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Corella

Medication

eMAR-lite medication recording: Every dose recorded on the shift, in the worker's name.

Each person's medication list sits on their record, kept by your coordinators from the chart. On the shift, the rostered worker taps Given, Refused or Missed — saved in their name, at the moment it saves, on that shift — and the card shows what's already been recorded. The clinical record lays out the last seven days. It's eMAR-lite: it records what's prescribed and what happened at each dose, and it never works out a dose, schedules one or checks for interactions.

Book a demoTry the NDIS demo
The medication administration record on a person's clinical record in Corella, from the NDIS demo: the last seven days for Metformin 500 mg, one tablet, oral, morning with breakfast — a green tick for Given on each day it was recorded and an empty box for today — above the legend: Given, Refused, Missed, Unavailable and No record

How it flows

From the chart to the record, one dose at a time.

  1. 1Your office adds it

    A coordinator types each medicine from the chart — strength, dose, route, how often, instructions for the worker, the prescriber and whether it's PRN.

  2. 2The worker sees it

    On the shift, each person's card lists their active medicines with your instructions, and a PRN badge on anything taken as needed.

  3. 3One tap

    Given, Refused or Missed — saved in the worker's name, at the moment it saves, on that shift.

  4. 4The card shows it

    “Given 9:20am · you” — and a second entry for that medicine on the shift waits behind Record another.

  5. 5Seven days at a glance

    The clinical record lays out the week: a row for each medicine, a mark for each entry, an empty box where nothing was recorded.

What people ask first

The short answers, up front.

  • Is it an eMAR?

    It's eMAR-lite: the list and what happened at each dose. There are no rounds, due doses or witness sign-off.

  • What does a worker record?

    Given, Refused or Missed, on a shift they're rostered to — one tap, in their name.

  • Who keeps the list?

    Your coordinators — or a custom role you give Manage on participant records.

  • Can an entry be changed?

    No. Neither the worker nor the office can edit or delete one.

  • What if the dose changes?

    Edit the medicine. Entries already recorded keep the name, strength and dose they were recorded with.

  • Does it work without signal?

    No — each tap saves there and then, and a tap that doesn't get through says so.

  • Is anyone alerted?

    No. Nobody is notified of a Missed or Refused dose — a coordinator reviews the seven-day grid.

  • Does it check doses?

    Never. It doesn't work out a dose, schedule one or check for interactions.

Whose screen

The same job, from each seat.

In the office

Coordinators keep each person's list on their Medications tab — add, edit, retire — with each medicine's last three entries beside it. Staff with Clinical records at Manage can also record a dose given outside a shift — Given, Refused, Missed or Unavailable, with an optional note — and open the seven-day grid on the clinical record. On the roster, each shift's activity shows the doses recorded on it.

On the phone

On the shift, the worker sees each person's active medicines — name, strength, dose, route, how often, your instructions and a PRN badge — with whatever's already been recorded for each on that shift, and taps Given, Refused or Missed. The buttons are there from when clock-on opens until a day after the shift ends; outside that, the card says why.

For families

The family portal never shows medications. What your team records about a person's medicines stays with your team.

A worked example

One medicine, one week.

A once-a-day tablet from the NDIS demo — Metformin, taken with breakfast — and what each part of Corella holds for it.

On the person's record
Metformin 500 mg · 1 tablet · Oral · “Morning with breakfast” — how often is your office's own words
On each shift
The worker taps Given — one entry, in their name, stamped when it saved
On the shift's activity
“… recorded a dose of Metformin”, with the outcome beneath
On the seven-day grid
A tick in each day's box once it's recorded — today's stays empty until someone does
If the dose changes
Edit the medicine: earlier entries keep the dose they were recorded with
If it's stopped
Untick Active: it comes off the shift card and stays on the record with its last three entries

An empty box means nothing was recorded in Corella that day — not that a dose was missed. And Corella doesn't know when a dose is due: “Morning with breakfast” is your office's wording, not a schedule.

In detail

The detail, on the real screens.

On the shift: one tap, in the worker's name

A support worker opens the shift on their phone and finds, on each person's card, that person's active medicines: the name and strength, the dose, the route, how often, your office's instructions, and a PRN badge on anything taken as needed. On a phone each medicine takes the card's full width, with Given, Refused and Missed in a row beneath. One tap records the outcome in the worker's name, stamped with the moment it saved and linked to that shift, and a message confirms it. In a shared house, each resident's card carries their own medicines, so the worker records each person in turn.

Worth knowing: the tap is the whole entry — a reason or an observation goes in the progress note; medicines aren't in the clock-on brief and don't hold up clock-off; nobody is alerted to a Missed or Refused dose; and each tap needs signal — one that doesn't get through says “That didn't go through. Refresh to check before trying again.”, and nothing is kept on the phone to send later.

