Version 6.7

Release notes for V6.7.

Medicare Claiming

A label above the 'Claim' buttons shows the name of the claiming provider and the duration of the service (that is, the time in minutes that the clinical record was open in the name of that provider). These details can be edited on the Detail tab before claiming.

This is very useful for the claiming doctor because it indicates the duration of the service and can help when selecting an appropriate time-based item. It is also useful when there are multiple providers with provider numbers on the service - only one can make the claim.

Prescribing

  • Prescribers can now choose to enter an 'until' date instead of the days supply. Also, the days supply can now receive values in days, weeks, months or years by entering a value followed by d, w, m or y. If only a number is entered Communicare assumes it to be days. Changes to the days supply will automatically adjust the until date and vice versa.
  • All prescriptions are now dated to the date of printing. if a prescription is created but not printed on that day, the date will be changed if the prescription is printed on a subsequent day.
  • The date of a prescription can manually be adjusted allowing for the entry of historic records. It is not intended that such prescriptions would be printed.

To Do List

The To Do list in the clinical record shows recalls and incomplete referrals. A filter checkbox allows the user to see all recalls and incomplete referrals or just those up to one year ahead. Overdue items appear with a red date.

Both recalls and incomplete referrals are managed similarly. Double-clicking allows you to complete or adjust a recall or incomplete referral. A recall is removed by either completing it or cancelling it if it is no longer required. A referral is removed by either providing a completed date or cancelling it.

The date of a referral is either the recall date (if it is also a recall), or the referral date (if the referral process has been started) or the appointment date (if this has been recorded). A completed referral is visible in the Detail tab of the clinical record.

Please note that this version of Communicare may reveal some old referrals that have an incomplete status. These referrals date from previous versions and configurations of Communicare that did not require providers to declare the outcome of the referral process. Providers should manage them by cancelling or completing appropriately.

Contact COMMUNICARE if you require further help addressing these 'old' referrals.

Investigation Requests

Requests can now be printed to pre-printed laboratory request forms. The dropdown box next to the Print checkbox offers a choice. Each pathology provider can be given a default format by indicating this in the Address book entry for each pathology provider.

Adjusting the position of the details for the pre-printed form can be done from the System Parameters form. Please consult your administrator.

Biographics

The biographics for deceased patients now has a label showing the date of death.

Reference Tables

Provider names on the Provider reference table have been re-formatted as Forenames and Surname. The upgrade will have taken the last name as the surname and all other names as the forenames. Administrators should check that provider names where the last word is not the entire surname (e.g. 'Martin von Schmidt', 'Roger Jones MA', 'Sally', etc) are adjusted manually.

Lifescripts

There are now letter templates for the five Lifescripts - Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol, Physical Activityand Weight Management. These can be selected by adding a new letter.

Reports

As part of continuing development Communicare often distributes useful reports as part of an upgrade. Administrators should run the Report at Report|Reference Tables|Report Comments and review any new reports and their descriptions. This report has just been updated to include available QueryBuilder comments. Use it to identify local reports that may be lacking a comment.

There are new reports on the Population Analysis menu that break down statistics by gender, aboriginality, locality and age groupings specified by the user. New Performance Indicators reports address NT key performance indicators.

Administrators should also check any local SQL reports that use the Provider dropdown box parameter. They will need to be adjusted. Find the line
select cast('\<All Providers\>' as Char(60)) provider_desc,
in the PROVIDER parameter definition and edit it to
select cast('<All Providers>' as VarChar(40)) provider_desc,
to account for a database change.

Miscellaneous

There have been various minor and cosmetic enhancements.