# Notifications

Notifications are messages that provide information or prompt you to act on a clinical event. Clinical events, such as a critical lab value or a change in orders trigger a notification to be sent to all recipients identified by the triggering package (such as Lab, CPRS, or Radiology). The notifications are located at the bottom of the Patient Selection screen.

There are two different listings for Notifications, Provider-centric and patient-centric. Provider-centric notifications are shown on the Patient selection screen and all pertain to the user that is logged in. For Patient-centric notifications or alerts, the user selects the View Patient Notifications under the File menu to bring them up in their own dialog box.

- Provider-centric: The listing on the Patient Selection screen shows all notifications for the provider

- Provider-centric view of Notifications on the Patient Selection screen.

- Patient-Centric: This listing reached by selecting File | View Patient’s notifications. The main difference is that all notifications listed in this dialog relate to the current patient only.

This screen capture shows how to bring up the Patient-Centric Notifications using File | View Patient's Notifications. Red rectangle added for emphasis.

After a patient is selected, the user can view all notifications for the selected patient. New columns include “My To Do” and the “Ordering Provider” and the user can process, defer, or close the dialog. The date range of displayed alerts is also customizable.

### Action, Informational, and Long Text Informational Alerts

- Action alerts: When you process notifications that require an action, such as signing an order, CPRS brings up the chart tab and the specific item (such as a note requiring a signature) that requires action.

- Informational alerts: CPRS places an “I” before “information-only” notifications. Once you view (process) information-only notifications, CPRS deletes them.

- Long Text Information alerts: CPRS places an “L” before a long alert. Long alerts have more text than will fit on one line as alerts are normally displayed. Processing the alert will bring up a dialog with additional actions.

### Action Alerts Require User Interaction

For action alerts, users can select the alert and CPRS will take them to the appropriate tab to complete the action. This may be to view a lab result, sign orders or notes, respond to System for Mammogram Results Tracking (SMART) notifications, etc.

SMART notifications are new with CPRS v31b. When users process a SMART notification, they are taken to a progress note title containing a Reminder dialog for them to complete.

From the main listing, users can also Remove, Renew, Forward or Defer notifications.

- Removing notifications is the same as deleting them. A new parameter (ORB REMOVE) enables your site to identify which notifications can be removed without processing.

- Renewing notifications is useful when a user is processing a view alert, such as an abnormal lab result, and decides that the alert should not go away after the user views it. In this case, the user can renew the alert and it will still be there the next time the user logs in to CPRS.

- Forwarding notifications enables users to send an alert to someone else at the site. The user can choose from the list of names that is in your site's New Person file.

- Deferring notifications enables a user to defer acting on a notification, but the notification will again display in 14 days. Users can defer notifications as many times as they choose until the system removes them.

Example of the Defer Patient Notification
Notification Succesfully Deferred dialog

Note: As a default, all Notifications are disabled. Information Resources Management ( IRM) staff and Clinical Coordinators enable specific notifications by setting site parameters through the Notifications Management Menus in the List Manager version of CPRS. These specific Notifications are initially sent to all users. Users can then disable unwanted Notifications as desired, through List Manager's Personal Preferences. Some notifications are mandatory and cannot be disabled.

Notifications are retained for a predetermined amount of time (up to 30 days), after which they may be sent to another destination, such as your MailMan surrogate or your supervisor. Confer with your clinical coordinator to establish and set up these options. You can also confer with your clinical coordinator to select what types of notifications you will receive. Some notifications are mandatory, however, and cannot be disabled.

Clinical Notifications are displayed on the bottom of the Patient Selection screen when you log in to CPRS. Only notifications for your patients or notifications that have been forwarded to you are shown.

Related Topics

Sorting Notifications and Viewing Comments of Forwarded Alerts

Removing Notifications

Processing Notifications

Forwarding Notifications

Deferring Notifications