V21.3 Release Notes

Communicare V21.3 includes new integrations with Services Australia. It also includes minor enhancements and bug fixes. This version is a mandatory upgrade for all users who make online claims to Medicare or who upload immunisation records to the AIR.

Prerequisites

Because of the schema changes associated with the medications changes made in V20.1 and later, all customers upgrading from V19.2 and earlier should run the following report before upgrading and resolve any issues: Unprescribed Regular Medications.
Note: If you are upgrading from V19.2 and earlier and have any custom reports that use medications tables or views directly, ensure you check Database Schema changes in the V20.2 release notes. If you are affected, discuss migration options with Communicare Support.

Updates in V21.3.48.109

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where health services could not access the NCSR from Communicare.
    Testing: For health services that are integrated with the NCSR:
    1. In Communicare, open the clinical record of a patient who you know has a record in the NCSR database.
    2. In the clinical record, either:
      • In the patient banner, click NCSR
      • In the toolbar, select Go to iconGo To > NCSR Hub
    3. Observe that the patient's NCSR record opens in the NCSR hub in your default browser.

Updates in V21.3.47.108

Enhancements

  • We've updated the Government Reporting Tool for Specification V13.2 of the National Key Performance Indicators and On-line Services Reporting, June 2022. Changes include:
    • For PI18 and PI19:
      • Changes to age groupings
      • Negative ACR and eGFR values are now reported as not recorded
    • New indicator, PI25 (STI result recorded)
  • Information from medication orders is now uploaded to a patient's My Health Record by eRx if the Upload medication order to eRx option is set in File > System Parameters > Clinical tab. If a patient does not want the medication information uploaded, deselect Consent to send to My Health Record when creating medication orders. For more information, see Create Medication Orders.
  • We've updated the Communicare Demo version to use the new test environment (SVT) for My Health Record.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where Communicare required an encounter place to be set when running an OPV check, instead of using the organisation settings.
    Testing: For health services that use organisation-level rather than individual encounter place settings:
    1. In Communicare, in Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics, select a patient whose Medicare card details have not been recently checked.
    2. On the Personal tab of their patient record, click Check Card Online.
    3. Observe that the OPV check happens without the Provider, Place and Mode selection window first being displayed or requiring that you enter an encounter place.
  • We've fixed a bug that was causing a data sync problem between the offline client and the Communicare server, where the following error was displayed: 
    Uploading changes to the server FAILED with:
Out of memory
    Testing: Preferably test this fix with a database that has experienced this problem.
    1. In the Communicare offline client, for multiple test patients, open a patient's record and make a change. Update any of the following areas:
      • Patient Biographics (excluding patient status changes)
      • Clinical Items
      • Care Plans
      • Prescriptions
      • Documents
      • Progress notes
      • HIC claims
      • Investigation requests
    2. In the same offline client, for a few other patients, open a patient's clinical record and close it without making any changes.
    3. Synchronise the offline client with the Communicare server.
    4. Observe that the data is synchronised from the offline client to the Communicare server without error and that a summary of the number of records updated is displayed.
      Example data synchronisation summary
  • We've fixed a bug where for patient's whose Medicare details had been validated using OPV by Services Australia but with suggestions, the Incomplete Medicare details iconIncomplete Medicare details icon was displayed incorrectly in some patient lists such as Service Recording iconService Recording.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, for a test patient with a validated Medicare card, open their Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics and on the Change Person Details > Personal tab, in the Medicare section, change their Medicare number.
    2. Click Check Card Online.

      Communicare will send the information to Services Australia using OPV. Services Australia should validate the Medicare details but with suggestions.

