What's New

9 December 2024

Enhancements 🎁

To remain compliant with government legislation, Helix has completed testing for Electronic Prescribing – Conformance Profile v3.0.1, enabling continued connection to HI Services for ePrescribing.
For Australian Immunisation Register Rule 2015, effective 1 March 2025, Services Australia is making changes to the information required for immunisations submitted to AIR. The first mandatory change is an update to the available options for immunisations in the Vaccine Type field. The following two values are no longer available and have been replaced with Other:
- State Program
- Private
We've made minor adjustments to ePrescription status descriptions. For more information, see ePrescription Statuses and Troubleshooting.

26 November 2024

Enhancements 🎁

HCPs can now add their own individual bank account details to Helix so that invoices display their banking details. If the bank account details are left blank in an HCP's profile, the centre's bank account details are used. For more information, see Add a User.
Throughout Helix, including on prescribing screens, printed prescriptions and reports, Regulation 24 text has been replaced with Regulation 49.
For medications ceased after 26/11/2024, the medications on the Health Summary > Ceased tab now include the user, date and time of when the medication was ceased. To display this information, hover your mouse over the Info icon. For more information, see Cease Medications.

Bug fixes 🐛

For referrals, we've updated the way the referral expiry is calculated so that the correct expiry date is displayed.

12 November 2024

Enhancements 🎁

For all reports, you can now jump to the first or last page. For more information, see Report Controls.
Updated templates:
- Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT Generation) Pathology Request - Western Diagnostic Pathology, TML Pathology, QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, Dorevitch Pathology, Abbot Pathology

Bug fixes 🐛

For prescriptions listed in the Patient Timeline, in the medication details displayed when you select a medication, hover your mouse over the Directions field to see the full text for long directions.

29 October 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Updated templates:
- Genetic (Reproductive) Carrier Screening - Western Diagnostic Pathology, TML Pathology, QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, Dorevitch Pathology, Abbot Pathology

Bug fixes 🐛

We've fixed an issue where in some scenarios, Real Time Prescription Monitoring (RTPM) alerts, such as QScript, were not shown when represcribing a medication using Quick Prescribe.
Fixes for Billing:
- You can no longer issue an invoice that has already been issued under a different Visit type, by a different user. In the Invoice Issue window, the invoice displays the Visit type that has already been issued, such as Private or Medicare.
- Diary entries for Workers Compensation visits are now displayed chronologically by date of creation.
- The Outstanding Invoices report now excludes invoices that have been written off.

15 October 2024

Enhancements 🎁

We've changed the logic for the recall notification badge count displayed in Message Centre > Recalls so you will always know the number of urgent recalls that require follow up. The badge now shows the total number of Urgent recalls that have not yet had a successful contact attempt, irrespective of the time range selected. For more information, see Recalls in the Message Centre.
To assist South Australian practices that cross the Payroll Tax threshold, we've added a summary page to the Receipts by Item Code report. The summary shows the number of bulk billed items codes in relation to the total number of billed items grouped by provider. For more information, see Receipts by Item Code report.
For further information, see the SA SRO site.

Bug fixes 🐛

In the Specialist Referral Form, we've fixed an intermittent display problem with Save & Print.

2 October 2024

Enhancements 🎁

For recipe management, we've added a new settings screen where medication recipes can be managed at a practice-wide level. Recipes can be created, modified and deleted for all prescribers or selected prescribers in Settings > Recipes. To access this area, users require the permission Update Drug Recipes in Settings permission.
Note: Any changes to recipes using the new settings screen do not affect any prescriptions or medication records added previously.

For more information, see Manage Recipes.
Medication recipes can now be added to your Favourites list. If the recipe is added to the Favourites list after the dosage instructions and duration have been entered on a prescription, these are remembered for future prescriptions.
The dose form of a recipe now appears alongside the recipe name in the Recipes and Favourites lists so that they can be more easily identified.
For more information, see Medication Favourites.
To assist practices with their Payroll tax exemption claim, we've added a summary page to the Visits Report. The summary shows the total number of visits grouped by visit type (Medicare, Private, DVA, Workers compensation and so on) for a centre, from which you can calculate your bulk bill rates. For more information, see Visits Report.
Some State Revenue Offices require a minimuim Bulk Bill rate for practices to claim exemption from Payroll tax for GPs. For further reference, see
For specific payroll tax queries, consult your accountant or financial advisor.

Bug fixes 🐛

In the Consult Notes, we've fixed a problem that appeared when adding multiple drawings.

17 September 2024

There are no visible updates in this release.

3 September 2024

Enhancements 🎁

For ePrescriptions, we've made a system performance and stability improvement to make sending, cancelling and resending significantly faster.
There are also additional improvements to reduce the likelihood of a timeout and erroneously cancelled ePrescriptions.
When represcribing a recipe from a patient's medication list, the recipe now remembers previous prescription details and carries them across into the new prescription.
The Prescription report now includes the dose form of the medication (for example, Tablets, Cream) and the Interval between repeats if this is specified on the prescription.

