Overview
What are custom blocks?
A custom block is a reusable section that helps you collect specific, structured information during a patient visit. You can add questions and instructions to guide what you want to document, and group related fields together to keep everything organized for you and your team. The question formats available are:
Custom blocks can be manually added to any Elation Note draft or included in an Elation Note Template for easy reuse. Data from custom blocks populates the USCDI data class for data.
When should I use a custom block?
Use a custom block when the standard options don’t quite fit what you need. They’re great for adding structured input fields, building layouts that work better for your workflow, or adding conditional logic to show or hide fields based on user input. Common use cases include:- Assessment tools that are not available through Elation’s Clinical Questionnaires (e.g. STEADI 3 and IADL)
- Questions around care coordination (e.g. Advanced Care Planning and Healthcare Proxy)
- Screenings for chronic conditions (ex. Diabetic Foot Exam and Asthma Control Assessment)
When to avoid using custom blocks
Custom blocks should not be used to replace other standard data collection formats (e.g. patient vitals or clinical questionnaires). Elation relies on these standard data collection points to populate important measures, such as the vitals table for trending in the chronological record and quality measures (MIPs).What does a custom block look like?
Custom block builder view
Custom block in visit note
Workflow Instructions
Creating custom blocks
Custom blocks can only be created from Settings:Grouping sections
Group similar sections together to keep your layout organized. Fields can be moved in and out of groups. If a group is emptied of fields, it will be deleted automatically. Click Add Group to add a heading to your custom block and then add your sections to the group.Adding instructions
Enter free-text instructions that appear only while the visit note is in draft mode. These can be used to guide documentation or provide context and directions for collaborators. Click Add Instructions to add a section for instructions.Creating conditional logic rules
Apply conditional logic to Dropdown, Radio, and Checkbox sections to configure rules that show or hide other sections based on earlier responses.
Here is an example of a question with conditional logic rules:
- The question “Does the patient have a pain management plan (medication or other therapy) reviewed in the past year?” only appears if the answer to “Is patient on a current opioid prescription?” is a Yes.
