Specialties
Specialty modules turn the shared outpatient chart into a specialist clinic. Each one is an optional add-on that depends on the core and the consultation engine, then layers its own forms, scoring tools, procedure records and registers onto the same patient. A cardiology cath record, an obstetric partograph and a lab result all hang off one patient chart — install a specialty only where you run that clinic, and the rest of the hospital is unaffected.
How specialty modules work
Every specialty module is built the same way: it adds specialty-specific models that reference the shared patient and visit records, and it depends on HMS Core and the consultation engine (and, where it orders tests, on the laboratory). Because the patient is shared, a specialist never re-registers anyone — they open the existing chart and add their specialty work to it. Diagnoses, prescriptions and orders made inside a specialty flow back through the normal pharmacy, lab and billing rails.
Specialty menus appear in one of three places depending on the module:
- Under the shared outpatient chart — some specialty registers attach directly to the consultation area at Outpatient → Specialty (for example Antenatal Register, Delivery Records, Dental Charts, Pediatric Growth, Immunizations).
- Under HMS Core → Clinical — several clinics nest here, such as HMS Core → Clinical → Eye Clinic, → Dental, → Dermatology, → Physiotherapy, → Paediatrics and the obstetrics registers (Pregnancies, ANC Visits, Deliveries, Partograph).
- As their own top-level app — the larger and surgical specialties get a dedicated menu, e.g. Gastroenterology, Urology, Pulmonology, Neurosurgery and the surgery modules.
Tip — Whichever menu it lives under, the work still posts to the one patient chart. Use the Chart Desktop to see every specialty’s contributions to a patient in one place.
Where each specialty’s menu lives
The three placement patterns above map to specific clinics. Use this table to know where to look after installing a given specialty.
| Placement | Specialties that nest here | What you see there |
|---|---|---|
| Under HMS Core → Clinical | Eye Clinic, Dental, Dermatology, Physiotherapy, Paediatrics, Obstetrics registers | Clinic-specific registers and configuration grouped under the shared Clinical menu. |
| Under Outpatient → Specialty | Antenatal Register, Delivery Records, Dental Charts, Pediatric Growth, Immunizations | Specialty registers attached directly to the consultation area. |
| Own top-level app | Gastroenterology, Urology, Pulmonology, Neurosurgery, ENT, Mental Health, Geriatrics, Pain Management, Palliative Care, Sleep Medicine, Sports Medicine, Allergy / Immunology, Fertility / ART, Hyperbaric, and the surgical specialties (Cardiothoracic, Plastic, Vascular) | A dedicated app-drawer tile opening that specialty’s own menu. |
The specialty modules
The following clinical specialties are available as add-ons. The menu label is the name you will see in the app drawer or, where noted, the parent menu it nests under.
| Specialty | Menu label / location | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | Cardiology | ACS pathways, cath-lab records, anticoagulation monitoring and cardiac work-ups. |
| Oncology | Oncology | Cancer case management, staging and treatment tracking. |
| Dialysis | Dialysis (with access tracked under Urology) | Renal replacement sessions and dialysis-access management. |
| Obstetrics | HMS Core → Clinical (Pregnancies, ANC Visits, Deliveries, Partograph, Postnatal, PMTCT) | Antenatal-to-postnatal care, live-labour partograph and PMTCT cascade. |
| Paediatrics | HMS Core → Clinical → Paediatrics | Growth tracking and paediatric clinical records. |
| Ophthalmology | HMS Core → Clinical → Eye Clinic | Examinations, refractions, IOL calculations, cataract and glaucoma follow-up, OCT and visual fields. |
| ENT | ENT Clinic | Ear, nose and throat clinical records. |
| Dermatology | HMS Core → Clinical → Dermatology | Skin assessments and biopsy tracking. |
| Dental | HMS Core → Clinical → Dental (and Outpatient → Specialty → Dental Charts) | Dental charting and paediatric dental visits. |
| Mental Health | Mental Health | Psychiatric assessments and mental-health case management. |
| Physiotherapy | HMS Core → Clinical → Physiotherapy | Functional assessments and therapy plans. |
| Pulmonology | Pulmonology | Respiratory assessments and pulmonary work-ups. |
| Gastroenterology | Gastroenterology | Endoscopy, colonoscopy, ERCP/EUS, IBD and liver assessments, scope inventory and cleaning logs. |