Bug fixes 🐛

In the DMS, we've fixed a problem where some users weren't able to save Medication Chart documents if Assign to HCP wasn't set.

20 August 2024

Enhancements 🎁

For ePrescriptions, we've added an enhancement to make sending, cancelling and resending significantly faster.
There are also additional improvements for matching uncommon medication prescriptions in pharmacy software.
Updated templates:
- Rural Medical Imaging – RMI, Qld
- NSW Cremation Certification replaced with NSW Cremation Risk Advice Form

Bug fixes 🐛

For the Letter Writer, we've fixed a problem where some users could not send letters via email.
For recipes with very long names and formulations, we've fixed a problem that was preventing prescribing in certain situations.

6 August 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Drug recipe enhancements:
- Drug recipes can now be shared with other users in the practice. Select whether to share the recipe when you create it.
  All existing recipes are private by default. To share a recipe, change the Show for setting to Practice-wide.
- If a formulation contains any Schedule 8 ingredients, it can be flagged as Schedule 8. Schedule 8 drug recipes follow the same rules as standard schedule 8 medications:
  - Real Time Prescription Monitoring checking occurs when prescribing or represcribing.
  - Users must reauthenticate when sending an ePrescription.
  - Printed prescriptions use the S8 layout, with additional space for handwriting.
  - Interval between repeats must be included when repeats are specified.
  To update an existing recipe to include Schedule 8, edit it and set Schedule 8.
- The Add new recipe window has been updated for improved usability. All fields have been visually extended to ensure the entire text is displayed.
For more information, see Create Medication Recipes.
Updated templates:
- Medical Imaging Template – Queensland Health
- Generic Pathology (Without Stationary) – Urgent selection printed correctly

23 July 2024

Enhancements 🎁

To improve the readability of printed letters, the clinical summary information tables attached to letters have been restyled:
- Increased font size for table content and headings
- Font colour changed to black
- Table row shading replaced with light borders
- Minor styling inconsistencies across different information tables rectified
When sending a letter, you can now select an email address from all email addresses recorded in the patient's record. If you add an email address, you can also save it to the patient's record.
The following new assignees have been added to the care plan template:
- Nurse - Registered
- Nurse - Enrolled
- Nurse Practitioner
- Aboriginal Health Worker
- Aboriginal Health Practitioner
New templates:
Tip: Telstra Health can generate and upload templates to the Helix letter writer for you. For any Helix-related template requests and enquiries, send a message to templates@medicaldirector.com.
- Outpatient Fibroscan referral – Northern Territory

Bug fixes 🐛

We've fixed a display issue where the patient search was covering the first row of patient search results.
The font size for Nursing Home Medication Charts header information has been increased.

9 July 2024

Enhancements 🎁

To improve navigation, on the Medications panel, the Favourites and Recipes lists are now displayed on separate tabs instead of in collapsible lists.

Other visual elements on this pane have also been restyled.
To prevent the risk of medication warnings being missed when there is a long list of interaction alerts, the alerts screen is now easier to scroll, has a visible scrollbar, and requires the prescriber to scroll to the bottom of the list before proceeding.
When sending an ePrescription, you can now select an email address from all email addresses recorded in the patient's record. If you add an email address, you can also save it to the patient's record.
The following specialties have been added to Helix's address book:
- Naturopath
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner
These specialties are also displayed in the care plan.
The refunds and adjustments information has been updated. For more information, see Invoices, Adjust Receipts, Refund Private Patients and related topics.
New templates:
Tip: Telstra Health can generate and upload templates to the Helix letter writer for you. For any Helix-related template requests and enquiries, send a message to templates@medicaldirector.com.
- Genetic Carrier Screening – Western Diagnostic pathology, TML Pathology

Bug fixes 🐛

A bug where documents uploaded to the DMS and tagged as Medication Chart could temporarily not be cleared from the DMS list or actioned from the inbox has now been fixed.
A bug with a deceased date recorded in a patient's record changing to the previous day has now been fixed.
You can no longer create a task without any data.
You can no longer create a task with invalid dates.
When sending letters to patients, for patient’s who haven’t expressed consent or opted in to receiving email, a warning is displayed so that HCPs can seek consent to email before proceeding with the letter.

