Workflows in Subflow

Last updated About 1 month ago

A workflow is a sequence of automated steps that you can configure in Subflow to run when a specific event occurs. Instead of sending follow-up messages manually after every form submission or creating tasks one by one, you configure a workflow once and let it run in the background.

Workflows are built in a visual canvas builder. Most are set up during onboarding, and you can create or adjust them over time as your care programs evolve.

What a workflow can do

Each step in a workflow is called a workflow node, and nodes can perform different tasks depending on the workflow's needs.

A workflow can send an SMS message or email to a contact at any point in the automation, either by composing the message directly or by using a saved message template. It can pause and wait: either for a set amount of time before continuing (a Wait Until node) or until a specific event occurs, such as a contact submitting a form (a Wait For Event node).

Workflows can also branch into different tracks. A Paths node splits the workflow based on conditions you define, so patients in different situations move down different paths and receive the appropriate follow-up. Along the way, a workflow can create and assign a task to a staff member when a human response is needed, and it can add or remove a tag on a contact's record to reflect a change in their status. When the workflow has finished what it needs to do, an Exit Workflow node ends the run for that contact.

How a workflow is triggered

Every workflow begins with a trigger event: the event that tells Subflow to start running the workflow for a specific contact. When you set up a workflow, you choose which event should start it.

The table below shows the available trigger event types.

Category

Trigger event

What it means

Manual

Manual

A staff member manually starts the workflow for a specific contact

Audience

Contacts: Created

A new contact record is created

Audience

Contacts: Updated

A contact record is updated

Audience

Contacts: Added to Segment

A contact is added to a segment

Audience

Contacts: Removed from Segment

A contact is removed from a segment

Audience

Form: New Submission

A contact submits a form

Audience

Form Request: Completed

A form request sent to a contact is completed

Commerce

Subscription: Created

A new subscription is created

Default

E-Sign: Document Completed

A document is signed by the contact

Default

E-Sign: Document signed by Party

A specific party signs a document

Task

Task: Completed

A task assigned to a staff member is completed

Care Plan

Care Plan: Created

A contact is enrolled in a care plan

Care Plan

Care Plan: Task Completed

A task within a care plan is completed

Care Plan

Care Plan: All Phase Tasks Completed

All tasks in a care plan phase are completed

Care Plan

Care Plan: Phase Status Changed

A care plan phase changes business status

Additional trigger event types may be available in your account. The list above covers the most common ones for clinical use. To find out more about the nodes you can add to your workflow, refer to the Nodes Reference article.

A workflow in practice

The nodes described above work together to automate clinical processes end-to-end. The following example shows what a pre-admission workflow might look like. A patient submits their pre-admission form, and from that point on, the workflow handles every step automatically, with no staff action required until a clinical review is needed.

Workflows and care plans

A care plan and a workflow are distinct but work together. The care plan is the visualization layer: it shows where each patient stands in a clinical protocol, with stages and milestones that map out the steps of their journey. The workflow is the automation engine underneath: it is what actually sends messages, creates tasks, and moves patients forward through each stage.

You can attach multiple workflows to a single care plan, and one workflow can serve multiple care plans when the automation logic is general enough to apply across programs. A satisfaction survey workflow, for example, can be shared across several care plans without being rebuilt for each one.

Related articles

Now that you understand what workflows are and how they fit into the platform, check out these related articles to start building and managing your own automations.

  • Create a Workflow: Follow a step-by-step walkthrough to build a new workflow from scratch, from choosing a trigger event to saving and activating it.

  • Workflow Node Reference: Look up what each workflow node type does and what options are available when configuring it.