V22.4 Release Notes

Communicare V22.4 is a general release that meets AIR 1.3 conformance for immunisations. All health services that administer vaccinations and upload information about immunisations to the Australian Immunisation Register should upgrade to this release.

Installation Requirements

  • Communicare server requirements:
    • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later. Security and other updates from Microsoft must be installed as they become available.
      • Microsoft Windows Server 2022 is recommended
      • Microsoft Windows Server 2019 is supported
      • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 is the minimum required server
    • .NET 4.8 and .NET 6
    • Firebird HQBird 2.5.9 (Firebird 2.5 and earlier is no longer supported)
    • WebView2 Runtime V115 or later, click to download
  • Communicare client requirements:
    • Microsoft Windows 10 or later. Security and other updates from Microsoft must be installed as they become available.
    • .NET 4.8
    • WebView2 Runtime V115 or later, click to download

Updates in 22.4.28

Enhancements

  • Argus will be decommissioned on 30 September 2025. You should book a configuration update to use only HealthLink as soon as possible, before your health service is upgraded to Communicare V23.2. However, if you are in the NT reporting to NTG, your configuration will be upgraded when your health service is upgraded to Communicare V23.2.
    Tip:
    Advise your staff and any correspondents, such as specialists, pathology and imaging services, that your health service is changing to HealthLink. Provide your HealthLink EDI and the date and time at which the changeover will occur.
    Before the Argus configuration update, Communicare Administrators should:
    • Configure firewalls for HealthLink
    • Update templates within your Communicare, removing the Argus email and have added your Healthlink EDI under your Letterheads
    • Update System Parameters > Secure Messaging to remove Argus and add HealthLink information.
    After you switch over to use only HealthLink, the following areas are affected:
    • Secure Messaging - the old EPD address book is no longer available.
    • You will no longer be able to access any Argus messages including historical messages and any new messages sent to you. You will also not be able to correspond with other Argus users using SMD.
    After the Argus configuration update, Communicare Administrators should:
    • If the Combined Address Book or HealthLink SmartForms are enabled, only the Administrator has access permission. Review your users and user groups and add access as required.
  • Communicare now supports the National Lung Cancer Screening program. For more information, see National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
  • We've added Communicare to the Telstra Health code signing certificate so that your local security policies such as Microsoft Intune are not affected when you install this update.
  • Updated to the latest AIR vaccine dataset (November 2024).

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug which meant that you could not modify or cancel automated immunisation recalls.
    Testing:
    1. For a test patient, add a clinical item that has an automated immunisation recall rule on completion specified in File > Reference Tables > Automated Recall Types.
    2. Complete and save the clinical item.
    3. In the Confirm Automatic Recall window, set Recall confirmed and click Save.
    4. In the Progress Notes, double-click the new recall and select Modify iconModify it or Cancel iconCancel it.
    5. Observe that the immunisation fields are available and you can modify or cancel the recall.

Updates in 22.4.26

Enhancements

  • We've updated the data mapping between Communicare and HealthLink SmartForms to ensure that only medications on the current medications list are displayed in HealthLink SmartForms. For more information, see HealthLink SmartForms Data Mapping.

Updates in 22.4.25

Enhancements

  • For incoming HL7 messages processed with CCareQueue_SMD, Communicare now supports time offsets with long time zones that do not fit the HL7 v2 standard. We've also removed the requirement for incoming messages to include a sender in the From field.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where for a particular workflow, the date of birth of a patient was changing to that of the patient from the previous record you opened.
    Testing:
    1. Log in as a user who belongs to a user group that does not have the Patient Edit system right.
    2. Open a test patient's biographics.
    3. Position the cursor in the Date of Birth field and note the patient's date of birth.
    4. Click Close icon to close the patient's biographics.
    5. Search for a second test patient, note their date of birth and open their biographics.
    6. Observe that the date of birth for the second patient remains correct and unchanged.

Updates in 22.4.22

Enhancements

  • When uploading immunisations to the AIR, for AIR-W-1004 - Individual not found errors, all immunisations in a service are confirmed when one is.
  • The AIR portal has been updated with vaccines, contraindications and natural immunities added by Services Australia since March 2024.
  • For HL7 messages sent from Communicare, Communicare now accepts a wider range of Acknowledgement messages.
  • For incoming pathology and imaging results to Communicare using HL7 V2.3.1 ORU, we've removed a character limit that was causing messages that don't meet the standard to be rejected.
  • For incoming HL7v2 RTF documents, we've relaxed the 64KB limit for the FT data type.
  • We've implemented the WebView2 web platform for NT sites using MeHR, so that RHD and immunisation apps are displayed correctly.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug where letters could not be sent securely using HealthLink for patients with a sex of Indeterminate recorded in Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics.
    Testing:
    1. Using the Combined Address Book, ensure you have an entry for an addressee linked to SMD vendor HealthLink.
    2. For a test patient, on the Patient Biographics iconPatient Biographics > Personal tab, from the Sex list, select Indeterminate.
    3. Open the test patient's clinical record and create a letter using any template.
    4. Select the addressee from step 1 and click Send Secure iconSend Secure.
    5. After CCareQueue_SMD has run (typically every 15 minutes), in Documents & Results iconDocuments and Results > Outgoing Documents, observe that an HL7 record is created and the letter is sent.
  • For private billing, we've fixed a bug that was preventing you editing existing billing types.
    Testing:
    1. Select File > Reference Tables > Private Billing > Billing Type.
    2. Observe that billing types are listed and that you can edit a billing type. For more information, see Billing Types.

