SPARCRequest Wiki

SPARCRequest v2.1.0 +SPARCFulfillment v2.5.5

Owned by Melissa Fludd
Last updated: Mar 28, 2018
15 min read

SPARCRequest Version 2.1.0 New Features

Release Date: July 5, 2017



1.(Code Maintenance) Rails Update to 5.0.3

In this new release, the application platform has been updated to use Rails 5.0.3 for better performance and stability.


2. (SPARCRequest) Step 1 Page Styling Bug Fixed when editing Oneself as an Authorized User (Open Source Suggestion)

On SPARCRequest Step 1 page, the re-rendered styling has been fixed when editing oneself as an authorized user on a protocol. The Edit Project/Study Information button is also functioning correctly now.


3. (SPARCRequest) Step 2A Page Improvements

In order to accelerate the loading speed of Step 2B (Visit Calendar) page, data creation (arms, visit_groups, line_item_visits, and visits) has been spread out to the Step 2A page to share the load, and improve the algorithm.


4. (SPARCRequest) Step 2B Protocol ID Displayed on Title

The Protocol ID was recently added into the SPARC shopping cart title, making it easier for users to see which protocol they are working on. To expand on this concept, the Protocol ID has also been added to the top of the Step 2B page, since the shopping cart is not displayed on this page.



5. (SPARCRequest) Step 2B: Quantity/Billing Tab Group Edit into One Window

On SPARCRequest Step 2B Quantity/Billing tab, now when clicking any of the R/T/% on a visit, one popup window appears with all (existing validations remain the same).



6. (SPARCRequest) Step 2B: Calendar Query and Rendering Improvement for Visits

Previously, when users would edit a large calendar (i.e., 3+ arms, and 20+ visits on each arm), the rendering time when using the individual checkboxes on the "Template Tab" and/or changing the R/T/% values on the "Billing/Quantity Tab" was resulting in a longer than normal wait time. The algorithm/queries have been improved in this production on the Step 2B visit revisions to significantly shorten the wait time.




7. (SPARCRequest) Step 4 Survey Submission Long Process Time

Previously, on the SPARCRequest Step 4 page when a user clicked the "submit" or "get cost estimate" button(s) (on a big protocol), it could take more than a minute before the next page (Step 5) loaded. The long loading time was caused by the process time of sending emails to a long list of service providers. The speed has been improved with v2.1.0.


8. (SPARCRequest) Withdrawn Status Bug Fixed

As one of the "finished_statuses" in application.yml, "Withdrawn" status was not behaving the same as "Complete." When an SSR was in withdrawn status, and the user went through "Modify Request" to the SPARCRequest shopping cart page, it was not allowing the user to add another service under the same service provider. This bug has been fixed.


9. (SPARCRequest) Step 4 Multi-click Bug Fixed

Multi-click(s) on the SPARCRequest Step 4 Page button(s) (Submit, Save as Draft, Get Cost Estimate) have been disabled to avoid multiple emails and time stamps being generated.


10.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Visit Calendar New Feature: Freeze/Unfreeze Header Row

To better view big/long calendars, the "Freeze/Unfreeze" header row functionality has been added on the SPARCRequest Step 2B and SPARCDashboard "Admin Edit" pages.
When user(s) click on the "Freeze Header Row" button, the scrollable bar appears on the chosen arm of the calendar and the "Freeze Header Row" logo and tooltip is replaced by the ones for "Unfreeze Header Row." When the user clicks on the "Unfreeze Header Row" button, the scroll bar then disappears and the logo is switched back (see screenshots below).





11.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Indicator Added to Inactive Services

Previously there was no indication that a service had become inactive in SPARCRequest (through updates in SPARCCatalog). This was an issue when users would go back into an old (draft) protocol and submit, when the currently active services should be requested instead of the inactive services.
For better clarification and consistency across the system (this feature already exists for SPARCFulfillment), an "(Inactive)" visual cue has been added next to the services that are no longer available in SPARCCatalog. The visual "(Inactive)" cue appears on the shopping cart, Step 2B page (all three tabs), Step 4 page and in SPARCDashboard.

(SPARCRequest Shopping Cart)


(SPARCRequest Step 2B: Visit Calendar)


(SPARCRequest Step 4: Review Your Request)


(SPARCDashboard: Admin Edit)


12.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Edit Study Information Bug Fixed for Converted Project

When editing a "Project" and changing the type to a "Study," a bug was discovered when saving without filling out the required fields (no validation errors occurred). The bug was caused by the protocol type being changed to "Study," while also being assigned an Epic study type. This bug has been fixed by not allowing a protocol type to be saved without passing the validation.



13.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Associated Users Table Overflow Bug Fixed for Firefox Browser

A bug has been fixed where the Authorized User Table content would overflow the set margin when using Firefox. See screenshot below for previous bug.




14.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Switching PI Bug (LA CaTS Contribution)

On SPARCRequest and SPARCDashboard, a bug has been fixed that occurred when switching PIs (by adding a new primary PI on the protocol). The bug was causing the previous PI to be changed to the "Request/Approve Services" proxy right, which no longer exists. Now, the previous PI is defaulted to have the "Authorized/Change Study Charges" proxy right instead.



