Alert defaults
Alerts are message boxes which display when you access information for a patient or client who meets certain conditions, such as missing information or overdue reminders. When an alert displays, you must click OK in the message box before you can continue. You can also customize alerts using client and patient classifications, user defined prompts or compliance protocols.
Before you start
Security
- Defaults – Practice
Setup
- Client and patient classifications
- Client and patient user defined prompts set to alert
- Required Data defaults: Controls > Defaults > Practice and Workstation > Required Data
Data
- Compliance protocols set up, if using: Reports > Compliance Assessment Tool > Protocol setup wizard
Important!
- Client and patient alerts can also be accessed under their respective Alerts tab of the Patient Clipboard
- Set only the most critical information as alerts to avoid overwhelming staff with extraneous alerts to click through.
- It is not recommended to have compliance alerts displayed at more than two points of patient contact.
- Example: Appointment Scheduler and Check in
- Too many compliance alerts can cause a slowdown in system performance.
Set up alert defaults
Navigate to Controls > Defaults > Practice and Workstation > Alerts.
- Select (highlight) the Client and Patient alerts to activate, scrolling as needed to view the complete list.
- Select the appropriate suppression settings for client and patient alerts to NOT have alerts reappear:
- Suppress consecutive client alerts: When the same client is used repetitively on the same workstation.
- Suppress client alert on patient clipboard: When a client record is accessed from the Patient Clipboard.
- Suppress consecutive patient alerts: When the same patient is used repetitively on the same workstation.
- Suppress client alert on patient clipboard: When a patient record is accessed from the Patient Clipboard.
Set up compliance alert defaults
With Compliance Alerts defaults, you can set up your system to display an alert when a patient who needs a recommended service from a compliance protocol is seen. When the alert displays, you can process the alert to see which services or tests are missing from the patient record.
Navigate to Controls > Defaults > Practice and Workstation > Alerts > Compliance Alerts.
- The Compliance alerts list displays with all active compliance protocols.
- Select (or deselect) the protocols for which you want alerts to display. Alerts will display for applicable patients who need a recommended service associated with the selected protocols.
- To view the preloaded protocols, click Display predefined IDEXX protocols.
- Select when/where you want compliance alerts to display.
- Click Apply to save your changes and continue setting defaults or click OK to save your changes and close the window.
Additional information
Settings
- Client or patient classifications or client credit codes that are set to alert, will not display as a pop up or on the Alerts tab of the Patient Clipboard unless the alert defaults are set for:
- Classification
- Patient classification
- Credit Code
- If user defined prompts, for clients or patient are set to alert, the alert will display in the alert message box and on Alerts tab of the Patient Clipboard. No additional alert default settings are necessary.
- Canceled Appointment and Failed Appointment alerts are only used if you are using the Appointment Scheduler module.
- Cancelled and No Show Reservations are used only if you have the Boarding and Grooming module.
- Useful classifications to set as alerts:
- Client classification of seasonal: If a client lives out of the area for some time during the year, the client alert message seasonal will notify staff, who can then take special care setting up reminders or payment schedules.
- Patient classification of service animal: If a patient is guide, assistant, or support-certified, indicating this special classification is crucial, because the patient’s owner relies on its well-being.
Compliance alerts
- Compliance alert selections are for regular compliance-type protocols only.
- Even if you choose to suppress consecutive alerts, your selected Compliance alerts will still display.
Working with alerts
- Alerts make staff aware of:
- Missing client or patient information
- Illogical information, such as a patient with a birth date over 100 years ago
- Bad payment history
- Open invoices
- Multiple patient ownership
- Overdue or missing reminders
- Check-in alerts
- Specific types of clients and patients in your practice.
- When the alert displays, you can immediately update the missing information by clicking Process.
- You will be taken to the appropriate dialog box.
- When you are done updating information, Cornerstone will return you to the alert box so any other alerts can be processed.
Example: Missing birthdate or missing client email address.