25 June 2024

Enhancements 🎁

In the Health Summary > Medications list, medication details for both Current and Ceased medications are now displayed in full rather than being truncated. The entire medication name, strength and directions are displayed.
New templates:
Tip: Telstra Health can generate and upload templates to the Helix letter writer for you. For any Helix-related template requests and enquiries, send a message to templates@medicaldirector.com.
- Genetic Carrier Screening – QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, Dorevitch Pathology, Abbott Pathology
- Rural Medical Imaging - RMI
Updated templates:
- Melbourne Pathology Form

Bug fixes 🐛

Previously, after a Medicare or DVA Bulk bill visit was batched, the Draft invoice could still be deleted, causing the batched visit to be orphaned: the original visit was deleted from the patient transaction but was still part of a Medicare or DVA batch. We have changed the behaviour in Helix:
- If a Bulk bill draft invoice is part of a batch, the option to delete now reads Unbatch & Delete instead of Delete Draft invoice highlighting that the visit is part of a Bulk billing batch.
- If the user proceeds and deletes the Bulk bill draft invoice, the following validation message is displayed: Draft invoice is part of a bulk billing batch. This draft invoice will be removed from the batch batch_number.
  If you proceed, the visit is removed from both the batch and the patient transaction.
- After the unbatching and deletion is complete, a success message is displayed: Invoice unbatched & deleted.
When creating a prescription, the quantity field now includes the number of packs for the rare circumstances where the PBS maximum number of packs is less than one.
For example, the quantity for Stemetil (IRELAND) tablet 5mg will default to 0.1x250 to indicate the PBS maximum quantity is a tenth of a pack (25 tablets).
To maintain the load performance of the Appointment book and Helix, in user > Settings > Appointment Book > Practitioner Settings, we've limited the date range for which you can set Personal/Additional Days Off to no more than 365 days.
In the Message Centre > Inbox, we have resolved an issue with the arrow buttons for items with the CC label.

11 June 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Medication precaution labels in the patient header, for example, Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, have been changed to bright yellow so that this critical information is not missed.
Several improvements have been made to the drug recipes screen:
- PBS changed to PBS/RPBS and is no longer selected by default on new drug recipes.
- Additional dose forms have been added:
  - dried herb
  - oil
  - dressing
  - injection
  - lozenge
  - bud
- Visual improvements to the Add Recipe screen when accessed from the New prescription button.
- Qty and Repeats are no longer mandatory fields.
- A validation message is displayed when a recipe name or ingredients exceeds maximum length.
New templates:
Tip: Telstra Health can generate and upload templates to the Helix letter writer for you. For any Helix-related template requests and enquiries, reach out to templates@medicaldirector.com.
- Medical Imaging Request - QLD Health
- PathWest Pathology Request - WA
- Model Care Specialist Imaging Generic

Bug fixes 🐛

Some customers may have noticed a degradation in performance over the last month. The cause of this has been identified and fixed.

28 May 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Add, edit, delete and cancel recurring appointments. For more information, see Recurring Appointments.
Add blocked or unavailable event slots for multiple healthcare providers simultaneously. For more information, see Create a Blocked or Unavailable Appointment.
Roles and users related to system functions and integrations have been hidden from the Roles and Permissions and Account Management windows for all customers who do not manage their own custom integrations.
The role permission lists have been reordered so that permissions relating to similar topics are clustered together in their relevant categories.
The System Administrator role will permanently have access to the Helix user account list, and for customers who manage their own permissions, access to the Roles and Permissions area. Deactivating or changing the role of the last active user in the System Administrator role will be prevented.
New templates:
- NIPT Generation - TML Pathology, QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, Dorevitch Pathology, Abbott Pathology, Western Diagnostic Pathology
- Three Springs Non-Admitted Community Allied Health Referral Form - WACHS
Updated templates:
- Go4Fun - NSW

Bug fixes 🐛

The QR code from eRx now shows correctly on printed ePrescription tokens.
The Paused consult panel is now displayed immediately after a consult is paused.
Consults missing an end time are now included in the consult list in a patient extract.

13 May 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Send ad hoc SMS messages directly to individual patients from the appointment book or patient record. For more information, see Send SMS.

As part of the ongoing user permissions revision, the permissions in the Admin, Fee, Security and Configuration Settings categories have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. All permissions formerly in these categories now appear in the Admin category. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 1. Admin Permissions
Original permission	New permission
Fee > Import Fees Fee > Edit Fee schedule Access MBS Fee import in settings Access Fee Table in Settings	Update Fee Schedule
Config settings > Assign role to a user (Non HCP) Config settings > Assign role to a practitioner(HCP) Config settings > Change password for user (Non HCP) Access user settings and Azure user management in settings Config settings > Create Users Config settings > Update Users Delete a HCP user Delete a user (Non HCP)	Update Users
Access to Roles and Permissions in Settings Create Role	Update Roles and Permissions
Access Address Book in settings Access Clinical Address Book in Settings Access 'Link Accounts' in practice Address Book	Update Address Book in Settings
Access Audit in settings	View Audit Logs
Access Template Management in settings	Update Document Templates
Access Centre Appointment Book Settings Access Practitioner Appointment Book Settings Access Appointment Book in Settings	Update Appointment Templates
All Centres	All Centres (Head office use only - bypasses centre login and restricts clinic functions)
Access Abbreviations in settings	Update Abbreviations Settings
User HCP Preferences Config settings > Update User Preferences	Update User Preferences
`unchanged`	Set up and send patient SMS
`unchanged`	Access to Custom Javascript APIs
Search Azure AD	Link Active Directory Users to Accounts
Security > Reset MFA	Reset Multi Factor Authentication for Users
Configure Immunisation Clinical Settings > View immunisation vaccines	Configure Immunisation Settings
Configuration settings > Create centre Configuration settings > Update Centre Configuration settings > Deactivate Centre Configuration settings > Add WorkArea Configuration settings > Deactivate WorkArea Access Centre in Settings Update Centre Settings	Update Centre Settings

For more information, see Admin permissions.

