Windows companion: docking, audio setup, practice and call capture
A floating companion designed to dock away from Save buttons, stay out of keyboard focus, ask before listening, and let staff practice outside any chart.
Companion
Beside the chart, never in its way.
Coordination work is spread across the EMR, the portal, the phone and memory. Switching between windows and open browser tabs is where chart context drifts and follow-up steps get dropped.
For your team
What changes for your team
The same work, with the source, the owner and the next step in view.
- Finding the patient
TodayEach tool asks you to look the patient up again.
With OvaFlowThe rail shows the patient, cycle and task that match the chart you have open.
- Screen space
TodayOverlays cover Save buttons and take keyboard focus mid-sentence.
With OvaFlowThe rail docks beside the chart, clear of Save, and stays out of keyboard focus.
- Closing the panel
TodayClosing a window can feel like finishing the task.
With OvaFlowDocking or closing leaves open work open. My work brings you back to it.
- Switching it off
TodayTurning a tool off means losing its list.
With OvaFlowStaff can switch the companion off and keep every task in the full workspace.
How it works
Companion, step by step
- 01
Sits beside the chart
A 384-pixel rail docks next to the EMR, away from Save and Sign controls, and stays out of keyboard focus while you type in the chart.
- 02
Expands on the same task
Opening the workspace keeps the same patient, cycle day and task in view, so nothing has to be searched for or copied again.
- 03
Minimizing doesn't finish anything
Closing or docking the companion leaves open work open under its named owner, and My work brings you right back to it.
- 04
Can be turned off
Staff can switch the companion off for shared-screen consultations without losing tasks; the full workspace stays available.
Statuses you’ll see
Safeguards in play
- Wrong-chart stopIf the open chart isn't the patient the work belongs to, placement stops and the draft is kept.
- Proposal is not signedA proposed change stays separate from the current signed instruction until the clinician approves it.
[ Anatomy of the companion ]
Read the screen the way a nurse does.
Five screens from the prototype walkthroughs. Each one points at the line that answers a question a nurse would otherwise have to go and ask.
01 / 05 · ContextThe patient and cycle stay attachedWhen an outside result arrives, the rail keeps Elena's cycle in view and records when the result was observed, so nobody has to find her again.Fictional patient dataArtisanModeled workflow example 
02 / 05 · OwnerOne named owner, and how they got itThe owner line says who is responsible and that they accepted. Saving a draft, the practitioner's approval and nursing completion each show their own evidence.Fictional patient dataArtisanModeled workflow example 
03 / 05 · SourcePatient-reported stays patient-reportedMaya's questionnaire says penicillin causes a rash. The companion shows it beside the existing chart entry, marked as not yet accepted, until staff review it.Fictional patient datanAbleIVFModeled workflow example 
04 / 05 · DestinationConfirm where the words goBefore a reviewed draft is placed, the companion names the application, the field and the record it will land in: here, the progress-note narrative in eIVF, still empty.Fictional patient dataeIVFModeled workflow example 
05 / 05 · VerificationPlaced is not savedThe text is in the note, but nAbleIVF itself still reads “Unsaved draft”. The companion says “Save not verified” until someone checks the saved record, and the draft stays available until then.Fictional patient datanAbleIVFModeled workflow example
Screens are prototype recordings beside modeled EMR screens, with fictional patient data.
Working beside the chart
Why switching between EMR tabs and coordination tools causes wrong-chart errors
During morning monitoring review, fertility nurses and coordinators move rapidly between ultrasound flowsheets, hormone results, portal messaging, and surgical scheduling. In randomized clinical trials using the Retract-and-Reorder measure, researchers showed that context switching across open charts and windows causes thousands of wrong-patient electronic orders each year—and that active patient verification right before action reduces wrong-patient events by roughly 40% [1].
Floating widgets that cover EMR Save or Sign buttons, or steal keyboard focus while a clinician is typing a dose, force staff to drag windows out of the way or disable the tool altogether [2]. OvaFlow’s Companion is a narrow rail that docks cleanly to the left or right of the EMR, never intercepts EMR keyboard shortcuts, verifies that the open chart matches the active task, and expands into the full workspace on the exact same patient and cycle day.