    3. Close the patient record.
    4. Open Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics again and search for your test patient.
    5. Observe that there is no Medicare icon displayed in the results listed or other patient lists, such as the Service Recording iconService Recording.
  • We've fixed a bug where an incorrect date (30/12/1899) was displayed in the appointment service list for patients who do not have any future appointments booked.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, open the Appointments Book iconAppointments Book.
    2. Click
      Services icon
      Services and select a patient who does not have any upcoming appointments.
    3. In the Service List window, when Future Only is set, observe that there is no date displayed in the Sequence Date column.
  • We've fixed a bug with advanced patient search which returned the following error: Field " has no dataset .
    Testing:
    1. Log into Communicare using any user.
    2. Open Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics.
    3. Click Advanced search iconAdvanced.
    4. Run any query.
    5. In the Add or change patient biographic details window, click New search iconNew Search.
    6. Observe that in the Add or change patient biographic details window, you can search for another patient without error. If you cancel the search and open Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics again, there is no access violation and you can search for another patient.
  • We've fixed a bug where the SNOMED CT-AU Import failed to run on Communicare clients if you had a custom SYSDBA password set or from outside Communicare.
    Testing: With a custom SYSDBA password set for the Communicare server:
    1. On the Communicare server, run Communicare_install/SnomedImport.exe and select and import an existing SNOMED release bundle.
    2. Repeat step 1 on a Communicare client.
    3. Observe that the SNOMED CT-AU Import completes successfully on both server and client from outside Communicare.
    4. Download the latest SNOMED update from the Communicare portal.
    5. On the Communicare server, select File > Reference Tables > Import SNOMED CT-AU Data and import the new bundle.
    6. Repeat step 5 on a Communicare client.
    7. Observe that the SNOMED CT-AU Import completes successfully on both server and client from within Communicare.
  • For WACHS customers, we've fixed a bug that was preventing the AIR Claims tab from being displayed.
    Testing: In a WACHS environment:
    1. Select File > Online Claiming > AIR Claims tab.
    2. Observe that you can access the AIR Claims tab and review immunisation uploads to the AIR.
  • For customers who receive emails from Communicare containing the daily service logs, we've fixed a bug introduced in V21.3.27.59 that was preventing the emails being sent.
    Testing:
    1. In your Communicare environment, select File > System Parameters > System tab, and in the Error Logging section, ensure that Send Error Logs is set and that your email address is included.
    2. Select File > Organisation Maintenance > Email Server tab, and check that your email infrastructure values are correct. For more information, see Organisation Parameters - Email Server.
    3. Wait for CCareQueue_SendLog to run overnight, or manually run it from Communicare_install/CCareQueue_SendLog.exe.
    4. Check that you receive an email from Communicare to the address specified in step 1 and that it contains the daily service log information.
  • We've fixed a bug for health services using the new Communications module, where the patient records for a patient who has received an SMS could not be merged into another record.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, ensure that the Communications module is enabled.
    2. Create patient records for two test patients. Give patient A a mobile phone number that you can access.
    3. In patient A's record, click Send SMS iconSend SMS.
    4. Enter a message and click Send SMS.
    5. After you have received the SMS, in the main toolbar, select Patient > Merge.
    6. Select patient A as the source patient and patient B as the destination patient and complete the merge. For more information, see Patient Merge.
    7. Observe that the patient records are merged and that the SMS records are moved from patient A to patient B. For patient B, the SMS Message clinical item is displayed in the clinical record on the Detail tab.
  • We've added some extra logic to the MBS incentive item changes made in V21.3.31.71. Now if you need to exclude a category by adding 0 for the MBS item, for example, for Radiology, you are not prompted to add an MBS Item of 0 when you complete a service recording.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, in File > Organisation Maintenance > health service > Medicare Claims tab, enter Medical and Pathology Incentive Items for a region of MM3-7. For Radiology enter 0. For more information, see Organisation Parameters - Medicare Claims.
    2. For an eligible patient (child under 16, or CentreLink, or Health Care Card), start a service and enter a medical clinical item, a pathology request and a radiology request.
    3. Complete the service.
    4. In the Service Record > Medicare tab, select a standard item and click Save iconClaim now.
    5. Observe that you are prompted to add the additional MBS items recorded as incentive items for your region.
  • We've fixed a bug which meant that bulk bill claims with an error that were resubmitted to Medicare were stuck in a claim status of Sending claim for processing. For example,
    Bulk Bill Claims tab with multiple entries for the same claim because of an error
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, in File > Providers > test provider, change the provider number.
    2. Complete a service for a patient using that provider and claim the service.
    3. On the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, observe that the claim cannot be sent and the claim status changes to Error: Claim not sent - please retry.
    4. If you correct the error and resubmit the claim from the Bulk Bill Claims tab, it should be successfully sent.

