Manage Built-In Alerts

This article introduces the Universal Office built-in alerts and explains how to use and apply them.

Available Built-In Alerts

You can choose to use one, some, or all of the available alerts. Everyone who can access the Alerts & Reminders manager sees all alerts that have been set to “on” (as explained later in this article).

Each alert has a predefined set of actions that can be performed on it. Some alerts have additional options.

Alert Name	What It Shows	Available Actions
Tasks	User-created time-specific tasks such as “contact phone company” or “prepare report for accountant”.	Completed
Invoices to Send	Invoices that have not yet had an action taken on them.	Sent, Successfully Delivered, or Approved
Invoices to Print	Invoice that have the “To be Printed” flag set. Note: This flag can be manually removed by editing an invoice, or by doing a print preview of the invoice.	Printed
Documents to Send	Claim forms that have not yet had an action taken on them.	Sent, Successfully Delivered, or Approved
Patients to Invoice	Unbilled (or un-invoiced) charges recorded in a patient case (directly or from the appointment book) that exceed the dollar value set in Preferences. These alerts are removed once invoices are created or the charges drop below the specified dollar value.	none
Overdue 30 days Invoices	Unpaid invoices where more than 30 days have elapsed since the invoice Sent Date.	Apply Payment (and enter details)
Re-assessments Due	Treatment plans that have reached the minimum values (for remaining days and remaining amount) set in Preferences.	Remove from Alert List
No Response Notifications	Submissions to HCAI where an adjuster response has not been received to an OCF-18 and OCF-23 within the number of days set in Preferences.	Deemed Approved (and specify date)
Patient Callback	List of active patients who have no appointments scheduled within the number of days set in Preferences.	none
Patient Birthdays	List of patients whose birthday is coming up within the number of days set in Preferences.	none
OCF-3 to Complete	List of patients for whom a new Disability Certificate (OCF-3) has not been created within the number of weeks set in Preferences.	none

Set Alert Preferences

To perform the following procedures, log in to Universal Scheduling, and click Edit > Preferences.
The Preference window opens.

To launch the Alerts & Reminders screen every time you open Universal Scheduling:

1. In the Preferences window, select Alerts in the left pane.
2. Check Launch Alerts & Reminders on Startup.
3. Click Save Changes.

To turn all alerts on or off:

1. In the Preferences window, select Alerts in the left pane.
2. Choose from the Set all Reminder Alerts ON or OFF list.
3. Click Save Changes.

To turn an individual alert on or off:

1. In the Preferences window, click the alert name in the left pane
2. Choose from the Set <name of alert> ON or OFF list.
   Note: Some alerts have additional options available, as described below (all options have default values).
3. Click Save Changes.

The following alerts have additional options available. To change the values of any of these, click on the current value and enter a new one.

This alert...	Has these options...
Patients to Invoice	Dollar value to be accumulated before a patient case triggers this alert. Separate values can be entered for Extended Health, MVA, Private, Slip & Fall, and WSIB case types.
Re-assessments Due	Number of remaining days and remaining dollar amount to be reached before a patient case triggers this alert. Separate values can be entered for OCF-18, OCF-23, EHC, MVA, Private, Slip & Fall, and WSIB plans.
No Response Notifications	Number of elapsed days after the Sent Date for OCF-18 and OCF-23 before a patient case triggers this alert.
Patient Callback	Number of days after the date of the last appointment that must elapse before a patient case triggers this alert.
Patient Birthdays	Number of days before a patient’s birthday that must be reached before an alert is triggered for the patient.
OCF-3 to Complete	Number of weeks after the Create Date of the last OCF-3 before a patient case triggers this alert.

To perform the following procedures, open the Alerts & Reminders manager.

Customize and Reorganize Columns in the Alerts List

1. Click on an alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
   A list of the alerts of the selected type are listed on the right.
   
2. To hide or show columns for the selected alert type, click [Modify Columns] on the toolbar.
   The Alert/Reminder Type Column Options window opens.
   
3. In the Alert/Reminder Type Column Options window,
   • check the box beside the column name to show or hide a column,
   • double-click in the Field Width cell and enter a column width value to change the column width,
   • select a column and click Move Up or Move Down to change the order in which columns appear.
4. Click Save and Close.

Group Built-in Alerts

Grouping alerts together can make it easier to view and analyze information. For example, you could group Overdue 30 days Invoices type alerts by Invoice Type. You may apply up to three group layers.

1. Click on an alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the Grouping box (in the bottom of the left panel), choose the Field by which you want alerts of that type grouped.
3. Choose whether you want alerts sorted in Ascending or Descending order within that group.
4. Repeat to add additional groups.
5. Click Apply.
   Note: The list of alerts is now grouped by the selected fields. You can expand or collapse contents for each group.

Take Actions on Built-in Alerts

To change the status of an alert (indicating the related action has been done, for example, the document has been sent) or is due date:

1. Select an alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the right pane, select an alert, or check the box beside one or more alerts.
3. Click [Change Status] on the toolbar.
   Note: This function is not available for all built-in alerts.
4. Choose a Status and Date (defaults to the current date).
5. Click Save & Close.
   Note: Alerts whose status is changed are removed from the list.

To reconcile payment for an overdue invoice:

1. Select the Overdue 30 Days alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the right pane, select an alert, or check the box beside one or more alerts.
3. Click [Apply Payment] on the toolbar.
   The Record Payment screen opens.
   
4. Record the payment.
5. Click Save & Close.

To dismiss a Re-assessment Due alert:

1. Select the Re-assessment Due alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the right pane, select an alert, or check the box beside one or more alerts.
3. Click [Remove from Alert List] in the toolbar.
4. Click Yes when prompted.

Work with Task Alerts

Tasks are manually created, not created by the system. You can add, edit, or delete a task.

1. In the Alerts & Reminders manager, click on Tasks in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the right pane, do any of the following:
   • To add a task, click [New] on the toolbar, enter a descriptive Subject, set a Due Date and enter an optional Description, then click Save & Close.
   • To edit a task, select it or check the box beside one or more tasks, click [Edit] on the toolbar, and change any of the task’s values, then click Save & Close.
   • To remove a task, select it or check the box beside one or more tasks, then click [Delete] on the toolbar. You are prompted to confirm. Alternatively, edit the task and check Completed box.

Print Alerts

1. In the Alerts & Reminders manager, click on an alert type in the Alerts tab of the left pane.
2. In the right pane, select an alert or check the box beside one or more alerts.
3. If applicable, click the drop-down arrow next to [Print] and choose the relevant options (these vary depending on alert type).

Available print options include:

• Choose Columns – allows you to choose up to eight columns of information to be included in the printout, and the order in which those columns of information will appear (you can preview the results of your selections)
• Preview Summary – shows a summary of the information for the selected alerts, in printable form
• Preview Selection – shows a preview of the selected alert, e.g. the invoices to be sent (opens each preview in a new browser tab)
• Print Batch – available for Invoices to Print, Invoices to Send and Documents to Send alert types only; for Invoices to Send and Documents to Send, you also have the option to choose the Status of alerts to be printed, and the Sent date, then click Print Batch & Close.