15.(SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Visit Window and Billing Quantity Validation Added

When editing a visit, the windows are now not allowed to be negative. Visit Groups (R, T, %) and Visit Windows (before and after) cannot be negative any more. The negative visit window is not clinical meaningful, and was causing the Epic interface to fail.



Also, the billing quantity R/T/% is now not allowed to be negative, either. The integer only validation has been approved upon in this new release.


16. (SPARCRequest and SPARCDashboard) Allow xls and file to be Uploaded and Change Encrypted file error message

Users now receive a more specific error message when uploading Excel documents with the ".xls" format for those that contain a password. The error message states that the "Document has format errors. Please re-save the file in a different format and try again."



17. (SPARCRequest & SPARCDashboard) Other Document Name Capitalization Bug Fixed

When uploading a document with the ""Other" document type on SPARCRequest Step 3 page or the SPARCDashboard protocol "Documents" section, the displayed "Type" column was not holding the capitalization of the naming, except for the first letter. This has been fixed.



18. (SPARCRequest, SPARCDashboard, SPARCCatalog & SPARCReport) Service Type Language and Arm Name Styling

In order to differentiate the arm names and clarify the service type nomenclature on the SPARCRequest Step 2B and SPARCDashboard study calendar, the following has been done:
1). Previous "Per Patient/Visit Services" label(s) have been changed to "Clinical Services";
2). Removal of the "--" in between the service label and the arm name. The arm name is now also displayed on a new line underneath, noted with "Arm: ".
3). Previous "One-time-fee Services" label(s) have been changed to "Non-clinical Services".
4). Labels have been changed on related reports as well.




19. (SPARCDashboard & Database) Merge Multiple Service Requests for All Protocols

Using a previously established script (merge_srs.rake), now all the multiple Service Requests under the same protocol have been merged. See below for the "before" and "after" comparison screenshots on the same protocol.



20. (SPARCDashboard) Persist Search Filter Values

When filtering using the protocol filter, the search dropdown choice and search text were reset once clicking "Filter" on the SPARCDashboard. The values are now persistent after filtering, so that a user can sort by different columns without losing the search criteria.



21. (SPARCDashboard) Homepage Saved Filter New Features

The maximum number of "Recently Saved Filters" allowed on the SPARCDashboard home page left panel has been increased to 15. Secondly, users are now able to delete previously saved filters.



22. (SPARCDashboard) New Index Page Export Functionality

On the SPARCDashboard home page, users can now export and download the list of displayed protocols with the information shown, by clicking the new "Exporter" button on the page.




23. (SPARCDashboard) Archive/Unarchive Buttons Moved to Inside Protocols

The "Archive/Unarchive Project/Study" button has been removed from the SPARCDashboard homepage. This button now displays inside of protocols with white color as background. This button was moved so users are less tempted to click it unintentionally.



24. (SPARCDashboard) Authorized User Search Bug Fixed

A bug has been fixed where a new protocol was created without any sub-service requests. Users could view the protocol under "My Protocols" in SPARCDashboard, but when filtering using the Authorized User search functionality while viewing "My Protocols," the protocol did not display.


25. (SPARCDashboard) Default Display Order by Request Number

On SPARCDashboard inside a chosen protocol, the "SRID" column now displays according to the sequence of the request number, instead of the order in the database.



36. (SPARCDashboard) "Modify Request" Button Naming Updated

On SPARCDashboard, inside of a protocol, the naming of the "Modify Request" button has been changed to "Add / Modify Request." The renaming was done to clarify the functionality of this button - Add new request(s) or Edit existing request(s).



27. (SPARCDashboard) Coverage Analysis Report Improvements

Improvements have been made to the Coverage Analysis Report, which is generated by clicking the corresponding button on SPARCDashboard inside of a chosen protocol.



The main report improvements include:

  1. "Study Information" section: bug fixed for Long Title display;
  2. "Document Upload(s)" section: consolidated the document list, and added "Upload Date," so that each document only shows up once;
  3. "Study Calendar" section: added "CPT Code" and "Order Code" columns, with the "CPT Code" column pulling corresponding data from SPARCCatalog;
  4. "Study Calendar" section: added a "Notes" column to display the added notes with date and person;
  5. "Study Calendar" section: adjusted the format of the calendar for the ease of view, and added the display of Visit Day;
  6. In addition, the generalized acknowledgement language and the signature section was added to the bottom of this report for use of billing review process.



28. (SPARCDashboard) Export to Excel Adjustment

On the SPARCDashboard "Request Details" tab, when clicking the "Export to Excel" button, two adjustments have been made on the generated report:



1). Visit days have been added onto the row below the visit name(s), as well as merging and centering the two columns for each visit day;
2). The previous "Total Direct Cost" and "Total Indirect Cost" rows have been deleted from this report. This was done because the direct cost to the service provider and the total study are already shown in this report.


