How to map Care Identifiers to Care Items

This guide walks you through how to map Care Identifiers to Care Items, which is typically the final step required to ensure your Resident Evaluation Tool (RET) is fully integrated and generating Care Plan tasks. This guide can be used to both complete the mapping process and troubleshoot missing tasks.

Why Mapping is Required

If you complete an Evaluation and Service Plan and then navigate to the Care Plan but do not see any Care Tasks, this most likely means that Care Identifiers in your RET are not mapped to Care Items.

Mapping Care Identifiers to Care Items is what connects your RET to caregiver workflows. Without this step, services identified in the evaluation and scheduled in the Service Plan will not generate tasks in the Care Plan. 

Mapping is required at the community level. Once mappings are completed in one community, they can be copied to others by an ALIS team member. Import templates are also available. Contact your Account Manager or our ALIS Customer Success Team for assistance if needed.

What are Care Identifiers vs. Care Items?

Care Identifiers

Care Identifiers are labels configured within your Resident Evaluation Tool (RET) that indicate a service or need identified during an evaluation. They connect evaluation responses to the Service Plan and determine what should ultimately flow into the Care Plan.

Care Items

Care Items are the tasks that caregivers complete and document. These are what appear on the Care Plan and in Care Tracking. Care Items are configured and managed within Care Settings.

How to map Care Identifiers to Care Items

As a general rule, any service from the evaluation that a caregiver is expected to complete or document in Care Tracking should be mapped to a Care Item. This ensures that all necessary tasks appear on the Care Plan. 

Step 1: Download the RET Map 

In this step, you will download the RET Map which contains all Care Identifiers in your evaluation template.

1. Go to Settings > Resident Evaluation Tool > Evaluations tab.

2. Locate the RET you need to map identifiers to items, and click Map.

3. In the pop-up:

   • Select the Community name. 

   • Click Generate Map. 

Step 2: Prepare the Mapping file 

1. In the generated Excel file, click on the Mappings tab. 

2. Scroll all the way over to:

   • Column I (Care Identifier)
   • Column J (Care Item)

3. If you’ve just built the tool or have not updated your Care Settings yet, Column J will most likely be completely blank.

4. Keep this file open while completing Step 3. It is recommended (and common practice) to use the Care Identifier column and copy/paste those names when adding Care Items in the next step.

Step 3: Map Identifiers to Items in Care Settings 

Before mapping any items, double check that you are in the correct community using the dropdown menu in the top right, as items are mapped on a per-community basis. 

You will either add a new Care Item or edit an existing one to map it to a Care Identifier.

1. Go to Settings > Care > Care tab.

2. Navigate to expand the appropriate Care Category (ADLs, Dining, Medications, etc.). 

3. Click + Add Item, or locate an existing item and click Edit.

4. In the panel that opens to the right, complete the most important mapping steps first: 

   1. Review the Name field. A 1:1 match with the Care Identifier is recommended to reduce confusion, but at minimum ensure the names clearly align with the intended outcome.

      • If adding a new item, you can copy/paste the Care Identifier name from Column I of your Excel export into this field.

   2. In the Assessment Care Identifier dropdown menu, select the matching Care Identifier (e.g., “Bathing Assistance - Reminders”). This list reflects the identifiers configured in your RET. To locate an item more quickly, begin typing the first few letters after expanding the dropdown. 

      • This is the most important step. The selection made in this field is what links the Care Item to the RET and allows it to flow into the Care Plan as a task.

5. Complete all other fields as needed to ensure the Care Item behaves correctly in the Care Plan and Care Tracking, including scheduling, documentation, and reporting requirements. For additional guidance on these fields, refer to this Care Settings guide. 

6. Click Create or Update Item. 

Step 4: Repeat Mapping for All Relevant Care Identifiers

Repeat Step 3 for each Care Identifier that should result in a task on the Care Plan.

• As you work through your list, reference the Excel mapping file (Column I) to ensure each Care Identifier has a corresponding Care Item. Any identifier that should drive caregiver action or documentation must be mapped.

• If Care Items already exist in your settings, review and update them as needed to ensure they are mapped to the correct Care Identifiers. Review the Care Item and Care Identifier columns to quickly identify which Care Item is mapped to an identifier. 

Continue this process until all applicable Care Identifiers have been addressed.

Step 5: Validate Mapping Using the Excel File

Once mapping is complete, it is recommended to conduct a final final quality check to ensure your Evaluation, Service Plan, and Care Plan are fully connected.

1. Return to Resident Evaluation Tool Settings > Evaluations tab and click Map again for the same RET.

2. In the generated Excel file, click on the Mappings tab and scroll to Column I (Care Identifier) and Column J (Care Item) and review the results.

3. If mapping is complete, Column J should be populated for all Care Identifiers that are intended to generate Care Plan tasks. 

If any rows in Column J are still blank, those Care Identifiers are not yet mapped and will not appear on the Care Plan. Return to Care Settings to complete the missing mappings if needed. 

Related Articles:

• Care Settings
• Resident Evaluation Tool Settings 
• How to build a Resident Evaluation Tool in ALIS 

For more assistance with mapping,

Contact our ALIS Customer Success Team:

888.404.ALIS (2547) or support@go-alis.com