Home
Encounters
Open a service recording for patient interactions and add clinical items, record progress notes, prescribe medications, review investigations, write referrals and manage recalls.
Clinical Support
Datasets
Datasets are a user-friendly coding system, giving health professionals a standardised way to record data and report on data entered in a patient’s clinical record.
Home Support Programs
Communicare supports three home support programs.

Encounters
Open a service recording for patient interactions and add clinical items, record progress notes, prescribe medications, review investigations, write referrals and manage recalls.
- Encounters
  Record patient encounters in Communicare using any one of the following methods.
- Medications
  This topic covers all Medications Management functionality within Communicare.
- Clinical Support
  - Investigations and documents
    Communicare receives pathology and imaging results, letters and other documents electronically and sends documents and letters electronically using HL7 messages.
  - Referral Management
    Manage incoming internal and external referrals from a single list.
  - Birth Notifications
    For customers who belong to the Western Australian Country Health Service, use the Birth Notifications module to manage notifications related to births from a single list.
  - Recalls
    Recalls are the elements that make up a care plan. Recalls can be either generated automatically by Communicare or manually created by the user.
  - Datasets
    Datasets are a user-friendly coding system, giving health professionals a standardised way to record data and report on data entered in a patient’s clinical record.
    - Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program
      The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) dataset is available to health services registered as ANFPP providers.
    - Communicare Infrastructure
      This dataset must not be disabled. It is used by Communicare internally and many parts of Communicare depend on it.
    - Communicare Value Added
      The Communicare Value Added dataset includes clinical item types not yet included in ICPC-2 PLUS, such as custom check-ups and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Checks. This data set is required for antenatal care reporting.
    - Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service
      The Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service (DATS) dataset is required for residential drug and alcohol services that need to submit data using the National Minimum Dataset. There are variations for NSW.
    - Flinders Care Plan
      The Flinders Care Plan dataset is made available to health services that are part of the Flinders Program and have undergone required training with Flinders University, S.A.
    - Home Support Programs
      Communicare supports three home support programs.
      - CHSP
        To record CHSP-related encounters so that the data can be used in the CHSP, use CHSP-specific clinical items.
      - HACC WA
        To record HACC WA-related encounters so that the data can be used to report for HACC in WA, use HACC-specific clinical items.
      - HACC Vic
        To record HACC-related encounters so that the data can be used to report for HACC in Victoria, use HACC-specific clinical items.
      - Home support reporting
    - Headspace
      Headspace provides mental health support services to young people aged 12 to 25 years, who are experiencing, or at risk, of mental ill-health.
    - Healthy Under 5 Kids
      The Healthy Under 5 Kids dataset supports the Healthy Under 5 Kids Partnering with Families Program (2019), Northern Territory Government, Department of Health (DoH) initiative.
    - ICPC-2 PLUS
      ICPC-2 PLUS (also known as the BEACH coding system) is a clinical terminology classified to the International Classification of Primary Care, Version 2 (ICPC-2).
    - Immunisation Age Based Reviews
      The Immunisation Age Based Reviews dataset defines regular immunisation reviews based on age.
    - Immunisation Vaccines
      The Immunisation Vaccines dataset is a list of vaccines by brand name and includes the AIR Export Codes.
    - Integrated Team Care
      You can use Communicare to record Integrated Team Care (ITC) activity.
    - iSISTAQUIT
      The iSISTAQUIT dataset is made available to health services that are part of the iSISTAQUIT research program and have undergone the required training with the University of Newcastle.
    - NDIS
      Communicare has developed a simple workflow and dataset for services that provide NDIS brokerage or support coordination.
    - Primary Mental Health Care
      Many Communicare health services are required to submit data relating to primary mental health contacts to the Government via the local Primary Health Network. Communicare has an optional dataset and reports suite to address both data collection and data upload.
    - RACGP Aboriginal & TSI Health Check
      The RACGP Aboriginal & TSI Health Check dataset enables the combined annual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health check which was developed in conjunction with the RACGP and NACCHO.
    - RHD and acute rheumatic fever
      You can use Communicare to manage RHD check-ups and reviews.
    - STRIVE
      The STRIVE dataset enables you to paticipate in the randomised community trial to control sexually transmitted infections in remote Aboriginal communities in northern and central Australia.
    - Tackling Smoking
      The Tackling Smoking dataset captures data required for the South Australian Tackling Smoking Program.
    - The George Institute
      The George Institute dataset enables integration with The George Institute HealthTracker™.

Home Support Programs

Communicare supports three home support programs.

CHSP - Commonwealth Home Support Program for all states
HACC WA - Home and Community Care program for WA
HACC Victoria - Home and Community Care program for Victoria

HACC and CHSP are separate but similar programs. In most states, state-funded HACC was replaced by the Commonwealth-funded CHSP. However, both WA and Victoria still have a HACC program for younger patients ineligible for CHSP. WA and Victoria have separate reporting for HACC.

Tip: To use the CHSP dataset in Communicare:

In most states, arrange for Communicare Support to enable the HACC and CHSP dataset. You can then use any of the HACC/CHSP clinical items to record CHSP information or HACC information in WA, to capture data required by the reporting body.
If you are in Victoria, arrange for Communicare Support to enable the HACC and CHSP (Victoria) dataset.
For CHSP, if you want to do bulk uploads to the Department of Social Services, Data Exchange Portal, request the DSS Exchange XML CHSP (HACC) report from Communicare Support, who will customise the report for your health service and add it to Communicare.

14 November 2023