SmartFlow Setup - Standard
- Amy Blanchard
- Andrea El-Urfali (Unlicensed)
Applies to: DVMAX v8.8 and higher
Purpose: The DVMAX SmartFlow integration is a robust and flexible integration that offers many different workflow options. This document discusses the different options available for your clinic. You'll want to choose the options that work best for your hospital and staff. This document is laid out in a format that walks you through the setup we have found to be most helpful for a majority of our users. A magnifying glass icon will alert you to different setup options. Click the link next to the icon to see alternate configuration options.
Prior to beginning the integration process, please email SmartFlow support at smartflow@idexx.com to ask them to switch your account to the EMR API Key.
Standard Setup Summary
With this setup, patients are sent to SmartFlow upon appointment check-in. As treatments are completed in SmartFlow, the charges are sent to DVMAX. Because you can choose which items bill from SmartFlow you will want to work with your staff on the best workflow for capturing all charges. When an invoice has been opened, you will see SmartFlow items highlighted in blue for easy identification. If the patient still needs to be discharged from SmartFlow when you finish an invoice, you are presented with an alert letting you know that the patient needs to be discharged from SmartFlow.
Standard Setup
DVMAX Client Setup:
Setting your local time zone:
From the File pull-down, choose Preferences
Under Assorted Prefs locate the Time Zone pull-down
Choose the time zone for your location
Click OK to save and close the window
From General Management, choose Integrations Setup Wizard
Choose IDEXX SmartFlow as the Provider
Enter the API Key provided by SmartFlow. (This step may already be configured with the help of your SmartFlow Onboarding Specialist). You will need to get your EMR API key from SmartFlow support or your onboarding specialist.
Click Test Connection.
If the key is valid, a success message will be displayed.
If the key is invalid, an unsuccessful message will be displayed. Please contact your SmartFlow Onboarding specialist.
After receiving a success message, you can select “This provider is active” at the top of the window
Auto-Send to SmartFlow should be checked - this will send patients to SmartFlow as they are checked into the appointment book
Leave Auto-Discharge from SmartFlow unchecked - this will prompt users to remind them to review SmartFlow and manually discharge when an invoice is open
Map Auto-Send Fields - You have the ability to choose which DVMAX Visit Reasons will send patients to SmartFlow. Any visit reason that will send a patient to SmartFlow must be mapped to a SmartFlow Template. This section must be configured in order for the auto-send from appointment scheduler feature to work.
Example: If patients coming in for annual exams are not going to be sent to SmartFlow, do not link that visit reason to a template. If all patients checking in for a dental, will be sent to SmartFlow, you will link that visit reason to a template you have created in SmartFlow. TIP: You can have multiple visit reasons linked to the same SmartFlow template
NOTE: You can create and update Visit reasons in System Constants/Client & Patient Settings tab in DVMAX.
Choose Map Codes
On the Visit Reasons tab, find a visit reason that should send a patient to SmartFlow
Click the double arrows to the right of the SmartFlow Template column and choose the SmartFlow treatment template that should be assigned to the patient.
Click on the Appt Staff tab
Double-click in the Staff Provider field and choose the provider associated with the Appointment Scheduler staff. This will ensure that when the patient is sent from a specific appointment column in DVMAX, it will be assigned to that provider in SmartFlow. Note: this does not need to be done for every column, but will save time for those columns where it makes sense for your workflows.
Click Close to close the SmartFlow Auto-Send options
Choose Select & Send Items - This step allows you to choose the items that will be available in SmartFlow for building your treatment templates. This ensures that your completed treatment items will be billed properly in DVMAX.
You will see a list of your DVMAX categories. Check off which categories of bill items should be available in SmartFlow as possible treatment items.
Any bill items with an asterisk in the code or description in any category will not be sent.
There is a new Inactive category available with the SmartFlow integration. You may choose to move any items that are no longer used into this category if you do not want them sent to SmartFlow.
Click Send Items - all bill items in the selected categories and all active providers will be sent to SmartFlow.
Keep the categories checked after sending, so that new bill items added in that category will automatically be sent to SmartFlow. However, if you delete bill items from DVMAX or move them to the inactive category, they will have to be manually updated in SmartFlow.
