Managing patient medications effectively is vital for quality healthcare documentation and patient safety. This comprehensive guide outlines the processes for document, prescribe, adjust, refill, stop medication. By following these instructions, healthcare providers can streamline medication management, ensure compliance, and maintain thorough patient records. From handling electronic refill requests to adjusting existing prescriptions, this guide covers all essential commands and fields, making it a valuable resource for maximizing Canvas's capabilities and improving patient care workflows.
The Medication Statement command is used to document historical medications a patient is taking that were not prescribed by the provider. It ensures the patient’s medication record is complete.
Add the Medication Statement command into an empty line of the note
Medication Statement Heading: Enter the name of the medication the patient is taking.
Medications are sourced from First Databank (FDB). If unavailable, medications can be added as free text. Free-text entries appear in gray on the patient summary.
SIG: Specify the frequency and route of administration
Interaction checks are performed against all previously recorded medications and allergies. If the selected medication has an interaction, the interaction severity and warning will display.
Once the command is committed, the medication will display under Medications list in the patient summary. Medications added via free text will appear in gray on the patient summary.
The Prescribe command allows healthcare providers to issue new prescriptions for both controlled and non-controlled substances.
Add the Prescribe command into an empty line of the note and complete the fields. Red text fields are required.
Prescribe Heading: Name of medication
Indications: Reason for prescribing
SIG: Special characters and line breaks are not supported
Days Supply: Number of days prescription should cover
Quantity to Dispense: Specify the quantity X form (tablet, capsule, box, etc)
Refills: Number of refills authorized
Controlled substance restrictions based on their schedule badge
Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions cannot be refilled and expire after 6 months.
Review will be available if refills are set above 0
Schedule III or IV prescriptions may not be filled or refilled more than 6 months after the written date OR refilled more than 5 times, whichever comes first.
Schedule V controlled substances may be refilled as authorized. Laws may vary by state.
Substitutions Allowed: Indicate if substitutions are permissible
Pharmacy: Where the prescription should be sent. This will auto-populate to patient's preferred pharmacy if it is set in the patient's profile
Complete the command by clicking Review and selecting the needed action
SEND to ePrescribe
PRINT for a hard copy
SAVE to record without triggering action
MAKE CHANGES to correct any errors
Prescription signing can be restricted to Provider's only. Please refer to Prescribing Restrictions for further details
When prescribing or documenting a medication, Canvas performs drug to drug and drug to allergy checks and displays within the command. Interaction warnings can also be controlled in admin
By default Canvas shows all Drug/Drug Interaction Warnings as well as all Allergy Warnings. However, this setting can be adjusted at the organizational level in settings.
Controlled substances are prescribed in Canvas through the DrFirst integration
After completing the prescription in Canvas, click SEND. The prescription status will change to PENDING.
The DrFirst Signing Screen opens automatically. Review:
Patient Information: Name, gender, birth date, and address.
Prescriber Information: Name, DEA number, NPI, and address.
Complete the two-factor authentication:
Enter the Signing Passphrase.
Provide the One-Time Password (OTP) generated by the prescriber’s authentication device.
Verify prescription details and select the prescription by checking the box in the first column.
Click Sign and Send at the bottom right to finalize.
Click this button rather than using the enter key. Pressing ENTER after adding the OTP token may cause the window to exit, leaving the prescription unsent.
If several scheduled medications are being submitted in the same note, a new validation window will show for each medication.
The Letter feature is ideal for ordering durable medical equipment (DMEs), providing flexibility and comprehensive documentation.
Open the patient’s chart and create a new Letter.
Include detailed information:
Equipment name (e.g., wheelchair).
Quantity (e.g., one unit).
Specific instructions or additional requirements.
Include patient and insurance details as needed.
Print or fax the letter to the supplier for processing.
Frequent DME orders can be simplified using letter templates, reducing errors and saving time.
Comprehensive Documentation: Includes all necessary details for compliance.
Provider Signature: Ensures regulatory requirements are met.
Customization: Allows for complex or non-standard orders.
For simple orders like syringes or lancets, use the Prescribe Command for quick electronic submission.
This command provides the ability to easily issue a prescription refill for any medication on the current Medication List. This process is possible both manually through a chart note and electronically with requests from the pharmacy
Add the Refill command to the note and select the medication being refilled from the dropdown.
Alternatively, hover over the medication in the patient’s Medications list and click Refill. If no note is open, a Chart Review note will be created.
The Refill command will populate all of the information from when the command was initially prescribed. Make any needed adjustments.
Finalize the process by clicking SEND, PRINT, or SAVE.
If an ERROR status is given, refer to Prescription Errors
Pharmacies have the ability to electronically request a refill for a patient's medication.
Access the Refill Requests panel from the Schedule View.
Click the desired refill request card to open the patient chart.
Approve or deny the request using APPROVE or DENY commands. If no note is open, a Chart Review note will be created.
Complete remaining fields and click SEND to notify the pharmacy.
Total quantity, directions, and pharmacy cannot be modified in electronic requests. If updates are needed, deny the request and issue a new prescription.
The Adjust Prescription command allows the user to adjust existing medications
Add the Adjust Prescription command by adding the command to a note or from the patient summary by hovering over the medication and clicking Adjust. If no note is open, a Chart Review note will be created.
