Security enhancements

Improved password standards

To support the completion of the annual Data Security Protection Toolkit self-assessment, new password standards have been enforced across all CareDocs platforms to help promote good password practice, which will aid in answering two questions in the assessment:

• 5.4 How does your organisation make sure that staff, directors, trustees and volunteers use good password practice?
• 5.5 Do you ensure that passwords for highly privileged system accounts, social media accounts and infrastructure components shall be changed from default values and should have high strength?

Any users with passwords that don’t meet the new standards will be prompted to update when they log in. At a minimum, all passwords must now:

• Contain letters
• Contain numbers
• Be greater than eight (8) or more characters

Device authorisation

As we approach the release of our brand new CareDocs mobile application, we are adding more security features to protect service user data. In v4.8.3, we have introduced a new method of controlling mobile device access. CareDocs Management Portal users now have the authority to approve or deny access to new devices.

Disable access to portals for all users

We have implemented a second new feature to the Management Portal that allows administrators to completely disable web application access for all staff users. For example, CareDocs Cloud Portal and the upcoming CareDocs mobile application.

This function can be especially useful in the rare event of a data security breach. By temporarily restricting CareDocs access to just the desktop application, you can ensure nobody is accessing service user information on a mobile device until the situation is resolved.  

Daily notes, forms & reporting

New daily note events

Following customer feedback, we have added six new event types to the Daily Notes section to record emergency visits from external healthcare professionals. This will help create more specific and consistent records and make it easier to locate historic events.

The new event category is titled Emergency and contains the events:
• First Responder
• Paramedic
• Nurse Practitioner
• Rapid Response Team
• Crisis Intervention Team
• Community Mental Health Team

Improved vaccination consent and administration recording & reporting

The ‘Consent for Vaccination’ form has been renamed ‘Consent for a Record of Vaccinations’. With this update, you can now record when a vaccination was administered and enter additional supportive information into the same form. This allows for more efficient records, which also makes reporting more comprehensive.

The revised form gives you the ability to record one vaccination type per form by selecting a specific vaccine or booster from a drop-down list. The vaccines and boosters you are able to select from include:

• COVID-19 Vaccine
• COVID-19 Booster Vaccines
• Omicron Booster ‘Dual Vaccine’
• Influenza Vaccine
• Pneumococcal Vaccine
• Shingles Vaccine

You can use this form in conjunction with the ‘Capacity Assessment and Best Interest Checklist’ form to establish whether or not the service user has the mental capacity to consent to vaccinations.

A new supporting report titled ‘Consent for and Record of Vaccination Report’ has been created to display information recorded in the form a single report. Information which displays in the report includes:

• Date of Vaccination
• Service User Named
• Decision Maker
• Has Consent been Given
• Type of Vaccine
• Brand of Vaccine
• Comments

Behaviour and mental capacity forms

A new form titled ‘Individual Behaviour of Concern Incident and ABC’ has been created to record service user concerns and incidents. It can be used in addition to the existing suite of behaviour-related forms in CareDocs.

The form contains guidance that will help you define an appropriate level of concern (between 0-10) for incidents relating to self-injurious behaviour, aggression toward others and destruction. This can support in identifying patterns or triggers in behaviours that could potentially prevent the incident from occurring or escalating.

Greater cross-platform efficiency

Mobile access enablement when creating staff members

To help increase efficiency, we have added the ability to grant access to mobile platforms (e.g. CareDocs Cloud Portal) directly from the ‘Add New Staff Member’ form. Ticking the new ‘Mobile Enabled’ checkbox will automatically generate a portal user name and enable access to the respective online portal.

Direct access to point of care recording

New system users will be able to log straight into CareDocs Mobile / CareDocs Cloud Portal if the aforementioned ‘Mobile Enabled’ checkbox is ticked.

Find out more

For a full list of new features and updates in v4.8.3 including detailed descriptions, download our Changelog & Release Notes document by heading over to the Customer Zone.

If you require further assistance, please contact our friendly customer service team by emailing support@caredocs.co.uk or calling us on 0330 056 3333.

If you’re not currently a CareDocs customer and would like to book a free demonstration to see the features and benefits for yourself, click here.