# Tracking Consults Requests

When CPRS displays a request for a new consult, the user can take several actions from the Consult Tracking menu item:

· Receive*: – When the request arrives at the specified service, the designated person, such as a clerk, can use Receive to change the consult status to active.

· Schedule – The service can schedule a consult, which makes the consult available to be resulted.

· Cancel (Deny) – A consult service may cancel or deny a consult request because of incomplete information or for some other reason. The consult requester is then notified that the consult was canceled so that the requester can take appropriate action.

· Discontinue*: – Per VHA policy, this action should no longer be used by consult receiving clinicians or staff responsible for consult management when the consult is no longer needed. In these instances, use the Cancel (Deny) action.

· Forward*: – The user can forward a consult if the user is not the appropriate person for the consult.

· Add Comment*: – The user can add comments and designate to whom the comment should go in an alert.

· Significant Findings*: – The user can add significant findings and designate them as such.

· Administratively Complete*: – Allows completion of a consult without creation of a new progress note.

* These actions are supported by the Consult Toolbox, which automates and assists the user’s ability to enter common actions. Right click in the comment area and select the desired type of action.

## Using the Consult Toolbox Functions

The Consult Toolbox provides user functionality in the “Receive Consult,” “Add Comment to Consult,” and “Discontinue Consult” dialogs in CPRS. To activate any of these functions, choose the item under the Action menu on the CPRS Consults tab, and the CPRS dialog for that action will open. If you have enabled automation, the appropriate Consult Toolbox action screen will then automatically open. If the Consult Toolbox hasn’t been automated, the box will open normally. To manually open the consult toolbox, right click in the dialog’s Comment area.

When the Consult Toolbox displays, the user can select from a number of possible comments listed to document what action the user took. As the user selects items in the Consults Toolbox, text is entered into the comment dialog box.

Similar functionality exists for Consult Forwarding (to community care), Significant Results, and for Administratively Complete.

For more information regarding how users can configure and use the Consult Toolbox, please use the link below to find the Consult Toolbox User Manual:

KMS site (you may need to sign in with your PIV card): PIV): https://domain.ext.aaaaaa.ext/system/templates/selfservice/va_ka/portal.html?encodedHash =%23!agent%2Fportal%2F554400000001031%2Ftopic%2F554400000006147%2FVeteran-Choice-Program

## Alerts

Many of the above actions send an alert to the recipients for the service and/or back to the requester to let them know that the status of the request has changed or that some has taken some action on the request.

CPRS alert recipients follow these rules:

· When a user takes an action on a consult that generates an alert, that individual should not receive the alert.

· If an ordering provider, that is a member of a consult team, takes an action on a consult, the alert should be sent to the consult team and not to the ordering provider.

· If an unrestricted access user, that is not the ordering provider or a member of the consult team, acts on a consult, the alert should be sent to both the consult team and the ordering provider.

Related topics

Consults (overview)

Complete a Consult or Clinical Procedure from the Consults Tab

Complete a Consult from the Notes Tab

New Consult from the Consults Tab

New Consult from the Orders Tab

New Procedure from the Consult s Tab

New Procedure from the Orders Tab

Viewing Consults