Users in custom roles are now able to upload Shared Health Summaries to My Health Record.
Note: Health Therapy Professional is displayed as the author role on documents uploaded by users in custom roles.
From May 2024, TasScript will replace DORA for Tasmanian practices connecting to the Real Time Prescription Monitoring service. No action is required for Helix users.
The did not attend reason for visit term has been retired by SNOMED. This term has been reinstated in Helix to allow you to continue tracking this as a reason for visit.
Immunisation data updates from Services Australia for April are included.
New templates:
- Antenatal Clinic Facilitated Referral Form - NSW
- Gynaecology Referral Colposcopy - NSW
- Antenatal GP Referral Form - NSW

Bug fixes 🐛

The list of roles and permissions categories now displays in alphabetical order and empty permission categories have been removed.
When triggering a smart function by typing \ in the consult notes, the cursor is now positioned in the first measurement box. Use Tab and Enter keys to navigate between measurement boxes and the Save button.

30 April 2024

Enhancements 🎁

For time slots in the Appointment Book, you can now create and set background colours, time ranges and labels. For more information, see Configuring a Provider's Appointment Settings.
For Medicare Bulk Billing and DVA submissions to Services Australia, additional information is logged to help troubleshoot bulk bill processing and payment reports not being available. For example, submissions with invalid location, transaction or claim IDs, or invalid payee provider numbers are listed on Claiming, Banking, and Payments > Batch > Exceptions....
Permissions related to integrations are now hidden from the Roles and Permissions window for all customers who do not manage their own custom integrations. The hidden permissions include:
- Access to Custom Javascript APIs
- View Patient Metadata Stores
- Create Patient Metadata Stores
- Edit Patient Metadata Stores
- Delete Patient Metadata Stores
- Send Distress Message (enabled for all users)
- Upload patient file through data migration
- Delete Patient
Immunisation data updates from Services Australia for March are included.
New templates:
- Gynaecology Referral Recurrent Miscarriage - Form V8, NSW
- Gynaecology Clinic Referral Letter - Form V13, NSW
- Contraception Clinic Referral - Form V10, NSW
- Notification required for drug-seeking, misuse and inappropriate use - Section 59B of the Poisons Act 1971, TAS
- Notice of Termination of Authority to Prescribe Opioid Substance Use Disorder Treatment - DoH Tasmania
- Notice of Drug Dependency - S59 Poisons Act 1971, DoHTasmania
- Application For Review - For Prescribers - TAS
- Application for authorisation to Schedule 8 medicines - Section 59E Poisons Act, TAS
- Application for authorisation Schedule 8 - Treatment for Opioid - TAS
- GP Eating Disorders Plan (IOI / GPMHSC)
- Non-Invasive Prenatal Test Request - Genomic Diagnostics
- Baker - Hypoglycaemia

Bug fixes 🐛

The patient education fact sheets have been reinstated, with additional categories and performance improvements. The list of categories is refreshed regularly to ensure the most up-to-date information is available. This fix will be gradually rolled out throughout May 2024.
When requesting an eRx entity ID for a user, the response from eRx is now displayed immediately, without the need to refresh.

If the user is already registered for an eRx entity ID, this can be entered manually on their user account details.
You can now print pathology and imaging documents from the Patient Timeline.
Dietitian is now the only term used in care plans and user accounts for this speciality. Variants of this spelling which could be found in the address book, user record and chronic disease management areas are now merged into this term.
For Helix users imported from another system, a minor change has been made to improve the reliability of pathology results imported via MQLink.

15 April 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Helix now supports bulk billing incentives based on Modified Monash Categories. Select either your centre's category, MM1-7 to automatically apply incentive items added by Services Australia on 1 November 2023, or specify a default bulk billing incentive item. For more information, see Modified Monash Model. To find your centre's MM category, see Health Workforce Locator.
For more information, see Medicare Bulk Billing Incentives.
Set a patient's usual healthcare centre and if a patient has registered your practice as their primary healthcare practice with MyMedicare, set Patient registered with this practice for MyMedicare for the selected centre. For more information, see Regular Centre.