A support worker's shift on a phone, from the NDIS demo, scrolled to the person's medications: Levetiracetam 500 mg — one tablet, oral, twice daily, 08:00 and 20:00, with the instruction to report any seizure as an incident — and Midazolam (buccal) 10 mg with a PRN badge and its instruction, each with Given, Refused and Missed buttons in a row beneath; the emergency contact above them and the progress note below
Each medicine on the worker's card — “how often” is your office's own words, not a schedule (NDIS demo)

Once — and only while the shift is open

Each medicine on the card lists what's already been recorded for it on that shift — “Given 9:20am · you” — and its buttons then wait behind Record another, so a double tap or a colleague's out-of-date screen doesn't record it twice: a second entry for the same medicine on the same shift within ten minutes is refused, saying what's there and who recorded it. The buttons are there only for a worker rostered on the shift, from when clock-on opens — three hours before the start unless you change it — until 24 hours after it ends, and never on a cancelled shift. Outside that window the card says why, and the office takes over.

Worth knowing: it stops an entry being made twice, not a dose being given twice — it isn't a minimum gap between doses, and an as-needed medicine can be recorded again on purpose; it checks the roster, not who clocked on; and the window belongs to the shift, not the dose — Corella doesn't know when a dose is due.

The same shift screen for a shift that ended more than a day ago, from the NDIS demo: under Levetiracetam, a green tick and Given 9:20am · you; under each medicine, This visit ended more than 24 hours ago. Ask the office to record the dose.
What's already recorded on the shift — and, a day after it ends, the office records instead (NDIS demo)

The list your office keeps

Each person's medication list lives on its own tab of their record. A coordinator — or a custom role you give Manage on participant records — adds each medicine with its strength, dose and route (from seven fixed choices), how often it's taken, instructions for the worker, the prescriber and whether it's PRN; Add and the edit pencil show only to them. Each medicine's card shows its last three entries — the outcome, when and who. When a medicine stops, untick Active: it comes off the shift card and can't be recorded against, and it stays on the record, greyed, with its last three entries. A list that arrived as text — from a referral, or carried over when you moved to Corella — is a to-do: Needs attention on the participant list counts the active people whose list still has to be typed.

Worth knowing: how often is free text, so Corella never works out dose times or what's due; there are no start or stop dates — the record shows that a medicine is inactive, not when it stopped; nothing deletes a medicine; finance-level staff see the list but can't change it; and Needs attention is a reminder to type the list, not a check of it.

A person's Medications tab in Corella, from the NDIS demo: Add medication, then Levetiracetam 500 mg with its dose, route, how often, instructions and a demo prescriber, and Recent administration listing three Given entries with the date, time and worker, and a Record button; below it Midazolam (buccal) 10 mg, PRN, with No records.
A person's Medications tab — each medicine with its last three entries (NDIS demo)

An edit never rewrites what was given

When a dose changes, edit the medicine. The change applies from then on, and every entry already recorded keeps the name, strength and dose it was recorded with — the edit dialog says so. Where a medicine has changed since an entry, the Medications tab, the shift card and the grid say what the entry was recorded as, and the audit log names the fields an edit changed.

Worth knowing: the medicine itself is changed in place — the list shows it only as it is now, not as a history of versions — and the audit log names the fields that changed, not what they were before.

The Edit medication dialog in Corella, from the NDIS demo: Levetiracetam, 500 mg, 1 tablet, oral, twice daily, the instructions, a demo prescriber, PRN unticked and Active ticked, and under the fields: Entries already recorded keep the name, strength and dose they were recorded with.
Editing a medicine — what's already recorded keeps what it was recorded as (NDIS demo)

From the office, for a dose given outside a shift

Someone with Clinical records at Manage — the coordinator level, or a custom role you give it — can record a dose from the person's record: Given, Refused, Missed or Unavailable, with an optional note. It's for a dose given outside a shift, or one written up more than a day after a shift, once that shift's own buttons have closed.

Worth knowing: it's stamped when it's saved and linked to no shift, so a paper record typed in later lands on the day it was typed and appears on no shift's activity; and an entry, once saved, can't be edited or deleted — to set the record straight, record what actually happened, with a note, and both entries stay.

The Record administration dialog in Corella, from the NDIS demo, with its outcome list open: Given, Refused, Missed and Unavailable, and the Record and Cancel buttons below
Recording from the office — Given, Refused, Missed or Unavailable (NDIS demo)

Seven days at a glance

The person's clinical record carries a medication administration record: the last seven days as a grid — a row for each active medicine with its dose, route and how often, a column for each day, and a mark for each entry, Given, Refused, Missed or Unavailable, with the time on hover. A medicine stopped during the week keeps its row, marked Stopped, while it has an entry there; a busy day shows three marks and “+N”; a day with nothing recorded is an empty box, “No record” in the legend. Each shift's activity on the roster lists the doses recorded on it, and so does the worker's own “What happened on this shift”.

