Sending Outbound Interface Messages

How Do I Send an Outbound Interface Message?

Using the Allscripts Homecare Link functionality, you can send outbound interface messages to the assigned patient associations. There are two ways of how you can do it:

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Automatically – The Homecare Link is integrated with the ACE functionality, which allows you to create ACE rules and define "sending an outbound message" as a reaction for particular events in the system. When creating rules, you define what message types and for what associations (vendors) should be sent. When the defined event happens for a particular patient, the system sends corresponding messages to associations assigned to this patient. Refer to the How to Set Up an ACE Rule to Send Outbound Interface Messages section for detailed steps on how to create an ACE rule with the Send Interface Message reaction. Refer to the ACE (Automated Communication Engine) User's Guide or corresponding help topics to learn more about the ACE functionality and rule creation.

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Manually – Using the Manually Send Outbound Messages Window, you can send the selected outbound message type for any patients within the organization which meet your selection criteria defined in that window. The list of all patients that meet your selection criteria appears in the right section of the window where you can manually select patients for whom you want to send outbound message. You can also send message for one particular patient using this window. For more details, refer to the How to Send Outbound Messages Manually.

Outbound Message Types

The following table contains all outbound message types that can be sent automatically by the ACE and Telephony functionalities or manually using the Manually Send Outbound Messages Window.

Ways of Sending

Outbound Message Type

Automatically by ACE

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Admission

>

Discharge

>

Transfer

>

Update

>	AddPatientInfo

>	UpdatePersonInfo

>	Medications

>	PatientDocument

>	ClinicalNotes

>	StartOfCareDate

>

EndOfCare

>	VisitDocument

Manually using the Manually Send Outbound Messages window

>

Admission

>

Discharge

>

Transfer

>

Update

>	AddPatientInfo

>	UpdatePersonInfo

>	Medications

>	PatientDocument

>	ClinicalNotes

>	VisitDocument

Automatically by Telephony

>	Telephony_Appointments

>	Telephony_Patients

>	Telephony_Resources

When sending outbound messages using the Manually Send Outbound Messages window, each outbound message type has its own validation process flow. The system considers a patient as eligible for sending an outbound message if the following conditions are met for each particular outbound message type:

Outbound Message Type

Required Conditions

Admission

>	Matched status date for the patient.

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type A (Initial admission) or X (Readmission).

>	Patient type is A (active).

>	No admission message was sent to this destination for this patient since the last admission or readmission.

OR

There was an admission message sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

Discharge

>	Matched status date for the patient.

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type F (Final discharge) or D (Death).

>	Patient type is A (active).

>	Admission message was sent to this destination for this patient since the last admission or readmission.

>	Destination acknowledged receiving an admission message.

>	No discharge message on current discharge was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

There was a discharge message on current discharge sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

Transfer

>	Matched status date for the patient.

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type T (Transferred).

>	Patient type is A (active).

>	Admission message was sent to this destination for this patient since the last admission or readmission.

>	Destination acknowledged receiving an admission message.

>	No transfer message on current transfer was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

There was a transfer message on current transfer sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

Update

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type A (Initial admission), X (Readmission), or R (Return home from temporary stay).

>	No update message on current data update was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

There was an update message on current data update sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

>	Patient has data that has been updated (admission, status, address, diagnosis, or procedure records changed for the given dates).

AddPatientInfo

>	Matched status date for the patient.

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type A (Initial admission) or X (Readmission).

>	Patient type is P (Prospective) or A (Active).

>	No person add message on current data adding was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

There was a person add message on current data add sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

UpdatePersonInfo

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient has a status code type A (Initial admission), X (Readmission), or R (Return home from temporary stay).

>	Patient type is P (Prospective).

>	No person update message on current data update was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

There was a person update message on current data update sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

>	Patient has data that has been updated (admission, status, address, diagnosis, or procedure records changed for the given dates).

Medications

>	Matched status date for the patient.

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient admission.

>	Matched the most recent sequence for the patient status.

>	Patient type is A (active).

>	No medication message was sent to this destination for this patient.

OR

The medication message was sent to this destination for this patient but the destination has not acknowledged receiving the message.

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

PatientDocument

>	Matched Business Unit.

>	Patient type is active "A".

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

>	Does not depend on whether the patient document message was sent previously. It should be always displayed if a patient is active.