Updates in V21.3.39.90

Enhancements

  • Using the new SMS Administration system right, you can now restrict who can create, edit and manage SMS appointment reminder templates to users who belong to a particular user group. For more information, see SMS reminder templates.
  • When sending SMS messages, Communicare now validates that the mobile phone number included in the Mobile Phone field in a patient's biographics is 10 or 11 digits after all other characters and letters have been removed. If a number is invalid for a patient, the SMS is not sent.
  • For Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service (DATS) and other datasets where there is an enrolment process governed by clinical items, you can now enrol patients in the program and exit them from it on the same day. You can then enrol them again on that day if required.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed the way in which claims with a status of Sending claim for processing are displayed in Communicare.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, complete a service and claim one or more MBS items.
    2. For a claim that has not yet been processed by Services Australia and on File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab has a claim status of Sending claim for processing, verify the following:
      Example Claims in progress with a claim status of "Sending claim for processing"
      • In the Service Recording window, services with a Medicare claim status of Sending claim for processing display the Claim sent icon. For example:
        Example service recording with an MBS claim
      • In the Service Recording window, click Filter iconFilter and in the Service Record Filter Selections window, set Claim Status.
        • Set Claimed. Claims that have a status of Sending for Processing are included in the filtered list, provided they meet the other filter criteria.
        • Set Not claimable. Claims that have a status of Sending for Processing should not be included in the filtered list.
      • In the Service Recording window, double-click a patient whose service has a Medicare claim with a status of Sending claim for processing and click Edit iconEdit Service Details. On the Service Record > Medicare tab, verify that the MBS items are selected and that the Claim sent icon is displayed.
        Example Service Record, with claim sent
      • In a patient's clinical record, click Claims iconClaims. In the History of MBS Items window, verify that claims with a status of Sending Claim for Processing are listed but there is no value for these claims in the Payment Status column. For example:
        Example MBS claim history in the clinical record
  • Immunisations for patients who did not have a valid postcode were causing an error when Communicare attempted to upload them to the AIR. Now, if a patient does not have a valid postcode, immunisations are no longer uploaded to the AIR.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, in the Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics for a test patient, on the Personal tab, set All Localities and from the Locality list, select Other/elsewhere.
      Example locality in patient biographics
    2. Add an immunisation to the test patient's clinical record and complete the service.
    3. After CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia runs, by default 12-2pm daily, in File > Online Claiming > AIR Claims tab, observe that the immunisation claim has not been submitted to the AIR.
    4. To upload the immunisation, correct the patient's postcode and wait for the AIR upload to run.
  • Immunisations for patients who did not have a valid sex recorded in Communicare were causing an error when Communicare attempted to upload them to the AIR. Now, if there is no sex recorded, a patient's immunisations are uploaded to the AIR.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, in the Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics for a test patient, on the Personal tab, delete the value in the Sex field.
    2. Add an immunisation to the test patient's clinical record and complete the service.
    3. After CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia runs, by default 12-2pm daily, in File > Online Claiming > AIR Claims tab, observe that the immunisation claim has been successfully submitted to the AIR.
  • We've fixed a bug which meant that you could enter invalid characters into the Service Text field when completing a service and claiming MBS items, causing Services Australia to return an error. When completing a service, in the Service Record window, Service Text field, you can now enter only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters: @ # $ % + = : ; , . -. All duplicate and leading or trailing spaces are also removed.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, open a test patient's clinical record and then complete the service.
    2. In the Service Record window, select some MBS items.
    3. In the Service Text field, attempt to add a test message with extra spaces and characters that are not allowed. For example, / service text with invalid characters.!
    4. Observe that you cannot add any special characters other than those listed.
    5. Click Select iconClaim now.
    6. On the Bulk Bill details tab, observe that any duplicate and leading or trailing spaces have been removed, leaving a valid comment. For example, "service text with invalid characters."
    7. After CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia runs, by default 12-2pm daily, in File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, observe that the claim has been successfully submitted.
  • For customers who have enabled reasons for a patient's visit to be added manually in progress notes, we've fixed a bug which was preventing the Reasons for Visit window from opening.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, open a test patient's clinical record.
    2. On the Progress Notes tab, click Manage Reasons.
    3. Observe that the Reasons for Visit window is displayed and that you can select one or more reasons from the lists.
  • We've fixed a bug with the shortcut key used to display the Documents and Results window.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, from the main toolbar, press CTRL + D.
    2. Observe that the new Documents and Results window is displayed.
      Example Documents and Results window
  • We've fixed a bug which meant that in the Australian Immunisation Register Portal, you could not edit a vaccine which did not have a serial number, either because it never had one or because you removed it.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, ensure that you can access the AIR portal. For more information, see Australian Immunisation Register portal.
    2. In the clinical record of a test patient who has been identified by the AIR, add an immunisation and complete the service.
    3. After CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia runs, open the patient's clinical record again and select Go to iconGo To > Australian Immunisation Register portal.
    4. On the Vaccine history tab, edit a vaccine: change the vaccine code and delete the serial number or leave it blank and click Save. For more information, see Updating vaccine history.
    5. Observe that you can save without error.
  • Communicare integrates with a number of SMART apps such as NCSR and the Australian Immunisation Register Portal. We've fixed an intermittent problem for users using Remote Desktop Server or Citrix in multiple concurrent sessions where the SMART app host was not handling sessions correctly.
    Testing: Use two login sessions on a remote server using Remote Desktop Connection.
    1. Session 1 - in Remote Desktop Connection, connect to the remote Communicare server and log into Communicare as provider 1.
    2. Session 2 - in a separate Remote Desktop Connection session, connect to the remote Communicare server and log into Communicare as provider 2.
    3. Session 1 - open a clinical record and select Go to iconGo To > NCSR Hub.
    4. Session 2 - open a different clinical record and select Go to iconGo To > NCSR Hub.
    5. In the NCSR hub, observe that the patient and provider details are correct for session 2.
  • Communicare integrates with a number of SMART apps such as NCSR and the Australian Immunisation Register Portal. We've fixed a problem for users using Citrix where after launching a SMART app, the following error is displayed: Your user name and password are not defined. Ask your database administrator to set up a Firebird login.
    Testing:
    1. Using a non-default SYSDBA password, login to Communicare on a remote client.
    2. Open a clinical record and select Go to iconGo To > NCSR Hub or another SMART app.
    3. Observe that the app is launched and displayed without error.
  • We've fixed a bug with data synchronisation for the offline client.
    Testing:
    1. In the Communicare offline client, for a test patient, in Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics > Addresses pane, click Add iconAdd and add a new home address for a the patient.
    2. Synchronise the offline client with the Communicare server.
    3. Note that the home address of the patient in step 1 has been updated in the Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics > Addresses fields in Communicare.
    4. Also in the Addresses pane, click Back arrow iconBack and observe that the previous address is preserved.
  • We've fixed a bug in the Documents and Results window which meant that some providers weren't included in the filter and were listed as Unknown.
    Testing: For incoming investigation results, ensure that new providers are listed in the Doctor column of Documents and Results > Investigation Results.
  • To fix a bug where features that use asynchronous communication, such as online claiming, AIR uploads and SMS using Telstra Health's SMS gateway (TH Messaging), failed to restart after interruption, we've updated our message framework (Mass Transit).
    Testing: Use online claiming, AIR uploads or SMS with Telstra Health's SMS gateway (TH Messaging) to test that this problem is resolved. For example:
    1. From a patient's clinical record, send an SMS message using Telstra Health's SMS gateway (TH Messaging). For information about set up, see SMS messages and reminders.
    2. Check that the message is successfully sent and received.
    3. Use your firewall to block Communicare's access to the internet.
    4. Remove the block.
    5. Repeat steps 1-2.