| Urology | Urology | Cystoscopy, TURP/TURBT, stone cases, PSA tracking, urodynamics and transplant/dialysis access. |
| Neurosurgery | Neurosurgery | Neurosurgical case management. |
| Cardiothoracic Surgery | Cardiothoracic Surgery | Cardiothoracic surgical records. |
| Plastic Surgery | Plastic Surgery | Plastic and reconstructive surgical records. |
| Vascular Surgery | Vascular Surgery | Vascular surgical records. |
| Geriatrics | Geriatrics | Care of older adults. |
| Pain Management | Pain Management | Pain assessment and management plans. |
| Palliative Care | Palliative Care | Palliative case management. |
| Sleep Medicine | Sleep Medicine | Sleep studies and sleep-disorder management. |
| Sports Medicine | Sports Medicine | Sports-injury assessment and rehabilitation. |
| Allergy / Immunology | Allergy / Immunology | Allergy and immunology assessments. |
| Clinical Genetics | Clinical Genetics | Genetic assessment and counselling records. |
| Fertility / ART | Fertility / ART | Reproductive endocrinology and assisted-reproduction cycles. |
| Hyperbaric | Hyperbaric | Hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions. |
| Research / IRB | Research / IRB | Research studies and institutional review board records. |
Note — This is the set of clinical specialty modules. The exact menu labels above come from the live menu tree; a few specialties nest under HMS Core → Clinical or Outpatient → Specialty rather than getting their own top-level tile.
How to enable a specialty
- Make sure the prerequisites are installed first: HMS Core, the consultation engine that provides the shared chart, and — for specialties that order tests — the Laboratory. See Getting started → Installation.
- Install the specialty module you need. On install it adds its menus in the location shown above and creates its specialty models against the existing patient chart — no patient data is migrated or duplicated.
- Configure the specialty’s master data. Most specialties carry a Configuration submenu for the look-up lists they need — for example, the Eye Clinic has Complications, History Conditions and an IOL Catalog; obstetrics has Complications and Risk Factors. Populate these before clinical use.
- Grant access to the specialist clinicians who staff that clinic, so the new menus appear for them.
- Open an existing patient from the Chart Desktop or from the specialty menu and create the first specialty record to confirm it posts back to the shared chart.
Tip — Install only the specialties you actually run. Each is independent, so a hospital can start with, say, Obstetrics and Eye Clinic and add Cardiology later without touching anything else.
Prerequisites by specialty type
Every specialty needs the core and the consultation engine; some need more depending on what they do. Confirm the prerequisite layer is installed before adding the specialty.
| Specialty needs to… | Prerequisite modules | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Record against the shared chart (all specialties) | HMS Core + consultation engine | Every specialty module. |
| Order and read diagnostic tests | Above + Laboratory | Cardiology, Oncology, Urology, Gastroenterology. |
| Prescribe and dispense | Above + Pharmacy | Oncology, Mental Health, Pain Management. |
| Bill the specialty work | Above + Billing | Procedure-heavy clinics (Eye Clinic, Dental, the surgical specialties). |
Common fields across specialties
Although each specialty has its own forms, they share a common spine so they all attach to the same chart:
| Field | Meaning | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Patient | The shared patient this specialty record belongs to — the link that keeps all specialties on one chart. | Yes |
| Visit | The encounter the specialty work was done in, where the specialty records to a specific visit. | Usually |
| Facility | The facility, carried through from the patient so multi-site reporting works. | Derived |
Tips & troubleshooting
Warning — If a specialty menu does not appear after install, the clinician’s account is missing the access for that module — grant it rather than reinstalling.
Tip — Empty drop-downs on a new specialty form usually mean its Configuration look-up lists have not been populated yet.
Related
- BridgeERP HMS Suite — the suite overview and module map.
- Outpatient — the consultation engine specialties build on.
- Chart Desktop — the shared chart where all specialties converge.
- Getting started → Installation — installing prerequisites first.
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