Worth knowing: an empty box means nothing was recorded in Corella, not a missed dose; one mark on a twice-daily medicine means one entry that day — the marks don't say which dose they were; it covers seven days; the grid opens to Clinical records at Manage, where Clinical charting is on; and there's no report, export or printout.

A shift's drawer on the roster in Corella, from the NDIS demo, on its Activity tab: everything that happened on the shift, newest first — the worker clocked on, recorded a dose of Metformin, given, and clocked off, each with its date and time
A shift's activity on the roster — the dose recorded on it, between clock-on and clock-off (NDIS demo)

Around the list: the plan, the chart on file, incidents and training

Medication recording sits inside the rest of the record. The support plan's requires-assistance grid has a Medication row — independent, monitoring, prompting, partial or full assistance, or your own words — and it prints on the plan. File the signed chart from the GP or pharmacy on the person's record as visible to staff, and it's listed with their documents on the worker's shift screen. A medication error goes into the incident register as its own type in Corella's built-in list, and PRN medicine used to influence behaviour can be registered as a chemical restraint, with each use logged by a coordinator. Two starter courses on assisting with medication install from the training library, and medication administration is one of the competency register's starter skills.

Worth knowing: none of these is wired to the entries — a Missed dose raises no incident, a PRN dose recorded as Given logs no restrictive-practice use, the worker's phone doesn't show the plan's assistance level, Corella doesn't read the chart on file, the restrictive practices register isn't part of the aged-care preset, and recording a dose doesn't check who is trained or signed off.

The training library's starter courses in Corella, from the NDIS demo: under Medication Assistance and Management, Assisting Participants with Medication Part 1 and Part 2, each marked Mandatory, with its summary, its steps and test questions, and an Install button
Two starter courses on assisting with medication — general workplace education your team edits, not clinical advice (NDIS demo)

Records, never decides

Corella records medication; it never decides anything about it. Its own help for the Medications tab says so: it records what is prescribed and what happened at each dose, and doesn't calculate doses, schedule them or warn about interactions. So there are no rounds, no due or overdue doses, and nothing flags a run of refusals. There's no witness or second signature for S8 or other high-risk medicines, no review of whether a PRN dose worked, no support for dose administration aids such as blister packs, and no link to a pharmacy, a prescriber or a medicines database: the name is typed from the chart. That restraint is deliberate. Software that works out a dose for a person, or decides that something about them needs attention, can be a regulated medical device in Australia, and Corella's medication record stays on the recording side.

Worth knowing: if your service needs a full electronic medication chart — dose rounds, due doses, witnessing, pharmacy links — Corella isn't it; it keeps the record of what your workers did on each shift.

The Worth knowing box from Corella's help for the Medications tab: It records what is prescribed and what happened at each dose — given, refused, missed or unavailable. It does not calculate doses, schedule them or warn about interactions.
The Medications tab's own help, in the product's words (NDIS demo)

Straight answers

What warns you, what stops you — and what it doesn’t do.

Warns you

  • A dose already recorded on this shift — the card lists it, “Given 9:20am · you”, before anyone taps again.
  • A tap that didn't get through — “That didn't go through. Refresh to check before trying again.”
  • An entry made before the medicine changed — it says what it was recorded as.
  • A shift that ended more than a day ago — the card says to ask the office to record the dose.
  • A medication list that arrived as text — Needs attention counts the active people whose list is still to type.

Stops you

  • A second entry for the same medicine on the same shift within ten minutes — unless the worker chooses Record another.
  • A worker recording on a shift they aren't rostered to, on a cancelled shift, or more than 24 hours after it ends.
  • Anyone editing or deleting an entry — the worker or the office.
  • Finance-level staff adding, editing or recording — they see the list, not the buttons.
  • Deleting a person who has medication entries, or a staff member who has recorded a dose — Exit keeps the record.

Doesn't do

  • Work out a dose, schedule doses or know when one is due.
  • Check a dose against the person's allergies, other medicines or a dose range.
  • Alert anyone to a Missed or Refused dose.
  • Take a reason, a note or a dose with the worker's tap.
  • Keep a tap on the phone to send later.
  • Hold start or stop dates, rounds, a witness or second signature, or a controlled-drug register.
  • Print, export or report the record.

Who stays responsible

Your nurses, coordinators and prescribers decide what's given, when and by whom. Corella records what's prescribed and what happened, in the words your office typed from the chart — and it stays on the recording side: it never works out a dose, schedules one or warns about interactions.