Updates in V21.3.33.78

Enhancements

  • In the Documents and results iconDocuments and Results window, you can now open the Provider Reassignment window from anywhere in the Investigation Results tab using a keyboard shortcut: simply press r.
  • To support users using more than one monitor, all windows opened from Documents and results iconDocuments and Results, are displayed on the same monitor as the Documents and Results window, instead of the main Communicare toolbar.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where if authentication to the Communicare database failed because of Windows authentication, no results were displayed in the Documents and results iconDocuments and Results window, Investigation Results tab.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, go to Documents and results iconDocuments and Results > Investigation Results tab.
    2. Note that investigations are displayed.

Updates in V21.3.32.72

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where emails from Communicare sent using the blat email tool included an incorrect from address.
    Testing:
    1. In your Communicare environment, take note of the sender set for emails. For more information, see Organisation Parameters - Email Server.
    2. In an email sent from Communicare, such as a scheduled report, check that the sender specified in step 1 is accurately displayed in the email From field.

Updates in V21.3.31.71

Enhancements

  • We've made changes to Communicare to support the new bulk billing MBS incentive items you can claim based on your location, introduced by Services Australia and effective 1 January 2022. Based on your location, set the Medical, Radiology and Pathology incentive items for your organisation and encounter place if required.
  • We've rewritten the Documents and results iconDocuments and Results window and each of the tabs:
    • Investigation Results
    • Scanned and Attached Documents
    • Received Documents
    • Outgoing Documents

    The new Documents and Results user interface provides performance improvements. However, it is functionally equivalent to the old, with minimal changes to appearance and behaviour. For more information, see Documents and results. You may notice the following changes:

    • The look & feel of the Documents and results iconDocuments and Results tabs has been updated.
    • All filters except the date range are now saved and restored when you next open the window. Previously only the selected provider was saved.
    • There is a new Default Date Range option, which allows you to set the amount of the data loaded when you first open the tab, and nothing more. The default range is 6 months. Set the Default Date Range to the smallest value that makes sense for your typical viewing needs. This setting has no impact on the date range filter.
    • On the Result tab, abnormal results are displayed in red text.
    • On the three document tabs, the Error Message column has been replaced with an Error column. If the document has an error, a red triangle with an exclamation mark is displayed in this column. To view the full error message, select the row and look at the footer.
    • The context menu displayed when you right-clicked on a row has been removed. Options related to a row have been moved to be buttons at the top of tab, after the navigation buttons.
    • The ability to toggle hidden columns on the Results tab has been moved to the ...Ellipsis button at the bottom of the screen.
    • The size of the scrollbar thumbnail now gives a proper indication of the quantity of data in the grid.
    • You can now change the width of the columns automatically to fit the data. To adjust an individual column, right-click on the column header and select Best Fit. To adjust all columns, select right-click on any column header and select Best Fit (all columns).
    • If you change the order of the columns, the default order is restored at the next session.
    • Communicare remembers the size of the window and its position and restores it when you next open the window, except for maximised windows, which are not restored.
    • If you maximise the window, it will fill the screen, without leaving space for the Communicare toolbar.
  • We've updated our database to include the latest AIR reference dataset from Services Australia, which adds the following COVID-19 vaccines: Gamaleya Sputnik V (GAMSPU), Novavax NUVAXOVID (NOVNUV), Bharat Biotech Covaxin (BHACOV).

Bug fixes

  • In SMS appointment reminders sent to patients, the appointment date was being displayed using the American format, mm/dd/yyyy. This has now been corrected to use the Australian format, dd/mm/yyyy.
    Testing:
    1. Add a new test patient to Communicare or edit an existing test patient, and include a mobile phone number that you can access.
    2. In the Appointment Book, add an appointment for the 13th or later in the month for this patient.
    3. In Tools > Manage SMS Appointment Reminders, check that you have an SMS template that will send an appointment reminder for the appointment, typically a day before or a week before, and on the Create your template tab, check that this reminder has not already been sent today.
      Tip: If the reminder that would include the appointment has already been sent today, you will either need to make an appointment for the following day or create a new template to run later today.
    4. When you receive the SMS appointment reminder, check that the date format uses the Australian format, dd/mm/yyyy.
  • In the clinical record, Detail tab, we've reinstated the alphabetical filter on the Item Description column.
    Testing:
    1. In a patient's clinical record, go to the Detail tab.
    2. Click Item Description and observe that the items are now sorted alphabetically, rather than by date.
  • In the clinical record, we've corrected a problem where the qualifier for a clinical item was showing No previous values if a new, incoming, matched result was processed today, instead of showing the correct value.
    Testing:
    1. Identify a patient who does not have any previous values recorded for an incoming pathology result. In a patient's clinical record, check the Main Summary for the relevant qualifier such as Hb. Also check a relevant clinical item, for example, in Test;Haemoglobin check that there are no previous Hb values listed.
      Example clinical item with no previous qualifier values
    2. Wait for CCareQueue_Results to run and the results to appear in Documents and Results iconDocuments and Results. This process runs every 3 minutes and imports pathology results into Communicare.
    3. Open the newly imported result and note the qualifier and value in the result. Match the result to the patient from step 1 who did not previously have any values recorded.
    4. In the patient's clinical record, check that the newly imported qualifier value is accurately recorded in the clinical item.
      Example clinical item with newly imported value
  • We've fixed a bug that was preventing access to advanced biographics search queries for users who do not have administrator access.
    Testing:
    1. In Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics, click Advanced search iconAdvanced.
    2. Double-click a search query.
    3. Note that you can access the search query and that it runs.
  • We've fixed a bug where if the email infrastructure settings in Communicare were incorrect for authenticated email, an error was displayed. If the email authentication settings are incorrect, users will not receive emails from Communicare sent using the blat email tool.
    Testing:
    1. In your Communicare environment, ensure that the settings in Communicare for your email infrastructure are correct. For more information, see Organisation Parameters - Email Server.
    2. Check that you receive an email from Communicare to the address specified in step 1, for example, a report from the Communicare Report Scheduler.

Updates in V21.3.27.59

Enhancements

  • Immunisations that failed to upload to the AIR because of an error that meant that the claim was not completed, is not waiting on confirmation and for which the immunisation details or patient biographics have been updated during the configured interval are now resent to the AIR.
  • We've added support for TLS to blat, a third party utility which is used to email scheduled reports and PRODA expiry notifications.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug which meant that you couldn't add a new imprest for an encounter place.
    Testing:
    1. Select File > Imprest Management > Manage Imprest.
    2. In the Imprest Management window, click Add iconAdd.
    3. Observe that the Imprest Details window is displayed and that you can now create a new imprest.
  • We've fixed a bug where investigation results were not being displayed in the Match and Review Result window.
    Testing:
    1. In the main toolbar, select Documents and Results iconDocuments and Results.
    2. In the Documents and Results window, on the Investigation tab, double-click an unreviewed result to open it.
    3. In the Match and Review Result window, observe that the results are displayed in the Result pane.