Updates in 22.4.18

Enhancements

  • For HL7 messages sent from Communicare, Communicare now accepts a wider range of Acknowledgement messages.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed a bug for customers with migrated RTF files that did not contain margins, which when saved as PDFs printed text outside the printable area.
    Testing:
    For a migrated RTF document such as an old letter:
    1. In Documents and Results iconDocuments and Results open a migrated RTF letter.
    2. Click Print iconPrint & Save.
    3. Observe that the letter is printed to PDF with adequate margins and the text is not truncated.

New features

Minor Enhancements

  • When prescribing, a warning is now displayed for out-of-date drug brands, drug classes or generic drugs for which an adverse reaction is recorded for a patient. For more information, see Warnings.
  • For users with the Titanium and ISOH integration, health services can now choose to export only those patients with a dental booking created or modified since the last export for import into Titanium, rather than all patients. Contact Communicare Support if you'd like this option implemented. For more information, see Titanium & ISOH.
  • You can now copy a subject distinguished name from a certificate for use in configuring connected services such as SecureMessageExchange. For more information, see Certificates Maintenance.
  • We've added a new error which shows when there is a problem with the TLS connection, which means that the HI service is unavailable.

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 problem with investigation results where the date of birth was affected by time zones using daylight saving time.
    Testing:
    For sites in time zones where there is daylight saving:
    1. From the Documents & Results iconDocuments and Results > Investigation Results tab, open an HL7 ORU pathology result, either:
      • If it is during standard time, for a patient who was born during daylight saving time.
      • If it is during daylight saving time, for a patient who was born during standard time or in a time zone without daylight saving.
    2. Observe that the date of birth in the result matches the patient record.
  • You are now warned when you attempt to enter a maximum value for a qualifier higher than 99999.
    Testing:
    1. In File > Reference Tables > Qualifier Types, for a numeric qualifier, in Max Value, enter a value with 6 digits.
    2. Observe that an error message stating that the maximum value has been exceeded is displayed.
  • We've removed the limit of 9 certificates from Communicare.
    Testing:
    1. In File > Reference Tables > Certificates add and save 10 certificates without closing Communicare.
    2. Observe the tenth certificate saves without error and you can close and reopen File > Reference Tables > Certificates.
  • We've fixed a problem where you couldn't print a label from the Communicare Demo version because the template couldn't be found.
    Testing:
    1. In the Communicare Demo, configure your printer assignments for dispense labels.
    2. From a clinical record, print a label.
    3. Observe that the label prints without error.
  • We've fixed a problem where Aduro HealthLink SmartForms were not always showing the most recent notes included in Family History where there was more than one entry in a day.
    Testing:
    For a clinic integrated with HealthLink SmartForms:
    1. Open a patient's clinical record.
    2. On the Summary > Social & Family History tab, add a note in the Family History pane.
    3. Close the service.
    4. In a new service for the same patient, repeat step 2.
    5. Return to the Main Summary and select Go to iconGo To > HealthLink iconHealthLink SmartForms
    6. From the HealthLink SmartForms directory, select the required Tasmanian Health Service form.
    7. On the Medical, Social and Family History tab, observe that the family history displayed includes the most recent note you added.
  • We've fixed a problem with exporting PDF versions of RTF letters.
    Testing:
    For a patient whose data was migrated into Communicare:
    1. From the clinical record, export a patient summary.
    2. On the Clinical Record tab, select both Export documents and Export RTF as PDF.
    3. Observe that the PDF exports as expected and opens in Adobe Acrobat, Preview or a browser without error and with the correct orientation.
  • We've fixed a problem where templates exported from Communicare with a TEMPLATE_SUBTYPE_ID, such as Dispense Label templates, and imported again were causing Communicare to crash.
    Testing:
    1. In Communicare, select Tools > Communicare Templates, select Dispense Label Template and export it to your computer.
    2. Import the template again.
    3. Observe that the template is imported without any problems.
  • We've fixed a problem with CDA documents, where when using the combined address book, if you selected an organisation without an associated provider as a recipient, when you attempted to send the document an error was displayed.
    Testing:
    With the combined address book enabled:
    1. In Communicare, open the clinical record for a test patient and add a Discharge;hospital;summary clinical item.
    2. For the Primary Healthcare Provider, from the combined address book, select an organisation without a provider.
    3. Observe that the you can save the clinical item and that a Discharge Summary is created.
  • For NWHHS, we've fixed a problem with CCare.Services.HL7_TCP which creates and updates Communicare patients based on HL7 messages from the NWHHS PAS (HBCIS).
    Testing:
    For NWHHS:
    1. Observe that CCare.Services.HL7_TCP no longer needs to be restarted every hour.