Side-by-side desktop layout · Clinic EMR and docked rail
Full EMR chart + docked edge railHow the narrow companion rail sits beside the open chart without stealing focus
Modeled clinic EMR windowActive keyboard focus stays here
Chart: Elena Rivera · Cycle Day 11 · Stimulation Flowsheet
Signed trigger order (version 3): Ovidrel 250 mcg SC at 20:00 PDT on Oct 30 (signed by Dr. Mira Lee at 17:10 PDT)
Monitoring values: Estradiol 2,840 pg/mL · Lead follicles 19 mm, 18 mm, 18 mm · Retrieval Nov 1 at 07:00 PST
EMR Save button unobstructedEMR Sign button unobstructedZero overlay on chart fields
Docked companion railLeft or right edge
Matched to open chart: Elena Rivera
- Current owner: Nora Ruiz, RN (4 linked version 3 tasks in view)
- Two-identifier check: Halts placement if the EMR tab switches to Jordan Patel’s chart
- Clean consult toggle: Can be turned off for shared-screen visits without closing any task
Step-by-step walkthrough
How Nora Ruiz, RN keeps Elena Rivera’s note safe when Jordan Patel’s chart opens
- Ready for review in the EMRStages Elena’s Day 11 draft
While viewing Elena Rivera’s Cycle Day 11 monitoring flowsheet in the EMR, Nora Ruiz, RN prepares the evening instruction draft in the docked companion rail. Keyboard focus stays inside the EMR flowsheet.
- Wrong-chart stop activeJordan Patel’s chart is open
A colleague asks a quick question about Jordan Patel, and Nora switches the EMR tab to Jordan Patel’s chart. Because the open EMR chart (Jordan Patel) no longer matches the prepared draft’s owner (Elena Rivera), the companion immediately halts placement and holds Elena’s draft.
- Ready for review in the EMROpens workspace on Elena Rivera
Nora switches the EMR back to Elena Rivera’s chart and clicks Expand. The companion rail opens into the full desktop workspace with Elena’s version 3 amendment, four linked tasks, and draft already in view—with no re-searching.
- Lost sight of the EMR · 17:08 PDTMinimizing never closes work
When the EMR browser window reloads at 17:08 PDT, the rail displays “Observation interrupted · last verified 17:08 PDT” and keeps all open tasks in My work until the chart is observed again.
System boundaries
What OvaFlow handles and what stays with your EMR and clinical team
Clear operational boundaries keep clinical authority, prescribing, and laboratory witnessing inside your clinic’s own systems. See AI & clinical boundaries for full governance rules.
What OvaFlow does here
- Docks as a narrow rail on the left or right edge without covering EMR Save, Sign, or navigation bars.
- Preserves active keyboard focus inside the EMR so typing and keyboard shortcuts work normally.
- Checks that the patient and episode open in the EMR match the task currently selected in the rail.
- Expands into the full workspace on the exact same patient, task, and scroll position, and turns off cleanly for shared-screen visits.
What OvaFlow never does
- Never auto-submits, auto-signs, or clicks Save inside the EMR on a user’s behalf.
- Never treats minimizing or closing the companion rail as completing or dismissing an open task.
- Never injects text into an EMR window when the patient identity or target field has changed.
- Never traps focus or blocks access to underlying EMR screens.
Questions & primary sources
Answers for clinicians, practice leaders, and patients
Will the companion rail cover my EMR’s Save button or steal my cursor while I am typing a note?Clinicians & coordinators
No. The companion rail docks outside the EMR’s primary action zone, can be flipped left or right with one click, and leaves keyboard focus in your EMR window until you intentionally click or tab into the companion.
What happens if a physician wants a clean screen while reviewing ultrasound images with a patient in the consult room?Practice leaders & owners
Any user can toggle the companion off in one step during a consultation. Turning the rail off hides the sidecar without closing or dropping any open tasks, which remain in My work and the full workspace.
How does a side-by-side rail help protect my chart during busy morning clinic hours?Patients & families
When nurses have dozens of charts open during morning monitoring, the companion continuously checks that the note or instruction being prepared belongs to the exact person whose chart is open on screen.
Primary clinical & safety references (2 sources)View citations
- Adelman JS, Kalkut GE, Schechter CB, et al. (2013). Understanding and preventing wrong-patient electronic orders: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 20(2):305-310. — Validated the Retract-and-Reorder measure of self-caught wrong-patient electronic orders caused by multi-tab switching and showed active ID checks reduced wrong-patient orders by ~40%.
- Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) (2025). SAFER Guide: Computerized Provider Order Entry with Decision Support. HealthIT.gov Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience. — Details interface safety practices to keep patient identification visible and prevent overlay or workflow disruption during clinical order entry.
See it
Walkthroughs that show it
Recorded from an interactive design prototype. Every patient, clinician and clinic is fictional, and EMR screens are modeled reconstructions.
Prototype walkthrough · Fictional patient data
Artisan: portal distribution, lab change order, read vs accept
Saving a trigger doesn't tell the patient or the lab. Portal distribution, the lab change order and a message that was read but not accepted are each tracked separately.
Executive overview: three modeled EMRs, the design map and research
Four fictional patient examples across three modeled EMRs, a map of 300+ designed product states, and the research behind each boundary.
Next step
Put the companion beside your EMR.
We'll open the modeled workspace next to an EMR screen and walk one of your shifts through it. Fictional records only; please don't send patient data.