Updates in V21.3.21.45

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug with online claiming using the Services Australia web services where rejected Medicare claims that had been marked This service is not claimable in the service record, were still listed in the Claims Status (Online Claiming) window with a status of Claim discarded.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, check that claims that were previously rejected and for which you've then set This service is not claimable in the related service are not listed. Also check that there are no claims listed with a status of Claim discarded.
  • We've fixed a bug with online claiming using the Services Australia web services where paid claims were being sent to Medicare Online with unpaid legacy claims.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, check that legacy claims previously submitted using the client adapter update successfully.
  • We've fixed a bug with online claiming using the Services Australia web services where incorrect legacy claims that generated an error were preventing a claim from being processed.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, check that legacy claims previously submitted using the client adapter update successfully.
  • We've fixed a bug with online claiming using the Services Australia web services where legacy claims with a lodgement date older than 6 months were being sent to Medicare Online.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, observe that legacy claims older than 6 months are not submitted.
  • We've fixed a bug with online claiming using the Services Australia web services where legacy claims were being sent to Medicare Online more than once per day.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, check that legacy claims previously submitted using the client adapter update successfully.
  • We've fixed a bug with automatic Medicare card validation where names containing hyphens and spaces could not be submitted.
    Testing: In the Patient Biographics for patients with hyphenated names, check that the Medicare Card has been successfully validated automatically.
  • We've fixed a bug where the user help was not displayed when logging in.
    Testing: When you run Communicare, in the login window, click Help. Observe that the user help is displayed.
  • We've fixed a bug with submitting immunisation information to the AIR using the Services Australia web services, where if a serial number was added to an immunisation clinical item and then deleted, the immunisation claim was not sent to the AIR.
    Testing:
    1. Start a service for a patient and add an immunisation clinical item that includes a serial number and save the item.
    2. From the Progress Notes or Detail tab, open the same immunisation clinical item, delete the serial number and save the item.
    3. Complete the service.
    4. After CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia runs, by default 12-2pm daily, in File > Online Claiming > AIR Claims tab observe that the immunisation claim has been submitted to the AIR and has a status of AIR Immunisation sent.
  • For health services that use the offline client, we've fixed a bug which was causing duplicate medications to be displayed on the Medication Summary and Detail tab.
    Testing:
    1. On the Communicare server:
      1. Start a service for a patient and add two regular medications to a patient.
      2. Complete the service.
    2. On a computer with the offline client installed:
      1. Synchronise Communicare.
      2. In the offline client, start a service for the patient from step 1 and represcribe the medications that you added.
    3. On the Communicare server, synchronise the data from the offline client to the server.
    4. Observe the following:
      • If all actions occur on the same day, on the Medication Summary and Detail tab, you will see four records:
        • Two regular medications added in step 1 that have been stopped.
        • Two current, represcribed, regular medications from step 2.
      • If you synchronise the data a day or more later, you will see the two current, represcribed, regular medications from step 2.
  • We've fixed a bug where if your health service included patients with the correct Medicare number, but a given name different to that held by Medicare, the EPV service would fail instead of automatically validating the card details and creating new aliases for those patients.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, EPV should run automatically in the background without error and add new aliases for valid patients where required.
  • We've fixed a bug where completed services for which a Medicare item was claimed and for which an additional claimant and claim item were subsequently added were causing the CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia service to crash.
    Testing: When your health service is first switched over to Services Australia web services, in Communicare:
    1. Open a patient's clinical record and record some information.
    2. Close the clinical record and in the Service exit window, click Save iconYes - This service is now complete.
    3. In the Service Record, select an item to claim and click Save iconClaim now.
    4. From the Service Recording iconService Recording window, open the same service again and click Edit iconEdit Service Details.
    5. On the Service Record > Detail tab, select another provider and set Claimant for that provider.
    6. On the Medicare tab, select another claim item, click Save iconClaim now and accept the Medicare claim summary.
    7. On the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, check that the claim is successfully submitted to Medicare Online.