The permissions in the Clinical Settings category have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 2. Clinical Settings Permissions
Original permission	New permission
Health Care Professional	Moved to user. For more information, see Healthcare Professional.
Create CDM Provide Feedback in CDM	Update Care Plans
View CDM View Careplan	View Care Plans
Cdm_ChangeUserContext	Create Care Plan on behalf of HCP
Create Letter	Create Letters
View Letter	View Letters
Print Letter	Print Letters
Enable HCP selection in Documents	Create Letters on behalf of HCP
Manage Obstetrics & Gynaecology	Update Obstetrics and Gynaecology
View Obstetrics & Gynaecology	View Obstetrics and Gynaecology Measurements
View Mental Health	View Mental Health Care Plans
View patient's immunisation	View Immunisations
Record Immunisation Administer Immunisation Delete Immunisation Update Vaccine List for Immunizations	Update Immunisations
View Conditions	View Conditions
Edit Conditions	Update Conditions
View Consult	View Consults
Create Consult Edit Consult Note Smart Functions	Update Consults
View Timeline	View Timeline
View Health Summary View Family History View SNAP	View Health Summary
Manage History & Examinations	Update Examinations
Edit Health Summary Edit Family History Update SNAP	Update Health Summary
View Medication View Prescription View Drug Information View Drug Interaction View Drug Allergens	View Medications
Create Recipe View Recipe	Update Drug Recipes
Add Medication Edit Medication Delete Medication Create Prescription Perform Medication Review	Update Medications
Email Letter	Email Letter
View Medication Charts Print Medication Charts	View Medication Charts
Create Medication Charts	Update Medication Charts
View Nursing Request	View Nursing Request
Create Nursing Request	Update Nursing Request
View Imaging Request Print Imaging Request View Pathology Request Print Pathology Request	View Pathology and Imaging Requests
Create Imaging Request Edit Imaging Request Delete Imaging Request Create Pathology Request Delete Pathology Request	Update Pathology and Imaging Requests
Assign Result	Assign Result
View Allergies View Medication Precautions	View Allergies and Med Precautions
Edit Allergies Update Medication Precautions	Update Allergies and Med Precautions
View Consult Note	View Consult Notes
Confidential Consult Create	Create Confidential Consult Notes
-	Administer Confidential Consult Notes for All Users
Start Consult from Patient Queue	Start Consult from Queue
View Device Measurements	View Measurements
Create Device Measurements	Update Device Measurements
Create assessment	Update Assessments
View assessment	View Assessments
Send Distress Message	Send Distress Message

For more information, see Clinical Settings permissions.

The new Helix Knowledge Centre is now live. In Helix, the Online Help link has been replaced with a link to the Helix Knowledge Centre. In addition to a new look and feel, the improved search and categorisation allows you to more effectively find the information you are looking for.
New templates:
- Notice of Drug Dependency - S59 Poisons Act 1971 - DoH Tasmania
- Application for review of decision to prescribe narcotic substances Prescriber - DoH Tasmania
- Application for authorisation to prescribe Schedule 8 medicines - Section 59E Poisons Act - TAS
- Application for authorisation to administer, prescribe or supply Schedule 8 medicine for Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder - Section 59E Poisons Act - TAS
- Notice of Termination of Authority to Prescribe Opioid Substance Use Disorder Treatment - DoH Tasmania
- Notification required for drug-seeking misuse and inappropriate use - S59B Poisons Act 1971 DoH Tasmania

Bug fixes 🐛

Users with the Update Roles and Permissions permission can now create and save new roles without error.
A bug which prevented some MQLink pathology results from being imported for providers with missing provider numbers has been resolved. The issue occurred when an incoming result was intended for a provider who did not have a provider number recorded for the first linked centre on their account.

3 April 2024

Enhancements 🎁

The permissions in the Message Centre category have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 3. Message Centre permissions
Original permission	New permission
View scanned documents	View Scanned Documents
Create Document Update Document	Update Documents
Delete Document	Delete Documents
View Result View Inbox Results Print Reports Retrieve Attachments in Letter Writer	View Results
Add comments in Inbox and timeline	Update Inbox Comment
Action results in Inbox and timeline	Action Results
Delete Inbox Items	Delete Inbox Items
View SMD Outbox List	View SMD Outbox List
View SMD Outbox Item	View SMD Outbox Item
View Recalls List Add Recall comments View Recalls Editor View consults recalls View Urgent Recalls View Urgent Recall Reason	View Recalls
Create Recalls Remove Recalls Enable 'Complete' button on Recalls Editor Enable 'Defer' button in Recalls Editor Populate Recalls	Update Recalls
View Urgent Recall Medical Notes	View Recall Medical Notes
Upload patient file through Data migration	Upload patient file through Data migration
Upload file (Device Integration) Download file (Device Integration)	Upload File from Device

For more information, see Message centre permissions.