After the initial transfer, when a provider is marked inactive in DVMAX, it will no longer be available in SmartFlow. When a new provider is added in DVMAX, it will be sent to SmartFlow.
Choose Close to exit the setup
Important Note about Super Items - You must configure your treatment templates in SmartFlow to include all super item bill items. When the parent bill item is sent over to the DVMAX invoice, the child items will not populate on the invoice.
Images Setup
These steps are necessary if you intend to have documentation from SmartFlow saved to the patient history in DVMAX.
Verify your Images Folder is properly configured and mapped
You must also configured the image folder path using the steps outlined in the following document:
Workflow With Standard Setup
Sending Patient to SmartFlow
Right-click on an appointment
Choose Check-In
Choose Reason
Patient is sent to a SmartFlow whiteboard and assigned a treatment sheet based on the Appointment Staff and Appointment Reason mapped in setup
TROUBLESHOOTING: If a patient doesn't show up in SmartFlow, verify that your visit reason is linked to a treatment template. This section must be configured in order for the auto-send from appointment scheduler feature to work.
TROUBLESHOOTING: If the patient record is locked (open on multiple workstations) at the time of check-in, the record will not be sent to SmartFlow.
NOTE: You are still able to manually send patients with the auto-send setting configured
NOTE: Last patient weight will be sent. If weight has changed since last visit, this should be updated in SmartFlow after entering the new weight in DVMAX. (Steps below)
Editing Patient Information in SmartFlow
If you change patient information in DVMAX (patient name, weight, sex, etc) and need to update this information in SmartFlow, you can edit the information via DVMAX.
Click on the SmartFlow icon in the patient record. This icon is located in the patient general information screen, patient history screen, or in the patient appointment.
Choose Edit SmartFlow Selections
Click Send to send the updated patient information to SmartFlow
Tip: If you are using different SmartFlow whiteboards, you can change the SmartFlow whiteboard assignment using this method also.
Consent Forms in SmartFlow
After the patient has been sent to SmartFlow, any consent forms you have configured in SmartFlow will populate with the client and patient information. A PDF version of the signed form will then be added as a patient history entry in DVMAX as soon as the form has been finalized. (The MRE description will be the name of the form).
Open Patients in SmartFlow (from DVMAX)
From DVMAX, you can choose to open the patient in SmartFlow.
From the patient General Information tab, the patient History tab, or the patient appointment in the Appointment Scheduler, click the SmartFlow button
Choose Open Patient in SmartFlow
You will automatically be taken to the patient’s open treatment form in SmartFlow. (If you have not logged into SmartFlow yet from this computer, you may be asked to enter your SmartFlow credentials. You only have to do this once.
Billing from SmartFlow
Billable events (medications and procedures) are sent to the DVMAX invoice/patient history after the entry is completed in SmartFlow. Items added to the invoice from SmartFlow will be highlighted in blue.
There is an option in SmartFlow to not send billable events to DVMAX. Be sure you have the settings configured properly for the needs of your hospital.
If you have multiple invoices opened for the client, the items will be added to the invoice that contains this patient. If multiple invoices are opened that contain this patient, the items will be added to the most recently accessed invoice.
In order for billable events to show up in the patient history, you must first open the invoice, and either Save or Finish this invoice (depending on your setting in DVMAX regarding patient history).
To view the DVMAX setting: Section pull-down/System Constants/Invoice Settings tab. In the Processing & Printing Settings section, locate the Post History and Discharge Notes from Unfinished Invoice setting. If this is checked, you must open and save the invoice before the items from SmartFlow will appear in the patient history. If this setting is unchecked, you must finish the invoice before items from SmartFlow will appear in the patient history.
DVMAX Super Items are not recognized in SmartFlow. If you add a parent bill item to a SmartFlow template, it will not generate the rest of the super item when it enters DVMAX. You will want to configure your SmartFlow templates and DVMAX Super Items accordingly.
