Welcome to the enhanced Patient Case workflow! We built this feature to help you close the loop on clinical Patient Cases, make it easy to collaborate with peers, get real-world input, and share how clinical scenarios are resolved. By documenting outcomes and insights, you help turn individual cases into valuable learning opportunities for the broader community.
Whether you’re looking for a second opinion or following up with how a case was solved, this guide walks you through how to create, manage, and close out Patient Cases—so you can get the most out of every discussion.
Who can use this feature?
All members across all groups can use the Patient Case features:
- Physicians
- Advanced Practice Providers (APPs)
- Pharmacy
- Nurses
Understanding case labels
When you browse your feed, you will see clear labels located right above the post titles. These labels help you instantly understand the status of a patient case:
- UNSOLVED CASE: The author seeks a second opinion. A solution has not yet been found.
- SOLVED CASE: A solution was found for the patient case, and the author shared the outcome.
- CASE STUDY: The author shared this case purely for educational purposes. No second opinion is needed.
Creating a new patient case
When you open the post creator to share a patient case, clear instructions will guide you to choose the right format. You can select between two distinct options:
- Ask for help: Get real-time advice from your peers on an unsolved case.
- Share a solved case: Teach others by sharing a challenging case you already solved.
How to mark your case as solved
If you posted an unsolved case and later found the answer, the community will want to know what happened! The "Mark as Solved" banner at the top of your unsolved cases guides you to easily update your peers.
To complete the solve flow, follow these steps:
- Click the Mark as Solved banner on your original case post.
- Indicate how you solved the case. You select whether you solved it via the Sermo community or independently.
- If community input helped solve the case, select the specific polls and/or comments that led to your solution. Give your peers the credit they deserve!
- Write a brief explanation summarizing the outcome (this step is optional, but highly encouraged).
Viewing solved cases and solutions
It's incredibly simple to read complete clinical narratives, from the initial problem to the final solution.
- See Solution Button: Next to the SOLVED CASE label, click the See solution link. This takes you directly to the resolution.
- Dedicated solution section: Solved cases feature clear visual separation. The original case sits at the top, and the solution sits at the bottom. The solution section highlights the selected poll results, helpful comments, and the written summary.
Notifications and Reminders
To help keep the community active and engaged, we incorporated helpful notifications around patient cases.
- For Case Creators: You will receive gentle nudges to return to your unsolved cases and mark them as solved once you have an answer.
- For Contributors: If you offer advice on a case, you might receive a notification saying, “You helped solve this case” or “Your comment was selected.”
Why use the solved flow?
Using this workflow offers great benefits for everyone involved.
- For Case Creators: You can easily close the loop on your cases, gain recognition for contributing meaningful follow-ups, and improve your professional credibility.
- For the Community: No one likes being left in suspense! This flow removes the "what happened?" uncertainty. You get access to complete clinical narratives, increased educational value in every post, and the chance to be recognized for helping a peer solve a tough case.