Managing tasks effectively in Canvas is essential for ensuring that all patient care and administrative duties are executed efficiently. This article will walk you through the complete process of creating, managing, and organizing tasks, ensuring you have all the necessary details at your fingertips.

Creating Tasks in Canvas

Tasks in Canvas can be manually created within a patient's chart with the Task command or via Canvas Chat, providing flexibility depending on your workflow.

Creating a Task in a Patient's Chart

Tasks within a patient’s chart are often related to specific actions or follow-ups required for that patient.

Here’s how to create them:

  1. Initiate a Task Command: Within a note, type "task" on a blank line and press Enter or click on the Task command option.

  2. Fill Out Task Details:

    • Task: Enter the details of the task, specifying what needs to be done.

    • Assign to: Choose who will be responsible for the task. This could be a specific team, individual, or care team role (e.g., Referrals team, John Smith, PCP).

    • Due Date: Select the date by which the task should be completed to ensure timely action.

    • Comment: Add any additional notes or instructions relevant to the task. These comments will be visible in the task list and task card within the patient chart.

    • Label: Apply any relevant labels to categorize the task, aiding in organization and prioritization.

    • Linked Items: Attach components of the patient’s chart to the task for reference.

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  3. Create the Task: After entering all necessary information, click CREATE to finalize and commit the task. Once created, the task is visible on the task list within the patient’s chart as well as the assigned user’s task list.

    • Patient chart

    • Assigned user’s task list

    The task will remain assigned to the original care team role even if the care team role is later deleted or reassigned. However, if the task is part of an automation and the care team role is deleted, the automation will no longer assign an assignee.

Creating a Task via Canvas Chat

Canvas Chat allows for quick task creation in the middle of a conversation or when interacting with Canvas Bot

  1. Access Canvas Chat: This can be found at the bottom right of your Canvas screen.

  2. Type /task: This command brings up the task creation prompt.

  3. Enter Task Details using the designated formatting /task [assignee] [what] [when due]

    • Assignee: Use the "@" sign immediately followed by the name of the person or team to whom the task is assigned.

    • Task Description: Provide a brief description of the task. If the task relates to a specific patient, use the "#" sign followed by the patient’s name to link the task.

    • Due Date: If required, add a due date

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  1. Create the Task: Press Enter to generate the task. You’ll see a confirmation message "Task created." in the chat dialogue box

Tasks created in Canvas Chat are not required to have an associated patient. Tasks without an associated patient can only be viewed on the task list.

Tasks in the Patient Chart

To view and manage tasks within a patient's chart:

  1. Navigate to the desired patient chart and select the Tasks icon from the filter panel. This opens the task cards in a pane to the right of the chart.

  2. Use the task header at the top of the Task Panel to filter tasks by status (open, completed, or closed), label, or due date.

  3. Each task has a card with essential information where you can:

    • View or change the assignee.

    • View, assign, or change a team.

    • View, change, or add a due date.

    • View or add a comment.

    • View, add, or remove labels.

    • Review or link new items.

  4. To complete a task, select the blue Done button. Alternatively, to mark a task as closed without completing it, select the white downward arrow next to the Done button and choose Closed.

Use "Done" when the task has been fully completed, and "Closed" when the task is no longer relevant without any work performed.

Task List

The Task List serves as a central hub for managing all your tasks. You can access it through the panel filters at the top right of your screen when you are not in a patient chart. By default, you'll see all tasks assigned to you or to teams of which you're a member.

Columns

The following columns are visible and allow you to take action without opening each task:

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Filtering and Sorting Tasks

Filters help you manage your tasks by narrowing down the list to those most relevant to your current needs.

Filtering Tasks

You can filter tasks based on several criteria:

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To select labels using the filter, you need to scroll through the list and manually check the boxes. The search field allows you to find specific labels, but you cannot press Enter to select them after typing in the search.

Sorting Tasks

Sorting allows you to prioritize tasks by various criteria:

  1. Navigate to the Column Headers: These include Task, Patient, Follow-up Due, Activity, Created, Assignee, and Team.

  2. Sort Tasks: Click on any column header to sort tasks:

    • Click once for ascending order.

    • Click twice for descending order.

Sorting is unavailable for linked items or labels. To streamline your workflow, use filters when working with labels.

Labeling Tasks

Labels help in categorizing and organizing tasks efficiently. You can add existing labels or create new ones as needed.

Adding a Label to a Task

To label a task:

  1. Locate the Task: Find the task in your Task List.

  2. Add a Label: Click on "No labels" or the + icon next to an existing label, then search for and select the appropriate label(s).

Review Task & Claim Labels for information on how to create and manage your custom labels.

Linking Resources to Tasks

Linking resources to tasks is a powerful feature that allows you to associate relevant documents, notes, and other tasks directly to a task, providing all necessary information in one place.

Adding Linked Resources

When creating or updating a task, use the "Linked Items" field to attach resources:

  1. Search and Select Resources: Up to five resources can be linked to a task. The resources you can link are specific to the patient’s chart.

  2. View Resource Details: Hover over the linked resource to see additional details, ensuring the correct item is attached.

  3. Navigate to Linked Resources: Click on the heading of the linked resource to open it in a new tab, where it will be highlighted with a green arrow for easy identification.

Managing Linked Resources

Commenting on Tasks

To add comments to tasks, locate the task in the Task List and click on the underlined text in the Activity column. A comment box will appear where you can type your message. Once finished, click Add Comment to save it. This feature enhances communication about task progress and allows for additional instructions to be shared among team members.

Reassigning Tasks

Tasks can be easily reassigned to different individuals or teams as needed. To do this, simply locate the task in the Task List, then click on the current assignee's name in either the Assignee or Team column. A drop-down menu will appear, allowing you to select a new assignee for the task. This streamlined process ensures that tasks can be quickly redistributed as workloads or responsibilities change within your team.

If a task is assigned to both an individual and a team, it will no longer appear for other team members in the default "me and my teams" filter. To make the task visible again, remove the individual assignee.

Completing Tasks

Tasks can be completed in two ways: marking as done or marking as closed.

Both statuses remove the task from active workflows while ensuring its historical details remain accessible.

Task Assignment

Tasks must be assigned to an individual rather than a group to ensure clear ownership and accountability for task completion. While groups can be assigned to tasks for visibility and collaboration—allowing members to manage tasks, add comments, and provide updates—only an individual can mark a task as done or closed. If a task is assigned to a group (e.g., “care navigators”), individual members cannot complete it directly. To mark the task as done or closed, a group member must first reassign the task to themselves.

Automated Task Management

Canvas can automatically generate tasks based on specific triggers or actions, such as:

As you continue to use Canvas for task management, you'll likely discover workflows that work best for you and your team. Don't hesitate to customize your approach and share best practices with colleagues to collectively improve your clinic's efficiency and patient care delivery.