> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Departments

> Build the department and sub-unit structure clinicians choose from before a consultation, and hang your consultation rates off it.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['clinic']} plans="Enterprise" roles="Owner, manager or accountant" note="Owner to add, edit or delete" />

The **Departments** tab holds the structure your clinicians pass through on their way into a consultation: departments, the sub-units inside them, and the consultation rates. The card calls it "Department Management".

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Settings', 'Departments settings', 'Departments']} />

<TaskHeader before="Owner access, and a list of the departments your hospital actually runs" time="15 minutes for a first pass" after="Clinicians can open a consultation list, and each consultation has a price" />

## What this tab controls

Three stacked cards. The second appears once you select a department row, the third once you select a sub-unit row.

| Control                                                     | What it does                                                                                          | Default              |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- |
| **Add Department**                                          | Opens **Add New Department**. Owner-only                                                              | —                    |
| **Department Name**                                         | The name clinicians see on the department screen. At least 2 characters                               | —                    |
| **Department Code (Optional)**                              | "A short code for quick reference", shown as a badge                                                  | Empty                |
| **Description (Optional)**                                  | Free text                                                                                             | Empty                |
| **Status**                                                  | **Active** or **Inactive**                                                                            | Active               |
| **Add Sub-Unit**                                            | Opens **Add New Sub-Unit** inside the selected department. Owner-only                                 | —                    |
| **Sub-Unit Name** · **Code** · **Description** · **Status** | The same four fields, one level down                                                                  | Status: Active       |
| **Add Rate**                                                | Opens **Add Consultation Rate** on the selected sub-unit. Owner-only                                  | —                    |
| **Consultation Name**                                       | What the charge is called, e.g. "Standard Consultation"                                               | —                    |
| **Consultation Type**                                       | **Initial Consultation**, **Follow-up**, **Extended Consultation**, **Emergency** or **Telemedicine** | Initial Consultation |
| **Price**                                                   | In your hospital's currency, taken from Billing settings                                              | 0                    |
| **Duration (minutes)**                                      | How long the appointment runs. Minimum 5                                                              | 30                   |
| **Validity Duration** + **Validity Unit**                   | How long the consultation stays valid — **Hour(s)**, **Day(s)**, **Week(s)** or **Month(s)**          | 1 Day                |
| **Active**                                                  | "Enable this rate for bookings"                                                                       | On                   |

**Consultation rates hang off the sub-unit, not the department.** That is the single most important thing on this page: a department with no sub-unit has nowhere to put a price. Every chargeable department needs at least one.

## Set it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add a department">
    Select **Add Department**, fill in **Department Name**, and add a code and description if you want them. Leave **Status** on **Active** and select **Add Department** in the dialog.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the department row">
    Select the row itself — not the menu. It highlights, and a **Sub-Units** card appears below it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add at least one sub-unit">
    Select **Add Sub-Unit** and name it, e.g. "Gastroenterology". Even a department with one clinic needs one, because that is where the rates live.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the sub-unit and add rates">
    Select the sub-unit row; a **Consultation Rates** card appears. Select **Add Rate**, name it, choose the **Consultation Type**, and set **Price**, **Duration (minutes)** and the validity. An initial and a follow-up is the common minimum.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Repeat for every department you run">
    The **Sub-Units** and **Rates** columns on the two tables let you check at a glance that nothing is left at 0.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Deleting cascades and cannot be undone. Deleting a department "will permanently delete the department and all its sub-units and consultation rates"; deleting a sub-unit takes its rates with it. If a department has simply closed, set its **Status** to **Inactive** instead — that keeps the record and its prices.
</Warning>

## What changes once you save

Departments are not decoration. They populate the mandatory **Select a Department** screen that a clinician meets *before* any consultation list appears — the screen invites them to "Choose the department you'd like to access for consultations."

| What you changed        | What you'll notice                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Added a department      | It appears as a card on the **Select a Department** screen, and [triage](/hospital/outpatient/triage) can route a patient into that department's queue.                                      |
| Added a second sub-unit | The clinician now picks the sub-unit too, on a second step. With exactly one sub-unit that step is skipped and they go straight through.                                                     |
| Either choice           | The department and sub-unit they chose become part of the address of the [consultation](/hospital/outpatient/consultation) list, so a bookmarked link reopens the same queue.                |
| Added a rate            | It becomes selectable when a consultation is charged, at the price, duration and validity you set. Switching a rate to inactive takes it off the list without deleting its history.          |
| No departments at all   | Clinicians cannot open a consultation list. They get **No Departments Found** — "Your clinic doesn't have any departments set up yet" — and a **Set Up Departments** button that lands here. |

Existing consultations are not re-priced or re-filed when you change a rate or rename a department.

## Check it worked

Open [Consultation](/hospital/outpatient/consultation) from the sidebar. You should land on **Select a Department**, with a card for each active department and its sub-units listed underneath as badges. Select one: with several sub-units you are asked to pick, and the queue that opens carries your choice in the address. Then start a consultation and confirm your rate is offered at the right price.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="There is no Add Department button">
    Adding, editing and deleting are owner-only. A manager or accountant reads the tables; the button and row menus are not drawn for them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Clinicians say they cannot start a consultation">
    Almost always no departments exist yet, so they are looking at **No Departments Found**. Add one department and one sub-unit and the screen changes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I added a department but there is nowhere to put a price">
    Rates belong to sub-units. Add a sub-unit, then select the sub-unit row — the **Consultation Rates** card only exists at that level.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The Sub-Units card never appears">
    Select the department **row**, not its actions menu. The row highlights when selected.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A rate is set up but nobody can choose it">
    Check the **Active** switch on the rate, and that the sub-unit and department are both **Active**. An inactive parent hides everything under it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Prices show in the wrong currency">
    The symbol comes from your hospital's currency in Billing settings, not from this tab. Change it there and these prices re-render; the numbers are not converted.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Setting up a hospital for the first time? [Create your departments](/hospital/get-started/departments) walks the same ground in build order.

<StillStuck topic="departments" />