# Glossary of terms

This glossary defines the terminology used throughout the Welkin Health platform and this documentation. Terms are listed alphabetically.

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## A

**All-Region Access** A configuration option for Users and API Clients that grants access to data across all regions within a tenant, rather than being scoped to a single region. Typically used for reporting, integrations, and administrative tooling.

**Assessment** A structured data collection tool – similar to a form or questionnaire – used to gather clinical or operational information about a patient. Assessments are built in the Admin configuration and can include scored questions, conditional logic, and question groups. See Assessments.

**Assessment Score** A numeric value calculated from one or more scored questions in an Assessment. Welkin supports multiple scoring formulas, including scaled averages with lambda (λ) multipliers. Scores can be used in Automations and reporting.

**Audit Log** A system record of actions taken within Welkin – who did what, and when. Audit Logs are accessible to Administrators and are used for compliance and investigation purposes.

**Automation** A rules-based workflow that triggers one or more actions when a defined condition is met. Triggers can be based on patient data changes, calendar events, form submissions, time-based rules, and more. Actions can include sending a message, creating a task, updating a field, or enrolling a patient in a program phase. See Automations.

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## C

**Care Portal** The primary web application used by care team members and administrators to manage patients, conduct encounters, communicate, and configure the platform.

**Care Program** See [Program](#p).

**Care Team** The group of users (Workers) assigned to care for a specific patient. Each Care Team member has a defined role that determines what they can see and do within the patient's record. See Care Team.

**Communication** Any message exchange between a care team member and a patient or external party through Welkin's messaging channels, including SMS, secure email (via HIN or Paubox), and in-app messaging.

**Condition** A logic rule used in Automations and Assessments to control behavior. For example, a condition might show a follow-up question only if a previous answer meets a certain threshold, or trigger an automation only if a patient's enrollment status matches a specific value.

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## D

**Data Form** A configurable form used to capture structured, reusable data about a patient outside of an Assessment context. Data Forms are used for things like intake information, social determinants of health, and operational data points. See Data Forms.

**Data Type** A category of structured information in Welkin used as a source or target in Automations and Data Forms. Examples include Patient, Encounter, Assessment, and custom-defined types.

**Document** A generated or uploaded file associated with a patient record. Documents can be created from templates using patient data variables, or uploaded as PDFs. See Documents.

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## E

**Encounter** A scheduled or completed interaction between a care team member and a patient – such as a care visit, phone call, or telehealth session. Encounters are managed through the Welkin Calendar and have statuses (e.g., Scheduled, Completed, Cancelled) that can be tracked and updated. See Calendar & Scheduling.

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## F

**Field** A single data input within an Assessment, Data Form, or patient profile. Fields have types (text, number, date, dropdown, boolean, etc.) and can be configured with validation rules, scoring, and conditional visibility.

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## H

**HIN (Health Information Network)** A secure messaging network integrated with Welkin for sending and receiving secure emails. Used as one of Welkin's secure email providers alongside Paubox.

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## I

**Inbox** The communications hub within the Care Portal where care team members manage incoming and outgoing messages across all channels. The Inbox supports search across phone numbers, emails, patient names, and message content. See Communications.

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## M

**Message Template** A reusable message with variable placeholders that is used in manual or automated communications. Variables (e.g., `{{PATIENT.firstName}}`, `{{ENCOUNTER.*.startDate}}`) are automatically populated with patient or encounter data when the message is sent. See Message Templates.

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## O

**Organization** Your company or healthcare entity as represented in Welkin. Each organization has one or more Tenants and Regions within the Welkin platform.

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## P

**Patient** The individual receiving care whose record is managed within Welkin. Also referred to as a "member" in some care model contexts. A patient record includes demographics, program enrollment, care team, encounters, assessments, communications, and documents.

**Paubox** A HIPAA-compliant secure email service integrated with Welkin. Used alongside HIN as a secure email provider for patient communications.

**Phase** A distinct stage within a Program. Programs are made up of one or more Phases through which patients progress. Each Phase can have its own configuration, tasks, and rules.

**Program** A structured care pathway or care plan that defines how a patient is managed over time. Programs consist of Phases and can include enrollment criteria, associated assessments, automations, and care team role requirements. See Programs and care phases.

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## Q

**Question Group** A logical grouping of questions within an Assessment that can be repeated multiple times during completion (e.g., capturing the same set of data points for multiple medications). Question Groups support drag-and-drop reordering, conditional logic, and scoring. See Question Groups.

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## R

**Region** A data jurisdiction within Welkin that determines where patient data is stored and processed. Organizations with patients in multiple geographies may operate across multiple regions. Users and API Clients can be scoped to one or more regions, or granted All-Region Access.

**Role** A named set of permissions assigned to a User within Welkin. Roles control which features, patients, and data a user can access and what actions they can take. Roles are defined by Administrators at the organization level. See [Inviting users and defining roles](/getting-started/inviting-users-and-roles.md).

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## S

**Scoring** A configuration option in Assessments that assigns numeric values to question responses, which are then aggregated into an Assessment Score. Welkin supports multiple scoring formulas including Scaled Average. Questions without a scoring configuration can be excluded automatically.

**Secure Email** Encrypted email communication sent through integrated providers (HIN or Paubox) that meets HIPAA requirements for protected health information (PHI). Secure email can be sent manually or triggered via Automations.

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## T

**Tenant** Your organization's isolated instance within the Welkin platform. All configuration, patient data, and user accounts within your tenant are separate from other organizations.

**Task** A to-do item assigned to a care team member within the context of a patient. Tasks can be created manually or automatically via Automations and are tracked on the patient record and in the care team member's work queue.

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## U

**User** Any person with a login to your Welkin tenant. Users are assigned one or more Roles that govern their access. Users who work directly with patients are sometimes referred to as **Workers**. Administrators have access to the Admin configuration area.

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## V

**Variable** A dynamic placeholder used in Message Templates and Documents that is replaced with actual patient or encounter data when rendered. Variables follow the format `{{OBJECT.field}}`, for example `{{PATIENT.firstName}}` or `{{ENCOUNTER.*.startDate}}`.

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## W

**Webhook** An HTTP callback that Welkin sends to an external URL when a specified event occurs within the platform (e.g., an Assessment is completed, a patient is enrolled in a program). Used to trigger actions in external systems in real time. See [Webhooks](https://github.com/welkincloud-io/welkin-docs/blob/master/developer-guide/webhooks/README.md).

**Worker** A User who provides direct care to patients. Workers are assigned to patient Care Teams in specific roles. The term "Worker" is used in Welkin's configuration to refer to care-providing users as distinct from administrators.


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