ClinicalNotes

>	Patient type is active "A".

>	Matched assigned patient associations.

>	Does not depend on whether the clinical note message was sent previously. It should be always displayed if a patient is active.

>	The note sent would be a summary of all note types and disciplines.

How to Set Up an ACE Rule to Send Outbound Interface Messages

The following procedure describes how to create an ACE rule with the Send Interface Message reaction. To learn more about other reactions or the ACE functionality, refer to the ACE (Automated Communication Engine) User's Guide or corresponding Help topic.

1.	Go to Administration>Configuration>ACE>Configure Rule.

a.	Select the Business Unit for which you want to create a rule from the drop-down list.

b.	From the Rule Categories navigation tree in the left pane of the window, select the rule category within which the new rule will be created with the Send Interface Message reaction.

Note: There is no Send Interface Message reaction for the Condition rule category.

c.	Run the Create Rule wizard by clicking New.

2.	The Create Rule wizard starts with the Select Parameters that Change in the Event dialog.

a.	In the Available Selections section, select the corresponding parameters to include in the rule.

b.	After selecting the needed parameters, click Next.

3.	The Select Optional Filtering Conditions for the Event dialog opens.

a.	In the Available Selections section, select the conditions to include in the rule as a filter.

The conditions available for selection depend on the selections made while defining parameters that change in the event. Only those parameters that were not selected in the Select Parameters that Change in the Event dialog appear in this dialog for selection.

b.	After selecting the filtering conditions, click Next.

4.	In the Define Reactions for the Event dialog, select the Send Interface Message check box.

5.	In the Interface Message Configuration dialog, select the corresponding check boxes in the navigation tree to choose outbound message types you want to send to the particular vendor, and then click OK.

6.	Click Next in the Define Reactions for the Event dialog.

7.	In the Save Rule dialog, enter the name and description of the rule, and then click Save.

The rule is saved and appears for selection in the Configure Rule window. The description of the rule appears in the Rule description section of the window. The rule can be activated for a particular Business Unit by selecting the check box in the Active column.

Note: Rule works for those patients who have the corresponding associations assigned in the Associations window (Patient>General>Associations).

Manually Send Outbound Messages Window

Path: Interface>Send Messages>Manually Send Outbound Messages

To access the Manually Send Outbound Messages window, you should be granted the corresponding privileges.

With the Manually Send Outbound Messages window, you can manually send the outbound interface messages for all the patients within the organization who meet the criteria you specified and who have the corresponding associations assigned.

Use the following search criteria in the left pane of the window:

>	Message Type – From this drop-down list, select the outbound message type you want to send.

>	Select Patients – Click to select a particular or multiple patients to whom you want to send an outbound message. Note: For the PatientDocument, VisitDocument, and ClinicalNotes outbound message types, it is required to select at least one patient.

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Date Range – Select the date criteria to include in the search only patients who were active within the defined date range. The following options are available: Today, In the past days, and Between.
Note: For the PatientDocument, VisitDocument, and ClinicalNotes outbound message types, the date range filter is not available.

>	Type/Discipline Selection – Select specific clinical note types and disciplines to include in the outbound message content. Note: This selection is for the ClinicalNotes outbound message type.

After specifying the search criteria and clicking Search, the system goes through all the patients within the current Business Unit and checks whether the patients are eligible for the corresponding outbound message, taking into account your selections specific to each particular outbound message type.

The right pane of the window is constructed as a navigation tree with two-level branches containing the list of active patients who have associations assigned and who meet the specified search criteria:

>	First level – Displays patients (patient code, last, first, and middle names) who meet the search criteria.

>	Second level – Displays names of the associations that are assigned to the patients.

You can select for which patients and associations you want to send the selected outbound message type, and then click the Send button in the bottom of the window. You can check the statuses of the outbound messages using the View Outbound Message Status Window.

When you click Send, the patients and associations, which you selected to send message to, disappear from the list. When you search by the same search criteria and there were changes from the last time the messages were sent, the patients and associations may appear again.

For each message type, except ClinicalNote, one message is sent per patient and association. For the ClinicalNote message type, multiple messages per patient and association can be sent, it depends on the selected clinical note types and disciplines.

How to Send Outbound Messages Manually

1.	Go to Interface>Send Messages>Manually Send Outbound Messages.

2.	From the Message Type drop-down list, select the outbound message type you want to send.

The system searches for the patients, who meet the criteria of the selected message type validation logic.

