Before you begin
Automations are only available to Instinct EMR users.
You must have the following staff permission enabled to create and manage Automations: admin_automations
Create an Automation from scratch
In your practice's Admin page, navigate to the Practice section and select Automations.
Select Add New, located in the top right of the Automations page.
Enter a name and an optional description so your team can quickly understand what the Automation does.
Select Add Trigger and choose the event that will start the Automation (for example, Patient Check In or Dispensed Prescription). Only one Trigger can be used per Automation.
(Optional) Select Add Condition to apply rules that must be met before the Action fires—for example, limiting the Automation to patients with a specific alert or visit service. You can add multiple Conditions. For example, to exclude deceased patients from automations, add a condition: Patient Conditions → Deceased Status, and configure the rule to set Deceased equals false. This ensures automations only trigger for patients who are not marked as deceased.
Select Add Action to define what happens—such as Send Comm Log Message, Create Task, or Create Document from Template. You can add multiple Actions. Note: The "Create Document from Template" action applies only to custom chart documents and cannot be used for built-in documents like the rabies certificate.
When the Automation is ready, toggle Active to on, then select Save.
Note: Saving the Automation is not enough on its own—the Active toggle must be blue for the Automation to run.
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Use a pre-set template
Instinct includes pre-built templates to help you get started quickly.
On the Automations page, browse the available templates.
Admin → Practice: Automations → Templates
Find a template you’d like to use and select Use this template—this opens the selected template so you can review and edit the details before activating.
Make any adjustments, then toggle Active to on and select Save.
Tip: Templates are not active until you select Use this template and turn on the Active toggle. No changes are applied until you select Save. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I use more than one trigger in a single Automation?
No. Each Automation supports only one Trigger. If you need to act on multiple events, create a separate Automation for each.
Do Conditions have to be included?
No. Conditions are optional. An Automation can run as a simple Trigger → Action without any Conditions. When Conditions are included, all of them must be met for the Action to fire.
My Automation doesn’t seem to be running. Where do I start?
First, confirm the Active toggle is on, and the Automation has been saved. Then check the Automation Audit Log (accessible via the three-dot menu next to the relevant treatment, prescription, or visit, or on the Automations page in Admin → Practice – Automations → Audit Log) to see whether the system attempted to trigger it and whether it was skipped or successful.
How can I exclude deceased patients from automations?
To exclude deceased patients, add a condition: Patient Conditions → Deceased Status, and configure the rule to set Deceased equals false. This ensures automations only trigger for patients who are not marked as deceased.
Can I automate generating rabies certificates?
The built-in rabies certificate is generated directly from the vaccine record and cannot be automated using the "Create Document from Template" action. To automate a custom rabies certificate, create a chart document template, build an automation that triggers on Treatment Completed, and select your custom template as the action.
Submit feedback
Have ideas about Automations? Submit a feature request. In the in-app chat, select Ask a Question → I Have a Product Idea. All feedback is submitted to the Product and Engineering teams.
Still need help?
Contact support via live chat or email: [email protected].