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Configuring Request Limit Definitions

Request Limits in Clairvia Web work with the Assign Request Limits page and the Staff Manager Client Task Control settings of Show in Web and Limit Requests to. Together, these features help you refine how Staff Manager processes requests.

Once you have request limits configured, you can set Staff Manager to approve certain requests automatically, put requests on a Wait List if the conditions for approval do not apply, or both. See Understanding Request Limits for more information.

Request Limits can also be affected by access groups and access schedule periods. See the following topics for more information:

• Configuring Access Group Definitions
• Assigning Access Groups and Tasks
• Configuring Access Schedule Periods

You can click Reset to undo any edits made since you last saved the configuration.

Adding a Request Limit Definition

Complete the following steps to add a request limit definition:

1. From the Configure menu, select Requests > Request Limit Definitions. This opens the Request Limit Definitions page.
2. Click the Add link in the green menu bar. The words New Limit appear in Request Limits pane on the left, while the Limit Rules pane on the left changes to editing mode. Required fields have yellow backgrounds; you must complete all required fields to save your new definition.
3. Enter a Name. Limit names can be up to 64 characters long, but they must be unique and should be specific enough for others to recognize what the limit affects. For example, PTO is not specific enough for a Request Limit that affects only the staff on the 6N MedSurg profile with rules for experienced RNs, less experienced RNs, and UAPs who work the night shift. A much better name would be 6N MedSurg PTO by RN Seniority and UAP Night Shift. You cannot use the name New Limit, as Staff Manager uses that name when users are creating new request limit definitions. In addition, Staff Manager does not consider names unique based on capitalization: if the name Physician PTO is in use, you cannot create a new limit with the name physician pto. When a request is Wait Listed, managers see the name of each Request Limit that the request exceeded in the Request Date Details window.
4. Enter a Description. Descriptions can be up to 64 characters long. The description should help users understand what this limit does because it is what Clairvia Web displays to users when their requests exceed a limit or limits. For example, a description such as Limits number of 6N MedSurg PTO requests by RN Seniority and UAP Night Shift lets users understand that there is a limit on the number of PTO requests for specific people in the 6N MedSurg profile, whereas the description PTO could easily confuse users as to what the limit does. The Request Limit Descriptions are also displayed in the Request Details pane you have the Wait List feature enabled. The limit Description does not need to be unique.
5. Select a Limit Type from the menu. Available options are:
   1. Daily: Allows you to limit the number of requests that can be made on any given day by an employee or employees assigned to this Request Limit on the Assign Request Limit page. For example, if you have 25 staff members in your access group, and you must always have at least 21 members scheduled, you might set a Daily limit of 2 for PTO requests.
   2. Date Range: Allows you to set a cumulative limit on the number of requests that can be made over a specified date range by an employee or employees assigned to this Request Limit on the Assign Request Limits page. For example, if December is a popular month for PTO requests, you could set a limit of 20 requests for the period from December 1 through December 31.
6. Click Add. This adds a rule row to the Limit Rules pane. Multiple limit rules may be added to a Request Limit. These additional rules may be for different, concurrent, or overlapping periods. When limit rules overlap, the solution enforces the most restrictive limit.
7. Complete the required fields in your rule row. The options are different depending on whether you selected Daily or Date Range.

   1. For Daily limits:

      1. Enter a limit for each day. This can be any number from 0 to 999.
      2. Enter a start date. The start date must be less than or equal to the end date. You can enter a date up to two years in the past.
      3. Enter an end date or select No End. If you select an End Date, the date cannot be in the past.
   2. For Date Range limits:
      1. Enter a Limit. This can be any number from 0 to 999.
      2. Enter a start date. The start date must be less than or equal to the end date. You can enter a start date up to two years in the past.
      3. Enter an end date. You cannot create a limit with an end date in the past, and the total date range cannot exceed two years. For example, you can set a date range of January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2017, but you cannot set a limit of January 1, 2015 to January 2, 2017. You can enter an End Date that is the same as your Start Date if you want to limit requests on a single day. If you wanted to limit requests for New Year's Eve 2015, you would enter a Start Date of December 31, 2014, and an End Date of December 31, 2014.
8. If you want, you can add additional rules by repeating steps 5 through 7. For example, our 6N MedSurg manager might create the definition 6N MedSurg PTO with a Daily limit of two requests per day, a Date Range limit of 40 for the period of July 1 through August 31, 2015, and a Date Range limit of 20 for the period of December 1 through December 31, 2015.
9. If you have created multiple limit rules, you can change the Display Order from Ascending to Descending if you want. The default sort is by Start Date in ascending order. See Understanding Display Order below for more information.
10. If you want, you can select the Group Limit option. This option allows you to indicate whether the selected limit applies to each member of the access group individually or to the access group as a whole. See Understanding Group Limits below for more information. The Show Expired Limits option does not apply when you are adding a new Request Limit.
11. Click Save. A window opens displaying the following message: If Auto Approval is enabled in the Request Settings, adding, modifying, or deleting a request limit may trigger auto approval or a Pending or Wait listed request. Click OK to save or Cancel to close the window and return to editing the Request Limit.

After you successfully save your addition, the page refreshes to show your new Request Limit name in the Requests Limit pane and your limit or limits are sorted according to the currently selected sort order in the left pane.

If you add a new rule row by mistake, you can remove it by clicking the Delete icon at the end of its row.

