Links
Titles, text, icons and images can be configured as links, whereby a user action (hover or select) will cause the focus of attention to shift to a different part of the user interface (within Hyperspace, Canto, Haiku, etc.) or to an external information asset running in a Hyperspace activity or a separate program (such as the Microsoft Edge browser). This section reminds about the types of links that builders can leverage during clinical system design.
External Links
External links use an Epic application-to-application interface to cause an independent application to open and present intended information, functions or views. Usually, external use universal resource locator (URL) syntax (referred to as 'Navigation Links' by Epic but recognizable to most as "hyperlinks"), causing a specific internet resource to be opened within either an Internet Explorer ActiveX control (when web resources are opened within an Hyperspace activity) or a separate Internet browser window.
External links must comply with Connect Care design and link management guides:
Internal Links
Internal links (referred to as 'Activity Links' or 'EpicACT Links' by Epic) allow users to jump from trigger text, title, icons or images in one activity to a different activity within Hyperspace. A link could open a flowsheet in a pop-up window, a text-editing task in a sidebar, a rule-dependent calculator or other tools. Most commonly, a link jumps to a specific activity or navigator within a patient's chart.
Activity Names
Links that facilitate jumps to activities within hyperspace require knowledge of an "activity descriptor". These can be discovered dynamically by opening the Hyperspace activity of interest (e.g., Problem List), then use "Epic button > Help > About Hyperspace". A popup information window should reference the current "Active workspace kind" and "Active activity descriptor". The latter activity descriptor is used when creating an Activity Link.
An alternate method for discovering activity descriptors for link jump destinations is to use the Menu Summary tool (Chart Search for "Menu Summary") to explore all available menu-based activities that can be activated within a particular user profile
Activity Parameters
Finding the parameters that can be passed to an Activity via an EpicACT link can be challenging. Many common parameters are listed with the activity links covered in subsections of this part of the Handbook, reflecting information provided by Epic and experience shared by Epic clients. More esoteric parameters may be discoverable if an Activity with an E2N record is linked to an Activity Template with an E3N record.
Activity templates (E3N records) are attached to activities in item E2N 2000. In the attached E3N record, the parameters are linked as separate E3P records in item E3N 400, with the default value in item 410 and mnemonic in item 430. Examining the E3P record may reveal what type of data it is and, in the case of custom lists, the various key-value pairs.
For those activities which do not have a template attached, menus (E3U records) that use that activity may reveal run parameters used by developers in the past.
If access to run parameter information is important but not otherwise discoverable, builders can contact the relevant Epic TS to do some digging on their end.
Activity Links in Navigators and Reports
Internal activity links are managed with a special print group (LPG) created as a copy of the "IP ACTIVITY LINK [345226]" code template.
In Chronicles (Clinical Administration), navigate to "Reports, Print Groups >> Print Groups (LPG)"
Create and appropriately label and number a new record.
Configure details on the first page:
Style: Rich Text
Stylesheet Compatibility: Certified for Low Light and Widget Styles [5]
Print Group Type: Standard
Color Coding: Blue
Print Group Definitions 2 settings:
Code Template: IP ACTIVITY LINK [345226] (okay to overwrite existing code)
Link caption: short appropriately directive statement ("click here to...")
Activity parameter: see list
Run parameter: see activity specific options
Rule ID: optional CER rule that must evaluate to true for the print group to show
Hypertext Activity Links
Internal activity links can be attached to text in a note or other text area that accepts hyperlinks. The process is the same as creating an external link. The link text is selected and then the hyperlink tool is used in the text editor to create a new link. However, rather than using Internet URL syntax, the following unique Epic syntax is used:
Instead of "http://..." use "EpicACT:Activity_Descriptor,Runparams:Param=value".
The activity descriptor is found as described above.
Run parameters are optional and contingent upon what the activity supports.
Launch options and run parameters can both be passed
EpicACT:CUSTOM_ACTIVITY,LaunchOptions:1,RunParams:PARAM1|PARAM2,InfoName:INI,InfoValue:EPT
EpicACT:CUSTOM_ACTIVITY,LaunchOptions:1,RunParamsURLEncoded:PARAM1%7CPARAM2,InfoName:INI,InfoValue:EPT
Example: launch a popup window with a particular flowsheet
"EpicACT:IP_FLOWSHEET_POPUP,Runparams:FLTID=1570000001"
Functional Links
Create a Note from a Link
IP_CREATE_NOTE_REDIR [34611]
run parameter is note type identifier (T) and SmartText identifier (S) to use
^T~T~S
LPG 345226 IP ACTIVITY LINK can be used to set up such links
Internal Links for Hosted or Embedded External Apps
Non-epic web content that is embedded in Hyperdrive can use URL links to, in a limited way, communicate with the hosting Epic application to request the opening of a specific patient chart to a specific function or activity. These "epiccommand" links function much like EpicACT links. However, there is a limited library of commands that can be issued in this way; most focused on opening a patient chart to a specific activity. Only those commands supported by activity (E2N) and template (E3N) records are allowed and new epiccommand link E2N records cannot be created by builders. See the Epic resource below for a list of supported actions.
Note that EpicCommands embedded in internal or external applications (e.g., notes) are screened against the browser allowlist filter and so may not work in production.
When EpicCommand functions are wanted within SmartText (e.g., for print groups), it is best to use the ".EPICCOMMANDLINK" SmartLink (HHS 14100). This allows an EpicCommand to be selected, with help regarding allowed parameters. It also ensures that internal use of Epic commands will not fail browser allowlist checks.