The permissions in the Billing category have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 4. Billing permissions
Original permission	New permission
Create Receipt Create Invoice	Create Invoices and Receipts
Receipting for Medicare Invoices	Create Receipts for Medicare
Create Batch Transmit Batch	Create and Transmit Medicare Batch
Restransmit Batch Batch_Remove (Previous Category = Others)	Retransmit Medicare Batch
Select all centres in Workers Compensation Processing List	Select all centres in Workers Compensation Processing List
Select Draft in Workers Compensation Processing List Select Followup in Workers Compensation Processing List Select Invoices in WC Workers Compensation Processing List	View Workers Compensation Claims
Release Visits Release Visits followup	Release Workers Compensation Claims
Select Claim Status for Workers Compensation	Update Workers Compensation Claim Status
Enable exceptions and resubmit	View Medicare Exceptions and Retransmit
Enable unreconciled tab in Banking Enable Reconciled tab in Banking Enable Deposited tab in Banking	View Banking Records
Manage Adjustment/Refund/Did not wait Write Off Change WorkArea of an invoice	Adjust, Refund or Write Off Invoice
Adjustment via visit	Adjust Invoice via Visit
Bulk account holder adjustment	Adjust Workers Compensation Invoice (Bulk)
Adjust Medicare Refunds	Adjust Medicare Refunds
Adjustment without authentication	Adjust Invoice without Authentication
Send and Print Workers Compensation Invoice Reprint Workers Compensation Invoice	Print and Send Workers Compensation Invoice
Modify visit after follow up (Workers Compensation)	Update Workers Compensation Billing Items (After Followup)
View Immunisation Batch Summary	View Immunisation Batch Summary
Edit Immunisation Batch Summary	Update Immunisation Batch Summary
Create Receipt for all account holders	Create Receipt for all Account Holders
View Patient Claim	View Patient Claim
Prepare Patient Claim	Create Patient Claim
Transmit Patient Claim	Transmit Patient Claim

For more information, see Billing permissions.

A new View Appointments permission enables users to have a read-only view of the appointment book, even if no other appointment permissions are granted to their role.
Confidential consult note access has been moved to a permission. Previously, only users in the System Administrator role could view confidential consult notes authored by all users. This access has been moved to a new Administer Confidential Consult Notes for All Users permission in the Clinical Settings category. The permission allows a user to view confidential consult notes from all users, so ensure it is only delegated to a role if, and when, it should require this elevated access.
Alternatively, use this permission in clinical settings where one team of providers need access to each other's confidential notes, and others do not. For example, confidential notes could be set to be viewable by all doctors only.
By default, this permission is enabled for the System Administrator role, but can be disabled in Roles and Permissions.
Any changes to a role's permissions are logged and can be viewed in the audit logs.
1 March 2024 MBS Fee File is available for download here. For information about uploading the MBS fee files to Helix, see Import MBS or DVA Fee File.
New templates:
- Access Mental Health Referral Form - Tasmanian Health Service
- Workers Compensation Certificate of Capacity Medical Certificate - Tasmania
- Eufflexa CT Guided Spinal Injection Radiologist Referral - Perth Radiological Clinic
- PBS Crohn's disease funding application - Services Australia
- Silver Chain Home Hospital Referral - WA
- Mental Health Triage Referral Form- Sydney North Primary Health Network
- Castlereagh Imaging Request/Referral

12 March 2024

Enhancements 🎁

Conformance with AIR Record Encounter API V1.3, which includes the following updates:
- Route of Administration is mandatory for some vaccines administered at your health service and is automatically transmitted to the AIR after 1 March 2024.
- Vaccine Type is mandatory for all vaccines administered at your health service and transmitted to the AIR after 1 March 2024, including COVID-19, influenza, NIP and JEV vaccines. Vaccines administered overseas are exempt.
- For vaccines administered overseas, record a country code.
For more information, see Record a Scheduled Immunisation or Record an Ad-hoc Immunisation.
Helix Shell 1.2 - we have undertaken a major technical uplift to move Helix to modern web application principles. The changes will be largely invisible to you now, but you can expect to see usability and user experience enhancements when Helix Shell 2.0 which builds upon Helix Shell 1.2 is available.

28 February 2024

Enhancements 🎁

The permissions in the Appointments category have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 5. Appointments permissions
Original permission	New permission
All Appointment books	View All Appointment Books
Create appointments	Create Appointments
Edit appointments	Edit Appointments
View appointments	View Appointments
Delete appointments	Delete Appointments
View Queue	View Patient Queue
Update HCP in queue Add Queue notes Change queue status	Update Patient Queue Status, Notes and HCP

For more information, see Appointments permissions.

The View Appointments permission will now provide read only access for the appointments book.

