Tutorial ID | T-38 |
Section | Evidence Processing |
Title | Managing Labels on Cases and Documents |
Subtitle | Apply a small, consistent, current set of labels so filters surface exactly what they should. |
Before You Begin
You have a case with documents that need to be organized for filtering and search.
You know which labels your team has already agreed on, if a shared set exists.
What You Will Accomplish
By the end of this tutorial, every label applied to a case or document will be consistent with what your team uses, current with the document's actual status, and part of a lean set that keeps filters accurate rather than cluttered.
Why Does This Tutorial Matter
Labels are what let the platform's filters and search surface the right material at the right moment. A well-labeled case lets you isolate a provider, a treatment phase, a document type, or a status in seconds — and helps multiple people collaborate on the same case with a shared, consistent view.
A poorly labeled case buries the very facts you need. Inconsistent labels make filters miss documents, an overgrown label set makes it unclear which one to apply, a mislabeled file disappears from a filtered view exactly when it matters, and a status label that's never updated quietly starts describing a case that no longer exists.
Steps
Agree on a convention first — define a small set of labels with clear meanings, such as by document type, status, provider, episode, or relevance.
Label documents as they arrive, so nothing is left invisible to filters and the set stays navigable.
Use labels to drive the work — filter by status, document type, provider, or episode to focus on what needs attention.
Update a document's labels when its status or role changes, so filters stay accurate.
Mark privileged or sensitive documents clearly, but confirm the document itself before sharing or exporting rather than relying on the label alone.
Keep the label set lean by avoiding overlapping or redundant labels, and prune any that are no longer used.
On large cases, periodically check for mislabeled or unlabeled documents so a gap is caught before it causes something to be missed.
What to Do if Something Goes Wrong
The list below covers the most common problems when managing labels. Each entry follows the same pattern: what you'll notice, why it likely happened, a real example, and how to fix it.
Problem: The same kind of document gets labeled differently depending on who added it, and a filter misses documents it should include.
Likely cause: Different team members labeled the same kind of item differently because no shared definition was agreed before more than one person worked the case.
Example: One reviewer labels imaging reports “Radiology” while another uses “Imaging,” and a filter searching for one term misses the documents labeled with the other.
Fix:
Agree a shared set of labels and their definitions before a case is worked by more than one person.
Apply labels consistently to the same kinds of cases and documents.
Review labelling periodically and align any that have diverged.
Problem: It's unclear which label to apply, and filtering by label no longer returns a clean result.
Likely cause: The label set grew over time with overlapping or redundant labels that were never merged or retired.
Example: A case has separate labels for “Billing,” “Bills,” and “Invoices” that all mean the same thing, and no one is sure which one to use on a new document.
Fix:
Keep the label set as small as it can be while still being useful.
Merge or retire labels that overlap or are no longer used.
Document what each label means so its use stays consistent.
Problem: A document that should appear in a filtered view is missing from it.
Likely cause: The document carries the wrong label, or no label at all, so the filter that should have surfaced it skips over it.
Example: A specialist consultation report relevant to a filter for “Specialist Opinions” was never labeled that way, and it doesn't appear when the team filters for it.
Fix:
Check that each document carries the labels that correctly describe it.
When a filter returns something unexpected, trace it to the label and correct it.
Spot-check filtered views against the underlying documents to confirm the labels are doing their job.
Problem: A status label still describes a stage of the case that the case has already moved past.
Likely cause: The status label wasn't updated as the case progressed, so it no longer reflects where the case actually stands.
Example: A document is still labeled “Pending Review” months after it was reviewed and incorporated into the report.
Fix:
Update status labels as soon as the underlying status changes.
Review status labels when new documents arrive or the report is updated.
Remove status labels that no longer apply.
Summary
Every label on the case now follows a shared, agreed definition, stays lean enough to apply confidently, correctly describes the document it's on, and reflects the case's current status — so a filter returns everything it should, and nothing it shouldn't.