Senior Living Communities

Adding Rules to Task Follow Up Questions

Rules can be added to POC Follow Up Questions to disable unnecessary questions, or to prevent documentation errors. You can configure 3 types of Rules:

  1. Logic – allows a question to be disabled if another question is answered in a certain way. (Example: If a question regarding bowel continence is answered "No BM," then the next question regarding consistency is disabled).

  2. Warnings – generates a warning message notifying you that answers to Follow Up Questions are not consistent. (Example: If a Self Performance Follow Up Question is answered "Independent," then the Support Provided Follow Up Question must be answered "No setup or physical help from staff"). The warning must be acknowledged before saving the responses.

  3. Errors – generates an error message notifying you that answers to Follow Up Questions are incorrect, and cannot be saved.

  1. Management Console/EMC (if multi-community database) > Standards > Care Management > Point of Care: Task Library. (If single community database: Care Services > Setup > Point of Care: Task Library).

  2. Click Tasks to the left of the library name.

  3. Click Edit to the left of the selected task.

  4. To the right of Follow Up Questions click Edit Questions, or View Questions > an Assigned Standard Follow Up Questions window appears.

  5. Click Rules at the top of the window > a POC Consistency Rules window appears.

  6. Select the Rule Type (Logic, Error, or Warning) from the list in the top right corner of the window, and complete the appropriate "if then" statement (Use the lists to select the questions to disable questions or create errors/warnings). Select the responses that should be included in the Rule by checking the corresponding boxes.

    • Logic – if follow up question x is one of a, b, c... then disable follow up question y.

    • Error – if follow up question x is one of a, b, c... then create error when follow up question y is answered d, e, f...

    • Warning – if follow up question x is one of a, b, c... then create warning when follow up question y is answered d, e, f...

  7. Select Enabled. This enables the Rule in the database. Clearing the option disables the Rule.

  8. Select Enforce Inverse if applicable. Only select this option if the Rule works both ways (i.e., if answering the second question should apply the Rule to the first question as well).

  9. If applicable, document in the narrative text field how you want the Error/Warning Worded in plain language. (If the Narrative Text is left blank, then the error or warning that the end user receives is often very complicated - See Hints and Tips).

  10. Save. Save and New if multiple rules are going to be applied to the same set of questions).

  • If a task is set up with rules to disable certain questions based on a previous question's response, then the documentation for the disabled questions is recorded as "Response Not Required." For example, a rule is set up to disable Question B if Question A is answered No. The end user does not see Question B because it is disabled. In the look back (Tasks tab, MDS), and reports, the documentation for Question B appears as "Response Not Required."

  • When setting up rules, consider whether or not to include the "Resident Refused, Resident Not Available, Not Applicable" responses to the response choices which trigger the rule. For example – for an MDS Self Performance Follow Up Question, it isn’t advisable to disable the Support Provided question if one of these responses is selected, as the MDS is not populated with a response for Support Provided.

  • The Narrative Text box helps to simplify the Error or Warning Text the end user see. For Example, if the text box is left blank then an error the end user might see: When question BED MOBILITY: SELF-PERFORMANCE - How resident moves to and from lying position, turns side to side, and positions body while in bed or alternate sleep furniture is one of, LIMITED ASSISTANCE - Resident highly involved in activity; staff provide guided maneuvering of limbs or other non-weight-bearing assistance, then question BED MOBILITY: SUPPORT PROVIDED - How resident moves to and from lying position, turns side to side, and positions body while in bed or alternate sleep furniture cannot be one of, Two+ persons physical assist - whereas, if the Narrative Text Box is filled in with ‘If the Self-Performance question is answered ‘Limited Assistance’ then the Support Provided Question should not be answered ‘Two+ Person Physical Assist’ – which is much easier for the end user to read and understand. You may also further instruct them regarding actual appropriate responses if desired.

  • Rules can only be applied to a task with more than one Follow Up Question.

  • Rules cannot be applied to Follow Up Questions with numeric responses.

  • Warnings allow the user to acknowledge the warning and save the documentation regardless of consistency of the answers to the Follow Up Questions.

  • Errors do not allow the user to save the answers to the Follow Up Questions unless the answers are consistent with the configured rules.

  • Multiple rules can be applied to the same set of Follow Up Questions.