the mother's room and has no independent charges, a separate baby admission may not be necessary.

Relationship to the Mother's Admission

The baby's PatientEncounter record carries a parentEncounter reference pointing to the mother's BHT. This link:

Is visible on the mother's Admission Profile as a "Baby Admissions" panel
Allows staff to navigate between the mother's and baby's dashboards
Ties both admissions together in clinical reporting

Baby Admission Form Fields

The form is identical to the standard admission form with the following differences:

Field	Notes
Patient	Select or register the baby as a separate patient record
Admission Type	Usually a paediatric or neonatal type
BHT	Auto-generated per the selected admission type's sequence
Consultant	The paediatrician or neonatologist in charge
Medical Officer	Admitting officer
Room	Optional — leave blank to have the baby stay in the mother's room (the default for a routine delivery); select a room only when the baby needs one of their own (e.g. NICU)
Parent Admission	Pre-populated from the mother's BHT — links the records

Birth Time Capture

Note: Explicit birth time capture for the baby admission is a known pending improvement (Issue #19297). Currently, the admission date/time field serves as the proxy for birth time.

Submitting the Baby Admission

Click Admit. The controller calls AdmissionController.saveSelected(), which:

Validates all required fields
Creates the baby's PatientEncounter with parentEncounter set to the mother's BHT
Assigns a room only if one was selected; otherwise the baby's currentPatientRoom stays unset and the baby is understood to be staying in the mother's room
Redirects to the baby's Admission Profile Dashboard

The Inpatient Dashboard button on the form returns to the mother's profile without creating a baby admission.

Admit a Baby form, room field left blank

A room-less baby admission — "Room No" is marked optional and left blank; the baby stays in the mother's room.

Opening the Baby's Dashboard

The baby has its own Admission Profile Dashboard, reached the same way as any other BHT:

From the mother — the "Baby Admissions" panel on her Admission Profile lists every baby linked to her BHT; click one to open it. The baby's dashboard carries a Baby Admission — Mother: … tag at the top and a Mother's Inpatient Profile button to go back.
From Admissions Search — Inpatient → Search → Admissions, search the baby's BHT number, then click the bed icon in the Actions column.

The baby's dashboard: the "Baby Admission — Mother: …" tag names the mother's BHT, and Room Management correctly shows "Not admitted to any room".

A room-less baby reaches its dashboard by both routes regardless of how the option "Patient admission and room assignment are simultaneous processes." is set — the room-assignment step that other admissions are sent through first does not apply to a baby, because the baby stays in the mother's room. See Inpatient — Admissions Search.

NIC and Phone Number Are Not Required for a Baby

If your hospital has turned on "Patient NIC is Required in Patient Admission" or "Patient Phone Number is Required in Patient Admission" (Administration → Application Options) so that adult admissions must have these details, a baby admission is exempted from both — a newborn has no NIC of their own yet, and a phone number can be filled in later once staff use Copy Address & Phone to Baby with the mother's number, or filled in from the baby's own admission-profile edit page. Both checks still apply normally to non-baby admissions.

Printed baby admission confirmation with Room and Mobile No left blank

Baby admission confirmation: Room and Mobile No are both blank, and the admission still went through even with "Patient Phone Number is Required in Patient Admission" turned on.

Adding Services and Settling the Bill for a Room-less Baby

A baby admitted with no room of their own (the common case above) can still have services and investigations added and the bill settled normally from Inward Add Services, exactly like any other BHT — the billing department falls back to the baby's own admitting department instead of a room's when no room is assigned. (Prior to issue #23509, adding a service to a room-less baby admission incorrectly failed with "Please Set Room or Bed For This Patient".)

Service added to a room-less baby admission with no error

X RAY added to a room-less baby's BHT — no room-required error.

Settled bill for a room-less baby admission

The baby's bill settles normally, billed to the RADIOLOGY department resolved from the encounter rather than a room.

Inpatient — Admit a Patient — standard adult/paediatric admission flow
Inpatient Admission Profile (Dashboard) — the dashboard opened after admission
Inpatient — Admissions Search — finding the baby's BHT and opening its dashboard