How to record new Observations

ALIS Observations are notes that staff can create to record resident information to include in their clinical chart. Observations can also be used to document community messages to be shared with staff or third parties. 

Where to Record

You can record a new Observation from multiple areas in ALIS. Availability may vary depending on your community’s settings and your security role permissions.

Common locations include:

1. Dashboard icon
2. Observation Center
3. Resident Profile
4. Resident Monitoring
5. Care Tracking, Record Care page (dependent on settings) 
6. Mealtime Attendance 

Step 1: Start a New Observation 

Record a new Observation note from any of these three main locations: 

1. Dashboard: Click the New Observation icon.
2. Observation Center: Click the +Record New Observation button.
3. Resident Profile: Click the +Observation button under the resident photo or in the Observations section.

Step 2: Add Observation Details    

Once you click to record a new observation, a panel will open on the right side of your screen.

First, select a Resident or Community Observation note:

• Resident Observation (most common): Documents information about one or more residents (e.g., changes in condition, participation in activities, vaccinations).
• Community Observation: Used for general updates (e.g., maintenance, staff communication, general announcements). 

Next, add required observation note details:

Resident

Select the applicable resident(s). While typically one resident is selected, you may choose multiple residents if the same note should appear on multiple charts.

Type

Defines the subtype of the note (e.g., Shift Change, Nurse’s Note).

Note Types are configurable in Resident Settings and may control:

• Visibility by security role
• Inclusion in the Daily Stand-Up Report

For assistance configuring Note Types, contact your Account Manager or ALIS Customer Success Team.

Date and Time

These fields auto-populate based on when the note is created but can be adjusted as needed.

Observation Summary

Enter the details of your observation. Formatting tools are available to assist with organizing content. It is best practice to establish clear documentation standards within your community to ensure consistency and completeness.

Speech-to-text Transcription (Optional)

You may use speech-to-text to dictate your observation summary instead of typing.

• Select the microphone option and begin speaking
• Speak clearly and at a steady pace for best transcription results
• The system will convert your speech into text within the Observation Summary field 

⚠️Important: Transcription may not accurately capture punctuation (e.g., commas, periods). It is always recommended to review and edit the transcribed text before clicking Create Observation.

Templated Observation (Optional) 

Templates can automatically populate the Observation Summary based on the selected Type. Use this feature to help standardize documentation by providing prompts for required information. 

Refer to this How to pre-fill Observations with templates guide for setup instructions.

Severity

Defaults to Normal. Select Critical to highlight urgent or sensitive notes.

• Critical notes appear in the Daily Stand-Up Report. Read this Daily Stand-Up Report guide for more information.
• Alerts can be configured for staff notifications (if enabled). Alerts are configured in Alerts Settings. Read this Alerts Settings and How to manage ALIS Alerts guides for setup instructions. Contact your Account Manager or our ALIS Customer Success Team for assistance.

Keep Active For

Determines how long the note remains editable after creation (e.g., 1 day). Once this time period expires, the note becomes locked.

• Administrators can edit notes at any time. For more information read this How to edit Observations guide.
• All notes remain accessible indefinitely, regardless of this "Keep Active For" setting. 

Record Vitals

This option may appear depending on your security role permissions.

Step 3: Create the Observation

Finally, click the 'Create Observation' button to save your note. 

Where Observation Notes Appear

After creation, observation notes are available in the following locations: 

Resident Profile > Observations section

• Displays all resident-specific observations 
• Includes filtering, printing, and export options

Observation Center

• Central location for all observations
• Notes are stored indefinitely and searchable
• Includes filtering, printing, and export options

Daily Standup (if applicable)

• Critical Observations (Last 72 Hours): Includes notes marked as Critical
• Selected Observations (Last 24 Hours): Includes specific note types based on settings
• The full Daily Stand-Up is printable and exportable to Excel

Related Articles: 

• Observations Reference Guide
• How to edit Observations 
• Recording Vitals

For more assistance: 888.404.ALIS (2547)  |  support@go-alis.com