Setup
Automations
Turn on automations that decide routine work from a table of rules, choose Suggest or Automatic, set approval limits, edit the rules, try a dry run, read why each decision was made and undo a change.
An automation looks at a record, checks it against a table of rules and decides what to do: change the record, ask a person to look at it, or nothing. Every decision is saved with the facts it saw and the rule that fired, so you can always see why. Open Setup, then Automations under Communication. You need permission to manage practice settings.
Automations are different from automation rules: automation rules create tasks and send notices when something happens; automations decide and can update a record for you.
The Automations page#
The page lists every automation with its Mode, its State (running, paused, off, or waiting for an add-on the clinic does not have), whether the clinic edited its rules, how many decisions wait for a person and when it last ran. Below the list, the Automation Log shows every decision, newest first.
Every automation starts Off. Nothing happens until you turn one on.
Modes#
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Off | The automation decides nothing. |
| Suggest | Each decision waits in the log for one click: Apply or Dismiss. |
| Automatic | Changes are made on their own, except those above the approval limits or from a rule that always asks for approval. |
Whatever the mode, a decision that flags a record waits for a person to Mark Reviewed or Dismiss it.
Pause#
- Pause All at the top of the Automations page stops every automation at once. Each keeps its mode, so Resume All brings them back as they were.
- The Paused switch on an automation's page stops only that automation.
While paused, an automation decides nothing new. Decisions it already made can still be applied, dismissed or undone.
Set up an automation#
- On the Automations page, click the automation's name.
- Under Mode, choose Suggest to start; you can switch to Automatic once you trust its decisions.
- Under Settings, adjust what it checks and the approval limits. Each setting's help icon explains it.
- Choose who to Notify. After each run they get a notice with how many decisions wait for a person. The notice never names a patient.
- Click Save Changes.
Rules#
The Rules section shows the rules in force, top to bottom. Each rule tests facts about the record (for example Copay changed is yes) and says what to do. Rules are checked in order and the first one that matches decides, unless you choose Every matching rule. When no rule matches, the Otherwise outcome applies.
Every automation ships with rules. To change them:
- Click Copy and Edit. The first time, this copies the shipped rules for your clinic.
- Add, remove, reorder or change rules and their conditions. Turn on Always ask a person to approve for a rule whose changes should never apply on their own.
- Click Save Rules.
Click Reset to Shipped to drop your edits and go back to the shipped rules. Decisions already made keep the rule they fired on.
Dry run#
Before you turn an automation on or after you edit its rules, click Dry Run. Choose Run as Suggest or Run as Automatic to see what the saved rules and settings would have decided over the last 30 days: how many records, each decision and why. A dry run changes nothing and saves nothing.
Why and undo#
Each decision in the Automation Log has a Why: the rule that fired and the values it saw, plus the approval limit it crossed when it waits for approval. The same decisions show on the record they are about.
Use the row menu to Apply, Dismiss, Mark Reviewed or Undo. Undo puts the record back to what it held before the automation changed it. If someone edited the record since, undo leaves it alone and says so.
Eligibility before visits#
This automation runs with the nightly eligibility check (it needs the eligibility add-on). For each upcoming visit it checks the patient's primary coverage a few days ahead and decides:
| Shipped rule | Decision |
|---|---|
| Check could not be completed | Flag for review |
| Coverage inactive | Flag for review |
| Plan dates miss the visit | Flag for review |
| Copay changed | Update copay and coinsurance |
| Coinsurance changed | Update copay and coinsurance |
| Otherwise | No action |
Its settings:
- Days before the visit: how far ahead to check (default 2).
- Skip if checked within (days): a coverage checked this recently is not checked again (default 7).
- Payers: only these payers; leave empty for every payer that supports electronic eligibility.
- Approve copay changes above and Approve coinsurance changes above (%): in Automatic mode, bigger changes wait for a person.
- Notify: who hears how many charts were flagged or wait for approval.
To see the decisions for one coverage, open the patient's Coverage, then Eligibility on that coverage. The Automation decisions list shows each one with its why and the same actions.