To simplify managing the list of HCPs, the existing Health Care professional permission has been moved from the role level and you can now set Healthcare professional for each user in their individual user account settings. Ensure Healthcare professsional is set for any user providing clinical services to patients.
If a user is already in a role which had this permission , Healthcare professional will be set on their account settings.
This option behaves in the same way as selecting an HCP role for a user: it allows clinician-specific information (such as provider number) to be recorded for the user, ensures their name appears in HCP selectors and filters across the application, and streamlines various functions for clinical usability. For more information, see Healthcare professional and Add a User.
New templates:
- CRS Obstetrics & Gynaecology Referral
- CRS Outpatient Paediatric Appointment - WA
- Application for authorisation of Schedule 8 medicines - WA
- Infectious and Related Diseases Notification Form - WA
- Geriatrition referral - WAGS - WA
- Cremation Form 7 - WA
- CRS adult general ref WA

Bug fixes 🐛

None to report.

7 February 2024

Enhancements 🎁

The permissions in the Visits and Patients categories have been consolidated and renamed for clarity. Where permissions have been merged, the new permission will be automatically enabled for any role with the original permission.

Table 6. Visits permissions
Original permission	New permission
Create Visit	Create Visits and Arrive Appointments
Modify Visit	Update Visits and Billing Items

For more information, see Visits permissions.

Table 7. Patient permissions
Original permission	New permission
Manage patient duplicates in patient management	Patient Management
View Patient Search Patient	View Patient
Modify Patient Patient_Note_Create Patient_Note_Activate	Update Patient
Modify patient deceased date	Decease Patient
View PatientStores	View Patient Metadata Stores
Create PatientStore	Create Patient Metadata Stores
Edit PatientStore	Edit Patient Metadata Stores
Delete PatientStore	Delete Patient Metadata Stores

For more information, see Patients permissions

The functionality that the following permissions control is covered in other permissions and these permissions have been removed.

Table 8. Redundant permissions
Original permission
Clinical Address Book Quarantine
Select Centre for Bulk Receipting
Enable Allocation of Credit for Bulk Receipting
Hide Visit, Ledger, Consult Buttons

Date restrictions limiting reports to 2 weeks or a month have been removed from the following reports:
- Visits Report (was Daily visits)
- Receipts Issued
For more information, see Financial Reports.
Technical upgrades:
- We've improved the messaging and queuing system between Helix and Services Australia to reduce information loss between the two systems.
New templates:
- WA Cardiology Request Form
- NonInvasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) - Sonic Genetics
- Cardiology Referral - Advara HeartCare (NSW)
- Fertility Referral - IVF Australia - Virtus Health - Melbourne
- Fertility Referral - IVF Australia - Virtus Health
- Fertility Referral - IVF Australia - Virtus Health - ACT
- Telehealth Medicare Bulkbilling - DB4E
Updated templates:
- NSW Workcover Certificate - information entered in the Management Plan section is no longer truncated to 3 lines.

Bug fixes 🐛

Migrated vaccines are now visible.

24 January 2024

Enhancements 🎁

New referral templates:
- RKHMS Referral Form for Rockingham Kwinana Adult Mental Health Service
- DAB Radiology for Rockingham Kwinana Adult Mental Health Service
New clinical templates:
- NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale from American Academy of Pediatrics, used for diagnosing ADHD
New Immunisations in the Helix immunisation schedule:
- COMIRNATY OMICRON XBB.1.5 injection 30mcg/0.3mL
- SPIKEVAX XBB.1.5 injection 0.05mg/0.5mL (0.1mg/mL)

Bug fixes 🐛

Clinics without HealthLink can now email as normal.
The [New] Appointment Report now has information from all appointments including dynamic appointment types. Use the [New] Appointment Report to view all appointment types, appointment statuses, appointments by HCP and appointments by work area.

10 January 2024

Features 🎁

In the SMD Outbox, using the new filter options, you can view a list of either your own documents or all documents. For more information, see Outbox.
For eligible patients, MBS incentive items are automatically added to a visit for all HCPs of any role, including custom roles. Previously, incentives were only added for roles: GP, MDGP or LeadGP. Visits with a referral will not include the incentive items. For more information, see Medicare Bulk Billing Incentives.
In user > Settings > Centre > Recall Management, the Centre list shows only those centres to which you are linked. Roles with the All Centres permission can select any centre.
New referral template: Just Ultrasound
New Immunisations: Verorab powder for injection 3.25 units (>=2.5 units by NIH test)

Bug fixes 🐛

The patient's address (suburb and state) now appears consistently in the header of the patient record when the panel is full width.

5 December 2023

Features 🎁

You can now compose a letter in the Letter Writer and email it to patients or other health providers. For more information, see Send an Email.
Updated templates:
- Letter Writer:
  - Insulin adjustment plan
  - Hyperglycaemia sick day management for adults with Type 1 diabetes

Bug fixes 🐛

The SMS appointment reminder logic released on 21 November 2023 where SMS reminders were sent 24 or 48 hours before scheduled appointments has been rolled back, and the previous logic of 1-2 days has been reinstated.
SMS appointment reminders will now again be sent 1 or 2 business days before scheduled appointments from 9am AEST.
If your practice requires appointment reminders to be sent 7 days a week, 24 or 48 hours before scheduled appointments including on the weekends, this can be enabled by MedicalDirector Support.
We've fixed a bug where dynamic appointment type colours were displayed in black in the patient queue.
We've fixed a bug where if the appointment type of a standard appointment type was updated to Telehealth, the consults were not added to the patient queue.
We've fixed a bug where some customers with only one centre configured were unable to link the centre when creating a new user account.

