CIMS-HR Technology

Touchscreen Registration

Early Years Centres and Day Centres are using CIMS-HR to streamline registration, attendance tracking, and volunteer hour collection.  Membership cards are scanned at the kiosk and a simple, intuitive touchscreen application prompts for the information necessary to complete the transaction.

If a member is pre-registered for a course, that detail will automatically appear only if a session for that course is happening on the current date.   Non-registered drop-in programs that are offered also appear as options, and the member can specify multiple activities on a single screen.

The attendance details appear immediately in the member's schedules in the main CIMS-HR application.  The OHRS statistical calculations for SA 491 ** 20 (Group Participants - Registered Clients) and SA 491 60 10 (Group Participants - Non-registered Clients) are also populated directly from the touchscreen application.

Computer Telephony

Canesto has written a sophisticated CT component that integrates with CIMS-HR.  It is much more comprehensive than a simple caller-id capture utility, and can be used for a "proof-of-service" record and a self-service portal for workers and volunteers.  Since the application was written by our own development team we have complete control over its functionality and we don't need to rely on third-party development schedules or cope with interface limitations.

• Arrival
  
  When the worker arrives at the client's dwelling they use the client's phone to call a central, toll-free number.  The application uses the worker's account number and pin, together with the caller ID, to identify the client from the CIMS-HR schedule.    The highest quality text-to-speech engine available (Nuance) is used to read the client's name back to the worker for confirmation of the booking.  There is intelligence built-in that deals with multiple clients at the same phone number, including residential facilities where the main building number is transmitted instead of the client's own phone number.
  
  The application will then optionally prompt the worker for the travel time and kilometres claimed to reach the booking. 
   
• Departure
  
  The worker repeats the process of calling the central number.  When they choose the departure option the system will use text-to-speech to confirm that they are recording a departure from the previous arrival.  The application will then optionally prompt the worker for the service time claimed for the booking.
   
• Schedule Delivery
  
  The worker has the ability to have their schedule for the current and the following 2 days read to them using text-to-speech.  For each booking there are options to hear directions to the client's dwelling and the specific tasks associated with the service.   If the schedule entry involves transportation services then the system will read the pickup and drop-off locations for the ride.  
   
• Notifications
  
  Text messages that are typed into the worker's file can be read by the workers through this interface.  If a message has been flagged as urgent then when the next arrival or departure occurs the worker will be notified that they have messages waiting and provide a count for the number that are urgent.   The system records the date and time at which a worker hears the message so schedulers in the main system will be able to determine whether or not the communication has been reviewed by the worker.

Integration Web Services

In the community support sector the ability to work cooperatively in concert with other applications, portals and agencies is an important characteristic.  The product suite includes a number of purpose-built web services that allow external applications to extract data from the application. 

Our web services layer provides an access method that properly-authenticated systems can use over an SSL connection to communicate with CIMS-HR. 

• One nursing organization, for example,  wanted to be able to refresh worker and client data in a third-party mobile platform.  A secure web service provides access to transactional changes to the data so that the external database can be synchronized automatically.  
   
• Our Assessments application, which runs on each assessor's own notebook computer, uses a web service to download client history from the main application and then upload new data elements to the central database.

Automated Intake Gateway For Organizations (AMIGO)

The CIMS-HR product architecture includes a gateway layer for communication with other agencies and the Community Care Access Centres.  This state-of-the-art web application, based on the Microsoft Outlook (c) 2010 interface, is written in Silverlight to provide the most advanced user experience possible in a web browser.

One interface to the layer provides integration with the Ontario Association Of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC) "CHRIS" application.   The OACCAC and the NSM CCAC selected Canesto and one of its clients as their primary vendor partner for the testing of the new Automated Provider Reports functionality.  This decision was a validation of the advanced technology and automation programs that Canesto is developing for the sector.  It also confirmed that we are aligned with CCAC directions and technology preferences, and that we are well-positioned to work in collaboration with the CCAC at a high level.

The AMIGO application includes functionality for:

• accepting and managing Service Offer Referrals  to ensure that they are either accepted or refused within the time period specified by contractual obligations with the CCAC
   
• accepting, managing and integrating Service Frequency Update messages into the CIMS-HR application
   
• creating provider reports to electronically submit requests for new frequencies, changes to existing frequencies, provider end date extensions and cancelled visits (for initial, interim and discharge reports)
   
• reconciling CCAC responses to the submitted provider reports by analyzing subsequent referral messages and comparing the change from the previous message to the details requested  in the provider report

Self-Serve Worker Portal

Virtually all organizations face the same challenge of how to distribute schedules to the providers of the service.   A number of strategies typically involve either emailing or faxing schedules, or using voice mail to communicate changes and new client assignments.  In addition to our Computer Telephony component, which workers can call into to retrieve their schedule,  CIMS-HR has a Worker Portal that provides this capability and much more.

Unlike the AMIGO application, which is typically run in an office environment, the Worker Portal is designed to be accessed from any browser.  Service providers can no longer be expected to own a PC or MAC at home, however, they may own an iPad, iPhone or other device. 

The portal includes the following features:

• the worker can log in and view their schedule for the current day and the next 2 days (based on security settings the worker can also view the client's address, directions to the dwelling, the service tasks and special functions associated with the booking, and other relevant details for clients who are considered high risk/high need)
   
• the number of hours worked, travel time, travel km, errand km and any other required values can be updated by the worker
   
• the arrival and departure times can be recorded (by either typing in the times after the fact, or by using the "Arrive" and "Depart" actions if they are accessing the application in real-time throughout the day)
   
• care plan notes can be assigned to each schedule entry
   
• a "confirm" button is the worker's statutory confirmation that they worked those hours at the times indicated
   
• immediate notifications can be generated for no shows or late visits

These portal records are then used to automate the timesheet reconciliation process by comparing the stated values provided by the portal to the current information in the CIMS-HR schedule.