Enforcement & Grace Periods

Overview

The Enforcement and Grace Period system manages the lifecycle of non-paying clinics. When a subscription expires without renewal, the clinic enters a configurable grace period during which they retain limited access. Platform admins can extend grace periods, send payment reminders, manually mark payments, or ultimately suspend clinics that fail to pay. This section provides tools to manage the entire enforcement pipeline from first warning to final suspension.

Understanding the Enforcement Pipeline

The enforcement flow follows these stages:

1. Active — Subscription paid and current
2. Expiring Soon — Subscription expires within 7 days, automated reminder sent
3. Grace Period — Subscription expired, clinic has 5 days (default) of continued access
4. Final Warning — Grace period ending in 48 hours, urgent notification sent
5. Suspended — Grace period expired, all access blocked until payment

Viewing At-Risk Clinics

1. Navigate to Enforcement > At-Risk Clinics from the sidebar, or use Analytics > At-Risk for a data-driven view.
2. The at-risk table shows: Clinic Name, Current Stage, Days Until Suspension, Outstanding Amount, Last Payment Date, and Contact Info.
3. Sort by urgency — Default sort is by days remaining (ascending), so the most urgent cases appear first.

Extending Trial Periods

1. Navigate to the clinic detail page of a clinic in trial status.
2. Click "Extend Trial" — A dialog appears asking for the number of additional days (default: 14).
3. Enter days and confirm — The trial end date is pushed forward. This action is logged in the audit trail.

Extending Grace Periods

1. Navigate to the clinic detail page of a clinic in grace period.
2. Click "Extend Grace" — Enter the number of additional grace days (default: 5).
3. Confirm extension — The suspension deadline is pushed back. Use this when a clinic has communicated payment difficulty or when processing delays are not their fault.

Sending Payment Reminders

1. From the at-risk clinics list, click "Send Reminder" on any clinic row.
2. The reminder is sent via email and SMS to the clinic admin, containing the outstanding amount, payment instructions, and days remaining before suspension.
3. Tracking — The reminder timestamp appears in the clinic's activity log. You can see how many reminders have been sent.

Manual Payment Marking

1. Click "Mark as Paid" on the clinic's enforcement row (or from their detail page).
2. This action immediately moves the clinic back to "Active" status, clears the grace period, and creates a verified payment record linked to your admin account.
3. Use case — When finance confirms a bank deposit that has not yet appeared in the pending queue, or for cash payments received at events.

Suspending a Non-Paying Clinic

1. Click "Suspend" on the clinic row in the enforcement pipeline.
2. Confirm the suspension — The clinic is immediately blocked from all access. A final notification is sent to the clinic admin.
3. Reactivation — Once payment is received and verified, click "Activate" on the suspended clinic to restore access.

FAQ

What access do clinics have during the grace period?

During grace period, clinics retain full read access to their data but see a prominent banner warning about impending suspension. They can still see patients and access records but cannot add new staff or change their plan.

Can the grace period duration be configured globally?

Yes. Navigate to Settings > Platform Settings and adjust the "Default Grace Period Days" setting. The default is 5 days.

What happens to patient data during suspension?

All data is preserved. No data is deleted during suspension. When the clinic pays and is reactivated, all data is immediately accessible again.