21 November 2023

Features 🎁

Helix now meets Electronic Prescribing, conformance profile 2.3. Changes include:
- After a period of inactivity, users must enter their password again to continue. The period of inactivity is required to be set to 15 minutes by default. Any user with access to Settings > Roles and permissions can be configure the inactivity period in Settings > Security > System Settings and set it to whatever suits your health centre.
- Reauthentication is required for Schedule 8 (S8) medications for all states, and no longer requires users to enter their username again.
- When prescribing a controlled drug with repeats, a prompt indicates when the Minimum interval between repeats is missing.
- Clearer messaging when a user tries to cancel an electronic prescription that has already been dispensed.
- Other jurisdictional enhancements.
Audit Log:
- From the Audit Log window, you can now export logs to a CSV file.
- The Login audit log now includes:
  - Login and logoff activity.
  - Reauthentication when prescribing S8 medications.
  - Reauthentication after a user inactivity timeout.
Healthcare Identifiers (HI) Service - Patient IHI numbers where the number status is Resolved are retained in the IHI History list.
Updated templates:
- MyMedicare Patient Registration Form - print and use to register patients with your practice for MyMedicare.

Bug fixes 🐛

None to report.

1 November 2023

Features 🎁

From 1 November 2023, higher bulk billing incentives for Commonwealth concession card holders and patients aged under 16 years of age can be claimed together with specific consultation items. For more information, see MBS Online - Bulk Billing in General Practice from 1 November 2023.
The new MBS Item numbers are included in the November MBS Fee Update. To add the new incentive item numbers for eligible patients:
1. Select user > Settings.
2. In the Settings window, select Centre > Centre Settings.
3. In the Centre Management window, hover your mouse over the centre name and click Edit.
4. On the Billing tab, add the new incentive item number to the Bulk Billing Default Incentive Item No field.
5. Click Save.
You can now select the following professions from the Address Book and in the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) assignee list:
- Dietitian
- Optometrist
- Updated templates:
  - NT Statement of Fitness For Work - First Certificate Initial Form
  - NT Statement of Fitness For Work - First Certificate Progressive Form

Bug fixes 🐛

None to report.

18 October 2023

Features 🎁

Appointment report - added the Created by column, so that you can see who has created appointments. This information is also visible in the appointment timeline and is useful for audits.
New templates:
- New Medical Imaging
- Southern Cross Medical Imaging - SCMI
- Letter writer - Med Releaf Patient Consent Form

Bug fixes 🐛

When editing SMS templates, you can now undo and save multiple changes.
We've fixed a bug which meant that SMS appointment reminders were not being sent for some customers.

5 October 2023

Features 🎁

Appointment Report: a new appointment report has been added enabling greater visibility of patient appointments. This report includes parameters to view appointment data by:
- Patient
- HCP
- Work area
- Appointment status
Users can also view appointment data in the past and future, allowing a view of the patient’s previous appointment history as well as upcoming appointments.

Bug fixes 🐛

Real Time Prescription Monitoring issue: Schedule 8 (S8) drug prescribing bug has been resolved. This bug prevented some Helix customers from prescribing S8 drugs, defaulting to private and error messages being displayed.

Financial reports

The following reports have been updated to provide you with enhanced clarity and data accuracy:

For more information, see Financial Reports.

PIP QI Self Service Report

We've added the PIP QI report that you can now generate and download automatically for the Practice Incentive Program. For more information, see PIP QI Reporting.

Recalls

We've updated recalls to make them more flexible.

Using our Recall SMS templates, you can customise recall messages for each recall reason to suit your practice's requirements. You can then track patient responses with the new patient response metrics, including the number of recall attempts, patient age, and highlight for recalls past their due date. You can also print a recall with or without counting it as an attempt.

We've also added recurring recalls which enable you to automatically set up repeat recalls at intervals that suit your practice's preferences.

For more information, see Create and Edit Recall Reasons.

Comms Log

Use the new Comms Log to track SMS appointment reminders and rescheduling reminders sent to patients.

Note: This feature is available only to centres that have SMS enabled.

For more information, see Comms Log.

Reschedule SMS Reminders

You can now send SMS reminders to patients whenever an appointment is rescheduled. You can also customise the Reschedule SMS template based on your centre's preferences.

All patient replies to SMS reminders are displayed in the Comms Log and appointment timeline.

Note: This feature is available only to centres that have SMS enabled. Reschedule SMS will only be prompted for patients who have consented to SMS communications.

For more information, see Appointment Reminders.