Updates in V21.3.13.35

Enhancements

  • We've updated the colour scheme in the patient banner in patient clinical records:
    • We've reverted the pregnancy alert colour to a yellow similar to that used in V19.2 and earlier. This colour is also used in the pregnancy banner in medication warnings.
    • In the actions list, red indicates that attention is required and grey indicates that no action is required. Grey with an icon indicates further information is available.
    • For adverse reactions, the adverse reaction panel displays one of three statuses depending on what is recorded: none recorded, recorded or nil known.
    For more information, see Action required banner.
  • In the patient banner, we've renamed the Investigations link to Results. Previously, this link displayed a count of open investigation requests plus unreviewed pathology and radiology results. It now displays a count only of unreviewed pathology and radiology results. For more information, see Action required banner.
  • To make it easier for those with a vision impairment to differentiate the PBS states for medications, in the Drug Browser, we've changed the colour of authority medications to crimson and the colour of streamlined authority medications to brown. For more information, see Drug Browser.
  • The following information has been deprecated.
    • RxE - in V19.2 and earlier, used to indicate medication that was prescribed elsewhere
    • OTC - in V19.2 and earlier, used to indicate over-the-counter medication
    You can request that Communicare Support hide this information in Communicare, so that it is no longer displayed in a patient's clinical record in the following locations:
    • Medication Summary, RxE and OTC columns and legends
    • Details tab, RxE and OTC information
    For some health services, this information is hidden by default.
  • In the Medication Summary, we've renamed the Current/Regular Medication column to Medication. In the Letter Writer, when you add a medication table by selecting Clinical Record > Current/Regular Medication or Regular Medication, we've also renamed the Current/Regular Medication column to Medication.
  • In Documents and Results iconDocuments and Results, the Encounter Place filter is now available on all tabs. For more information, see Documents and results.
  • Clinicians can now add comments to verbal orders and reassign the verbal order to an alternative clinician if it has been incorrectly assigned. For more information, see Reviewing verbal orders.
  • If your health service would prefer to use another term for Medication History, Communicare Support can now configure this for you. For example, you might prefer Medication Elsewhere. Only the second word can be customised and the new term is limited to 10 characters. The term you select will be used throughout the clinical record.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where if the authority approval number for authority and streamlined authority medications was longer than five characters, it was not printing on PBS Scripts.
    Testing:
    1. In a patient's clinical record, add an authority or streamlined authority medication which has an authority number that is longer than 5 characters.
    2. Finalise and print the prescription.
    3. Observe that the authority number is printed on the PBS Script.

Updates in V21.3.11.22

Enhancements

  • The dataset for Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) has been updated.
  • We've added debug logging for SOAP requests and responses for the HI Service and My Health Record APIs.

Updates in V21.3.10.18

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug with rejected claims that were subsequently marked as not claimable being displayed in the Claims Status (Online Claiming) > Bulk Bill Claims tab with a status of Claim discarded. These claims are no longer displayed.
    Testing:
    1. In Files > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab, select a rejected claim and click Edit iconEncounter to open the associated service record.
    2. In the Service Record window, set This service is not claimable and click Claim now.
    3. On the Claims Status (Online Claiming) > Bulk Bill Claims tab, observe that the rejected claim is no longer listed.

New features in V21.3

Medicare Services Australia

Communicare V21.3 continues to interact with Medicare's client adapter when it is first installed. Before 13 March 2022, you will need to switch over to the Services Australia web service for online claiming instead. The transition can happen only once and the process cannot be reversed.

Tip: Until you switch over to Services Australia web services, for information about using Communicare with Medicare, refer to the V21.2 Knowledge Centre.
When you are ready to transition to Services Australia web services for online claiming, complete the following steps:
  1. Register your device with PRODA. For more information, see PRODA.
  2. Within 7 days of step 1, provide the Device Activation Code that you receive from Services Australia to Communicare Support who will activate your device and swap your system over to the new web service.

    Communicare Support will liase with you to manage the transition to web services. The update will include configuring Communicare for online claiming and integration with the AIR and any customisations you require.