3.	Click the Select Patients button to select a particular or multiple patients for whom you want to send an outbound message.

4.	Select the date criteria to include in the search only patients active within the defined date range.

5.	Click Search to view the list of patients who meet the criteria you entered (it appears in the right pane of the window).

6.	Review the list of patients and associations to confirm the sending of outbound message.

You can clear the check box if you do not want to send the selected outbound message for the particular patients or associations.

7.	Click Send to send the outbound message based on the defined criteria.

With View Outbound Message Status Window, you can check the status of the message you tried to send. Using this window, you can also resend the messages.

View Outbound Message Status Window

Path: Interface>Send Messages>View Outbound Message Status

With the View Outbound Message Status window, you can search for outbound messages based on different criteria, view the status of these messages, and resend messages.

The window consists of the left section, where you can define outbound messages search criteria, and the right section, which displays the search results.

Left Section

>	By Association – Use this tab to select particular associations for which you want to search for the outbound messages.

>	By Message Type – Use this tab to select outbound message types you want to search for.

>	Select messages for the following dates – Specify the necessary option to include in the search results only messages that were processed within the specific date range.

>	Select Patients – Click this button to select patients for whom you want to search for outbound messages.

>	Include the following responses – Select the check boxes to search for outbound messages with the corresponding responses (for the details on statuses, refer to Outbound Message Statuses).

Click the Search button to perform the search based on the criteria you selected. You can click the Clear button to clear all the selection.

Right Section

Column

Description

Selected

Select the check boxes to resend the corresponding messages to the associations.

Association

Name of the association that is supposed to receive the message.

Interface

Patient or Telephony interface group to which a message belongs.

Document Type

Type of the outbound message that is used by the defined association.

Content

Patient's code and name. Click the link to open outbound message content.

Date

Date of the corresponding event that caused this type of outbound message. This could be the admission or transfer date for instance.

Time

Time of the corresponding event that caused this type of outbound message.

Status

Status received from the vendor. The available values are:

>	AA - Acknowledgement accepted.

>	AE – Acknowledgement errors.

>	AR – Acknowledgement rejected.

>	F – Failed.

>	– Acknowledgement not received.

Use the Select All and Clear All buttons at the top of the right section to manage the search results selections. Click the Resend Message button to resend the selected messages.

How to Review Status and Resend my Outbound Messages

You can review all the messages you attempted to send according to the search criteria you define, as well as resend all these messages, which basically means creating a new message with all the content from the original one.

To review and resend outbound messages:

1.	Go to Interface>Send Messages>View Outbound Message Status.

2.	Use the By Association or By Type tab to select what outbound message types and to what associations should be sent.

Both tabs contain the same information; however, the information on the first tab is grouped according to the association names and on the second according to the outbound message types.

3.	Select the date criteria to include in the search only messages for the defined date range.

The following options are available:

>

Today

>	In the past days

>

Between

4.	Click the Select Patients button to select a particular or multiple patients for whom you want to review or resend outbound messages.

5.	Use the Include the following responses section to filter outbound messages based on their statuses (refer to the Outbound Message Statuses for more information).

6.	Click Search to see the list of the messages which meet the criteria you entered (it appears in the right pane of the window).

7.	To resend some of the messages, make sure you selected the check boxes next to the necessary messages. You can also use the Select All and Clear All buttons for quick list selections.

8.	Click Resend Messages to send the messages you selected.

Outbound Message Statuses

The following statuses of outbound messages are available:


Response Code	Description	Next Step
F – Failed to Send	The message was not sent due to the connection problems.	Check the connectivity between Homecare Link and Rhapsody. Also, make sure the Rhapsody service is running.
– Sent but not Acknowledged	The message was sent to the vendor but the acknowledgement is not received yet.	Verify that the destination vendor is set up to receive messages. Once that connection is working again, resend the message(s).
AE – Sent and Acknowledged with Errors	The message was sent to the vendor and the acknowledgement was received but with errors.	Confirm that the patient data is correct then send a new message for the patient.
AR – Sent and Rejected	The message was sent to the vendor but was rejected.	Most likely, something about the message route is configured incorrectly. You should contact Allscripts to get resolved.
AA – Sent and Accepted	The message was sent and accepted by the vendor.