Adjustments can also be made from the patient summary by hovering over the name of the medication and clicking Adjust. If no note is open, a Chart Review note will be created.
Update necessary fields:
SIG: Will automatically fill with SIG on previously sent prescription. Adjustments can be made, if needed
Click here to change medication or RX: This will expand to the command to update additional fields. Previously prescribed information will populate, but they can be updated as needed. The medication can also be changed in this view as well.
Click REVIEW to confirm the changes and Finalize with SEND, PRINT, or SAVE.
Documenting the completion or cessation of historical medications is an important part of high quality charting.
Add the Stop Medication command to a note and select the medication or hover over the medication in the patient summary Medications list and click Stop.
Provide a Rationale or reason for stopping medication
Click RECORD to finalize and the medication will be removed from the patient summary
Creating a new compound medication in Canvas Medical involves defining its composition, dosage, and usage parameters in the settings. This process ensures that compound medications are accurately represented and managed for both clinical and pharmacy workflows. This guide walks you through the steps to create and configure compound medications in the system.
To use the compound medication feature, the compound medication admin setting and the Prescribe and Refill SDK commands need to be enabled.
For setup assistance, contact Canvas Support at support@canvasmedical.com or submit a ticket via Pylon.
Navigate to Settings and select Practice: Compound Medications.
On the setup page, click ADD COMPOUND MEDICATION + to create a new compound.
Fill in the required fields to define the compound medication:
Formulation: Specifies the ingredients, concentration, and form. This formulation is what will display in the command and be sent to the pharmacy.
Ketoprofen 15%, Baclofen 5%, Orphenadrine 5%
Magic Mouthwash (1 part viscous lidocaine 2%, 1 part Maalox, 1 part diphenhydramine 12.5mg per 5mL elixir)
Potency Unit Code: Defines the measurement unit (mg, mcg) to ensure precise dosing.
Units without a specific measurement cannot be selected. Ex: vial
is not a supported unit because it does not contain a specific measurement. Instead, a measurable unit like "mL" should be selected to reflect expected volume or dosage accurately.
Controlled Substances: Select the appropriate schedule for controlled substances, classified from Schedule I (high potential for abuse) to Schedule V (lowest potential for abuse).
Controlled Substance NDC: When using a controlled substance in a compound med, the NDC of the medication with the highest schedule should be used.
Compound medications are prescribed the same as standard medications through the Prescribe
command. However since this is a compound medication, there will not be any interaction checks due to the custom nature of the ingredients. There will be a prompt under the medication stating Interaction checks cannot be performed for free-text compound medications
.
Refills for compound medications are completed the same as standard refills. Compound medication refills will also include the Interaction checks cannot be performed for free-text compound medications
beneath the selected medication.
Adjustments to a compound medication are also managed in the Practice: Compound Medications
settings. To update a medication, mark the existing compound as inactive and create a new entry with the necessary changes.
Once a medication is sent a badge of the prescription status will display next to the command's triple dot menu.
🟢 Accepted | Prescription has been sent and accepted |
🟠 Pending | Prescription is being communicated to the pharmacy but will ultimately be accepted. Usually this updates to Accepted almost instantly, but at times it can take hours. |
🔴 Error | Prescription was unable to be transmitted to the pharmacy |
🟠 Pending | Prescription is in the process of being signed and sent to the pharmacy in DrFirst |
🟠 Received | Prescription has been received by DrFirst but has not been signed |
🟠 Transmitted | Prescription has been transmitted to the pharmacy |
🟢 Delivered | Final verification the prescription was accepted by the pharmacy |
🔴 Error | Transmission resulted in an error or was rejected by Surescripts or the pharmacy |
🔴 Cancelled | Prescriber exited the signing window without signing the prescription |
If a prescription errors, the items listed below are helpful for basic troubleshooting. Hover over the Error badge next to the triple dot on the command for further details.
Confirm the patient has a full address in their profile to facilitate proper prescription delivery
This is the most common cause of prescription errors
Patients must have at least one full address including city, state and country. The Type
must be set for postal
or both
. The Use
must be set as home.
Confirm the pharmacy is still in business
Typically seen as a 500 Error
Google the pharmacy to ensure the location has not closed
900 error: The pharmacy did not accept the medication due to one of the following:
The pharmacy is not dispensing the medication prescribed
The patient's insurance is not accepted by the pharmacy
For controlled substances: Confirm Sex at Birth
is specified as Male
or Female
in the patient's profile; entries of Unknown
or Other
will trigger an error upon submission.
If the provider is receiving Authentication failed. Access is denied
on the DrFirst screen, there is an issue with their passphrase. The passphrase should not include special characters. If the passphrase is forgotten, it will need to be reset within DrFirst.
Refills will error if they are being refilled from a free text medication statement
. This can be determined by hovering over the medication in the patient summary and seeing the prompt below
If the reason for error cannot be determined, please reach out to Canvas Support via a Pylon ticket form
When resending the medication a new command will need to be created. The prescriber should either use the Refill
or Stop Medication
command before prescribing a second time to avoid duplicates in the patient chart
Due to the ever evolving nature of our product, recorded videos may be slightly out of date.