29. (SPARCDashboard) Costs in Header Table Updating Bug Fixed

When editing the calendar in the SPARCDashboard "Admin Edit" section that triggers a price change, the "Sub-service-request Cost" and the "Total Cost" showing in the header region was not automatically updating (unless the user refreshes the browser page). This bug has been fixed.



30. (SPARCDashboard) Form Functionality Admin User Access Bug Fixed (LA CaTS Contribution)

There was a bug where the service providers and super users, who have rights to the chosen request, couldn't edit or delete the answers on a submitted form by the study team user. This bug has been fixed.


31. (SPARCDashboard) Survey Builder Bug Fixes

The following bugs have been fixed for the Survey Builder section on SPARCDashboard:
1). The bug that was causing the date time picker and multiple-choice dropdown list to not display for the survey participant;
2). The dependency bug for required questions when checking "Required" for a question that's "Dependent" on another question, and the dependent question was not triggered. In this scenario, the users taking the survey were not able to "Submit" the survey because the validation was failing silently. The validation has been improved in this production to validate the required question only when it is displayed (triggered by the dependent parent question).
3). Branching/Dependent logic for Likert Scale or Yes/No questions. There were bugs causing the "Yes/No" question to not show up in the dependent list of a survey to be chosen from. This bug was also causing the dependent question, on a parent Likert-scale question, to not be triggered.



4). The bug causing checkboxes on the survey builder to look differently between Google Chrome and Firefox browser(s).


32. (SPARCCatalog) Inactive Surveys Hidden in Survey Association Dropdown

The dropdown menu in the SPARCCatalog Surveys section is now only showing the current active surveys, to avoid linking an inactive survey.



33. (SPARCCatalog) HB Services Quarterly Update

Hospital services have been updated in SPARC for Q2 according to the latest hospital charge master. This quarterly update included the addition of 64 new services, 7 inactivated services, as well as CPT code, name, and/or pricing changes for 76 HB services.


34. (SPARCReport) Service Pricing Report Adjustments

The following adjustments have been made to the Service Pricing report in SPARCReport module to make it more user-friendly.
1). "Rate Types" defaulted to all selected in order to avoid confusion;
2). Added a "Service Status" column in the report, to show whether the service is active or inactive;
3). The report is now only showing the pricing map with the most current effective date of each service.


35. (SPARCRequest, SPARCDashboard, SPARCReport) MUSC & SCTR Header Logos

MUSC and SCTR logos have been updated across SPARCRequest modules, to be compliant with institutional policy.


SPARCFulfillment Version 2.5.5 New Features


1.(SPARCFulfillment) Total Cost Calculation is Now Configurable with Indirect Cost Rate

The calculation method for the "Total Cost" column, inside a request in fulfillment, is now calculating correctly (consistently) when the "indirect cost rate" configuration is turned on in SPARCRequest.


2. (SPARCFulfillment) Service Type Language and Arm Name Styling

Service type language and arm name styling updates have been made throughout SPARCFulfillment module, to be consistent with SPARCRequest (see SPARCRequest New Feature List #18).





3. (SPARCFulfillment) Stop Defaulting Service in Participant Tracker

In the SPARCFulfillment Participant Tracker tab, after a visit is chosen at the bottom of the page, there is a dropdown box for the clinical providers to be able to add more services. Previously the services were defaulting to be the first service of the dropdown box. The default has been changed to "Nothing Selected,", so users won't accidentally add the first service. In addition, an error message has been added that states "Please choose the service that is desired to be added," when there is no service chosen and "Add" is clicked.





4. (SPARCFulfillment) Participant List Combined into Participant Tracker Tab

The previous functionality on the Participant List tab (i.e., Create, Edit, Detail, Delete and Search participants) has been combined on the Participant Tracker tab. The "ID" column has also been added on the Participant Tracker tab. This work was done as part of the ongoing effort to simplify the user interface.



5. (SPARCFulfillment) Klok Import User Interface Improvements

Improvements have been done to the Klok Import User Interface:
1). The import window is not allowing ".XML" file, as well as ".xml" files.
2). The left side labels on the import window are now lined up with the associated buttons on the right side.
3). When running the Klok Import, the user is shown a warning message stating 'This action is irreversible'. The option for the user to 'Prevent this page from creating additional dialogs' has been removed.
4). Removed the default setting which allows user(s) to click outside of modal, or use the Esc key to close modal. When the Klok import is running, the modal window stays open.



6. (SPARCFulfillment) Visit Report Simplification

In the Visit Report, the "Incomplete Visit" and "List of Cores which have incomplete visits" have been removed, since the intended functionality is covered by the other existing columns of data.


7. (SPARCFulfillment) Invoice Report Text Change

In the Invoice Report, the "Fulfillment Components" column header has been changed to "Components" to maintain consistency.

List of Programming Changes with Links to GitHub

SPARCRequest v2.1.0:

SPARCFulfillment v2.5.5

Copyright © 2011-2020 MUSC Foundation for Research Development