    Tip: You can continue to submit Medicare claims to Medicare Online and immunisations to the AIR during transition.
  3. Communicare Support will inform you when the switch to web services is complete.
The following changes are part of the switch to web services:
  • Communicare now authenticates to Services Australia using PRODA for access to Medicare Online and the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Your PRODA device ID is recorded in Communicare. An encounter place can override the global device ID if required. A warning email is sent to Administrators when a PRODA device is due to expire. For more information, see PRODA.
  • New fields in System Parameters > Web Services for Services Australia.
  • Changes to the Patient Biographics > Personal tab, Medicare pane, both to the UI and when you click Check Card Online. For more information, see Medicare.
  • Changes to the Tools > Medicare Card Eligibility window to limit the validation to a single patient. For more information, see Check Medicare Card Eligibility
  • Changes to the bulk bill claims statuses and the information returned from Medicare Online displayed on the File > Online Claiming > Bulk Bill Claims tab. The processing report and Medicare report for bulk billing contain additional information and error messages from Medicare. A DB4 form may also be returned. For more information, see Bulk Bill Claims (Online Claiming) and Troubleshooting online claims to Medicare.
  • As part of the transition process, Communicare Support will enable legacy bulk bill claims already submitted to Medicare Online using the Client Adapter, that have not yet been paid when your system is switched over to use web services, to continue to be submitted until they are paid or rejected. The Bulk Bill Legacy Claims settings in the CCareQueue_ServicesAustralia service treat existing claims in the following way:
    • If a claim has an error status, it will be marked as rejected.
    • If a claim has been assessed, but it has a payment error, it will be marked as rejected.
    • If a claim has been assessed but not paid, it will be processed.
    • If a claim has been assessed and paid, it is marked as paid.
    If legacy claims aren't processed, contact Services Australia.
  • Changes to the list of immunisations recorded in Communicare and sent to the AIR. On the File > Online Claiming > AIR Claims tab:
  • A new Australian Immunisation Register portal user interface which displays the immunisation and personal information included in the AIR for a patient, including vaccines due and vaccination history. You can also:
    • Add natural immunities
    • Add medical contraindications
    • Add planned catch ups
    • Update vaccine history when required
    • Update a patient's indigenous status or apply a special risk group for patient's who require additional vaccines and extra follow up
    • Download an Immunisation History Statement
    Also included are new system access rights for viewing a patient's immunisation recorded in the AIR. For more information, see Australian Immunisation Register portal.
  • Changes to the Service Record to include Self Deemed information and a Hospital override type for referrals. For more information, see Submit a claim to Medicare.
  • Changes to online patient verification. For more information, see Online Patient Verification.
  • Changes to enterprise patient verification, including verification of card numbers in Communicare before they are sent to Medicare Online for validation. For more information, see Enterprise Patient Verification .
  • New settings and data included in the V21.3 Demo for Services Australia web services.

Minor enhancements

  • Communicare uses NASH certificates issued by the Digital Health Agency, which contain the HPI-O used for HI Service, My Health Record, secure messaging and so on. Communicare now supports NASH certificates using either SHA-1 or SHA-2 encryption.
  • In Patient Biographics, the Medicare card status and date last validated are now displayed. For more information, see Patient Biographics.
  • In Intramail, you can now open the Groups Editor from either the Intramail window or the address book. For more information, see Intramail Groups Editor.
  • If you add medications to a letter using Clinical Record > Current/Regular Medication, medication history items are also included if they are still current. For these items, a prefix of Source: source selected in medication history; is added to any comments that may have been included when the medication was added to the patient's record. For example, Source: Advised by Patient; comments.
  • Health services can now specify a default NCSR Provider for an encounter place for whom nurses and medical practice or lab staff can act as a delegate when accessing the NCSR. This means that Communicare users without a Medicare provider number can access patient details in the NCSR portal.
  • You can now print or reprint a medication label for a medication order from a patient's Medication Summary.
  • When checking for duplicate patients, Communicare now also checks patient IHI numbers.
  • When prescribing a medication or adding a medication order, you can now add a shortcode to the Dosage Instructions with a single click.
  • For WACHS only, PAS alerts are now displayed in the Alerts section on the Patient Summary.

Central Data changes

You can review new clinical items and reports using these reports:
  • Report > Reference Tables > Clinical Item Types Added - enter the days since the upgrade and choose Central.
  • Report > Database Consistency > Central Reports

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug that was preventing you from adding test details to investigation results added manually.
    Testing:
    1. In a patient's clinical record, add a new pathology request.
    2. On the Detail tab, right-click the new pathology request and select Add Manual Investigation Result.
    3. In the Match and Review Result window, add test details to the left pane.
  • We've fixed a bug that prevented secure messages being received when PDS was enabled but the FHIR server couldn't be contacted. Now if PDS is enabled but the FHIR server cannot be reached, an error is logged in Communicare_installation/Logs/CCareQueue_Smd.log.
    Testing: Ensure that secure messages are received.
  • We've fixed a bug that meant that for checkboxes added to letters, edits were not saved.
    Testing:
    1. In a patient's clinical record, create a new, blank letter, add a checkbox and some text and save it.
    2. From the Progress Notes, reopen the letter, set the checkbox and save it.
    3. From the Progress Notes, reopen the letter and observe that the checkbox is set.
  • We've fixed a bug that was causing a delay in opening letters which included Current/Regular Medication or Regular Medication.
    Testing: In a patient's clinical record, open a letter which includes information added using the Clinical Record > Current/Regular Medication or Regular Medication variables. Verify that the letter opens in a reasonable time.

Installation Requirements

  • Communicare V21.3 is supported on Windows 10 and later and Windows Server 2016 and later. Security and other updates from Microsoft must be installed as they become available.
  • .Net 4.8 or later is required
  • Java Runtime Environment 1.8.0_202 for uploading to the AIR
  • HQBird 2.5.9 is now an external dependency. Firebird 2.5 and earlier is no longer supported.