The rulebook

Questions, answered properly.

Is the medication record an eMAR?
It's eMAR-lite, and the difference matters. Corella keeps each person's medication list and a record of what happened at each dose: the worker on the shift taps Given, Refused or Missed, each entry carries their name and the time it was saved, the shift shows what's already been recorded, and the clinical record lays out the last seven days. It isn't a full electronic medication chart — there are no dose times, rounds, witness signatures or pharmacy links — and it never works out a dose or checks for interactions.
What does a support worker actually do?
Opens the shift, finds each person's medicines on their card and taps Given, Refused or Missed. It saves straight away in their name, linked to the shift; the card lists it — “Given 9:20am · you” — and a second entry for that medicine needs Record another. The buttons are there from when clock-on opens (three hours before the start, unless you change it) until 24 hours after the shift ends, never on a cancelled shift or one they aren't rostered to. The tap is the whole entry — a reason or an observation goes in the progress note.
What happens when a dose is refused or missed?
It's recorded as the worker tapped it, and it shows on the shift's activity in the office, on the person's record and on the seven-day grid. Nobody is alerted and nothing counts refusals over time, so a coordinator reviews the grid. If something went wrong, report it in the incident register — “Medication error” is one of Corella's built-in incident types — though the incident isn't linked to the entry.
How are PRN (as-needed) medicines handled?
They carry a PRN badge wherever they appear, and a PRN dose is recorded as Given like any other; a second one on the same shift is recorded on purpose with Record another. Corella doesn't record why it was given or whether it worked, and it doesn't enforce a minimum gap or a daily maximum — write those rules in the instructions. The worker writes the reason and the effect in the progress note, and a clinical lead can chart them on the clinical record's PRN observation chart.
Can a worker clock off without recording a medication?
Yes. Clock-off waits for must-do tasks and, where you require it, a progress note — not for medications. If a prompt must never be missed, put it on the person's plan as a must-do task: the worker can't clock off until it's ticked, though the tick is separate from the medication entry.
Can a wrong entry be corrected?
Not by editing it: an entry can't be edited or deleted, by the worker or the office. Corella does stop the commonest slip — a second tap, or a colleague's out-of-date screen, recording the same medicine on the same shift within ten minutes — unless the worker chooses Record another. To set the record straight, someone with Clinical records at Manage records what actually happened from the person's record, with a note, and both entries stay.
Who sets up the list, and what happens when a dose changes?
Coordinators — or a custom role with Manage on participant records — add and edit medicines. Editing changes the medicine from then on, never what was given: every entry already recorded keeps the name, strength and dose it was recorded with, and the screens show what an older entry was recorded as. The audit log names the fields an edit changed. There are no start or stop dates; when a medicine stops, untick Active and it stays on the record with its last entries.
What can we show an auditor?
The person's record shows each medicine's last three entries — the outcome, when and who; the clinical record shows the last seven days; each shift's activity shows the doses recorded on it. There's no medication report, spreadsheet export or printable chart. The audit log, a screen for administrators, holds every entry with who, when and the outcome, though it names the medicine only by an internal id, and an edit shows which fields changed, not their old values.
Does it work without signal?
No. Each tap saves to Corella there and then; unlike a progress note, a medication entry isn't kept on the phone to send later. If a tap doesn't get through, the phone says “That didn't go through. Refresh to check before trying again.” — it never retries on its own, so a lost reply can't become a second entry — and an entry made once the worker is back in signal is stamped with that later time.
Who can see a person's medications, and who can record a dose?
Support workers see them only on shifts they're rostered to, and record only there. The office sees the list and the latest entries on the person's record; recording from the office, and the seven-day grid, need Clinical records at Manage — the coordinator level, or a custom role you give it. Finance-level staff can read the list but not change it. The family portal never shows medications. None of it checks who is trained or signed off as competent.
Does Corella check doses, allergies or interactions?
No — deliberately, and its own help says so. The list is what your office types from the chart; Corella doesn't compare it with the person's allergies, other medicines or a dose range, and it never works out a dose. The person's allergies are on the need-to-know brief a worker sees on the shift, as your office typed them.
Can we record S8 medicines or use dose administration aids?
Not as such. Each medicine is its own line, recorded on its own, and there's no witness or second signature, no controlled-drug register and no support for dose administration aids such as blister packs. If your policy needs a second person to witness a dose, that record is kept outside Corella.

Guides for this

Read the rule behind it.

See eMAR-lite medication recording on a live instance.

Try the NDIS demo with a time-boxed pass, or book a walkthrough and we'll show you this part of Corella in your own words.

Book a demoTry a live demo