Editing a Request Limit Definition

Complete the following steps to edit a request limit definition:

1. From the Configure menu, select Requests > Request Limit Definitions. This opens the Request Limit Definitions page.
2. In the Request Limits pane, select the Request Limit you want to edit. The left pane then displays the rules associated with the Request Limit.
3. Make the edits you want:
   1. You can edit an existing rule or rules by entering your changes.
   2. You can delete an existing rule by clicking the Delete icon at the end of its row.
   3. You can add a new rule by clicking Add.
4. If you have multiple limit rules, you can change the Display Order from Ascending to Descending if you want. The default sort is by Start Date in ascending order. See Understanding Display Order below for more information.
5. If you want, you can select the Group Limit option. This option allows you to indicate whether the selected limit applies to each person assigned to the Request Limit individually or to a group as a whole. See Understanding Group Limits below for more information.
6. If you want, you can select the Show Expired Limits option. When selected, expired limits whose End Dates are less than two years old are displayed in the Limit Rules Pane. You can delete but not edit the expired limits. If you do not select Show Expired Limits, only current limit rules are displayed.
7. Click Save. A window opens displaying the following message: If Auto Approval is enabled in the Request Settings, adding, modifying, or deleting a request limit may trigger auto approval or a Pending or Wait listed request. Click OK to save or Cancel to close the window and return to editing the Request Limit.

Copying a Request Limit Definition

The Copy option copies the selected Request Limit Definition’s settings but does not copy the Request Limit's assigned employees or tasks. You can then edit the new Request Limit.

1. From the Configure menu, select Requests > Request Limit Definitions. This opens the Request Limit Definitions page.
2. In the Request Limits pane, select the Request Limit you want to copy. The left pane then displays the rules associated with the Request Limit.
3. Click the Copy link in the green menu bar. The label Copy of [Limit Name] displays in the Request Limits pane and Copy of [Limit Name] displays in the Name field. You can now update the Name and Description fields.
4. You can edit the existing rules or add a new rule, as described in the preceding sections.
5. Click Save. A window opens displaying the following message: If Auto Approval is enabled in the Request Settings, adding, modifying, or deleting a request limit may trigger auto approval or a Pending or Wait listed request. Click OK to save or Cancel to close the window and return to editing the Request Limit.

Deleting a Request Limit Definition

The Delete option removes the selected Request Limit Definition.

1. From the Configure menu, select Requests > Request Limit Definitions. This opens the Request Limit Definitions page.
2. In the Request Limits pane, select the Request Limit you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete link in the green menu bar. A window opens displaying the following message: If Auto Approval is enabled in the Request Settings, adding, modifying, or deleting a request limit may trigger auto approval or a Pending or Wait listed request. Click OK to delete the limit or Cancel to close the window without deleting the limit.

Understanding Group Limits

The Group Limit check box lets you indicate whether the selected limit applies to each assigned member of the Request Limit individually or to the assigned Request Limit group as a whole. For example, assume you have an access group containing five physicians that is associated with the tasks Vacation and CME (Continuing Medical Education). You then set up a Request Limit with the following rules:

• There is a Date Range limit of 22 requests for the period from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014. If you select the Group Limit option, that means that the 5 physicians could only make 22 requests for Vacation, CME, or both collectively. If you do not select the Group Limit option, each of the 5 physicians could make 22 requests for Vacation, CME, or both during that date range.
• There is a Daily limit of two requests for each day Monday through Friday, zero for Saturday and Sunday, starting January 1, 2014, and having no end date. If you select the Group Limit option, the five physicians could only make two requests collectively for Vacation, CME, or both on any given weekday. If you do not select the Group Limit option, each physician could request both Vacation and CME on the same day on any weekday. Whether the group option is selected or not, those five physicians cannot request Vacation or CME on any Saturday or Sunday.

Understanding Display Order

The Display Order menu allows you to sort Request Limit Rules by selecting the Ascending or Descending option.

• Ascending: Sorted by Start Date with earlier values preceding later ones. For example, January 1, 2014 is listed ahead of January 1, 2015 in ascending order. If the rules have the same Start Date, the one with the earlier End Date is listed first.
• Descending - Sorted by Start Date with later values preceding earlier ones. For example, January 1, 2015 is listed ahead of January 1, 2014 in descending order. If the rules have the same Start Date, the one with the later End Date is listed first.

The Display Order menu is disabled if there is no currently selected limit, such as when you first open the page. The default Display Order is Ascending.

Understanding How Request Limits Display in the Request Limits Pane

The way Request Limits display in the Request Limits pane depends on whether the limit is active or inactive, and whether the Request Limit has been assigned to employees or tasks that you manage.

A request limit is considered active when:

• The end date of the request limit is greater than or equal to today's date
• The request limit has one or more employees assigned to it
• The request limit has one or more tasks assigned to it

The following list explains the different ways Request Limits are displayed:

• Bold and Blue: Active Request Limit with assigned employees or tasks that you manage
• Plain and Blue: Active Request Limit without any assigned employees or tasks
• Bold and Gray: Active Request Limit with assigned employees or tasks that you do not manage
• Plain and Gray: Inactive Request Limits without any assigned employees or tasks

Request Limits displayed in gray font are read only. You can select, view, and copy a read only Request Limit, but you cannot edit or delete it. Request Limits with no assignments can be edited or deleted by any administrator.

A Note About Saving Request Limits

When two or more users access the same Request Limit on the Request Limit Definitions page, Staff Manager retains the changes from the last person to save. There is one exception for users deleting a Request Limit. Because the Request Limit Definitions and the Assign Request Limits pages share a record in the Request Limits, if one user deletes a Request Limit from the Request Limit Definitions page while another edits a Request Limit on the Assign Request Limits page, the user editing the Request Limit will not be allowed to save the changes. In these instances, the following message displays: Unable to save changes. Another user has deleted this limit.

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