Discharging/Invoicing Patient
The first thing you will notice is that certain billing events will appears on the invoice in a light blue color. This is so you can quickly identify all charges applied from Smart Flow. It is important that you verify that no duplicate charges are being entered if staff are entering into both SmartFlow and DVMAX. Reminder: Because you can choose which items bill from SmartFlow you will want to work with your staff on the best workflow for capturing all charges.
Standard configuration will give the user an alert when you finish the patient’s invoice. The alert will warn that the patient has not been discharged from SmartFlow.
Before finishing the invoice, review the record in SmartFlow and confirm all necessary treatments have been performed and charges are appearing on the invoice
Discharge patient from DVMAX.
It is recommended that you do not finish an invoice until a patient is first discharged to ensure that ALL charges are captured. Discharging the patient from within DVMAX will ensure the patient is properly discharged from both applications. If the invoice is finished before all charges have been transferred from SmartFlow, a new unfinished invoice will be started.
Invoice patient in DVMAX. All items that were transferred from SmartFlow will be highlighted in blue.
Please note that it may take up to 15 seconds before the DVMAX patient record will reflect the discharge from SmartFlow.
SmartFlow billable items and medical notes will transfer automatically to DVMAX, however if the patient record or invoice is already open, it will be locked which will require you to close the record and wait a few moments before reopening to see the information appear. DVMAX cannot automatically update a record that is locked opened.
User is unable to finish invoice until patient is discharged in SmartFlow
Patient will be automatically discharged from SmartFlow when invoice is finished
SmartFlow Information Transferred to DVMAX
Dental Charts
When you complete a dental chart for a patient in SmartFlow you can now have that chart become part of their permanent record in DVMAX.
Setting Change in SmartFlow
SmartFlow Settings > Document Management
Set Dental Charts to Yes.
With this setting, whenever you finalize a patient’s dental chart in SmartFlow it will automatically become an attachment to the patient's record. A new MRE will appear in the history as SmartFlow Dental Record for you to locate quickly with keyword searching.
Tip: If you use the rVetLink integration (rVetLink Integration), you can choose to automatically share the chart to the portal based upon the ‘Exclude from Web’ MRC setting.
Other Details
After discharging a patient from Smart Flow, new SmartFlow MRE(s) will be added to the patient history. These MREs have PDF documents attached that contain all the patient medical information performed in SmartFlow while the patient was in the hospital. There are settings in SmartFlow and DVMAX that can be set to determine which PDFs are sent back to DVMAX and how many PDFs and MREs are created.
Separate PDFs and One MRE for Discharge Reports
With this option you will receive the Anesthetic Sheets and Dental Charts as they are finalized and searchable in the patient’s history by MRE. However, you can have the Discharge Reports that include Medical Record, Flowsheet, Note and Billing PDFs attached to One MRE in patient history.
In SmartFlow
SmartFlow Settings > Document Management
Set Merge Reports into One PDF to No
In DVMAX
From the Section pull-down, choose General Management
Click on Utilities
Choose Integration Wizard
Select IDEXX SmartFlow
Uncheck Separate MREs for discharge PDFs
Combined PDF in DVMAX for multiple PDFs sent from SmartFlow
Separate PDFs and MREs in DVMAX
Tip: If you are also an rVetLink user and want to choose which PDFs are sent to the portal, you can configure these SmartFlow MREs to Hide on Web, which will prevent them from being sent to rVetLink.
When you perform a non-billing monitoring activity, or enter notes in SmartFlow, they appear in the patient’s record as a medical record note. There will be one SmartFlow Treatment Record MRE per visit for each patient. Each new note made in SmartFlow is added to the same MRE in DVMAX with the date/time stamp of when it was done.
Anesthetic Sheets and Forms that are completed in SmartFlow will go to the patient’s record, attached to an MRE. The MRE description will match the name of the form for easy searching and identification.
MPA with SmartFlow
With MPA (Multi-Practice Access), patient information is shared between connected hospitals. Each hospital will have their own individual SmartFlow account. These SmartFlow accounts will not share treatment information. All DVMAX workflows associated with SmartFlow (sending a patient to SmartFlow, discharging, etc) will need to be done from the location associated with the SmartFlow account containing the patient’s active visit information (i.e. - the location where the patient is getting treatment).