Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Q: What browsers are compatible with OATS?

A: OATS can be used with any of the following browsers:

• Microsoft Edge

• Google Chrome

• Firefox

• Safari

Note: Internet Explorer is no longer a browser supported by Microsoft and should not be a used for OATS.

Q: Is there a mobile application that needs to be downloaded to use OATS on a cell phone?

A: There is no mobile application. OATS is mobile compatible so you can easily use the web browser on your cell phone to log in and access OATS.

Q: How do I manage my notifications?

A: As an OATS user, you will be able to manage your notifications subscriptions. After clicking the user icon in the upper right-hand corner of OATS, select your name in the drop-down menu to navigate to your user profile. There, you will be able to unlick any notifications that are associated with your user account if you wish to no longer receive these notifications.

Q: Will there be future enhancements to OATS? How will this work?

A: OATS will continue to be refined over time. Identified system enhancements to improve the user experience will be implemented after go-live and continue throughout the life of the new system.
System releases will include improvements that either reflect transplant policy changes or enhance the usability of the system. Additional training supports will be provided at the time of system releases, if needed.

Q: How do I rectify data entry errors?

A: There is a feature in OATS that allows you to edit your most recent entry in the history table. However, older entries in history tables will be locked to editing. If the field you are trying to edit is locked to editing, the change needs to be submitted through a Data Correction Form. Your TGLN contact will assist you with the Data Correction Form process.

Q: Why is there extra mandatory data entry requirements for OATS?

A: The TGLN team has decided to add more mandatory fields in TOTAL to support the end-to-end transplant process. This supports fulsome information in waitlist reporting and helps to inform transplant policy decision making.

Recipient Registration

Q:I am attempting to update an existing recipient profile that was created in TOTAL originally, but I keep encountering error messages in other sections of the profile when I attempt to correct or update data in OATS. How do I update the recipient profile in this situation?

A: In order to update data in existing recipient profiles that were migrated from TOTAL to OATS, the system will check for missing mandatory information on the entire recipient profile page. Usually, the data to be corrected are the following:

• Demographics Section

  • Insurance Number: for OHIP – please re-enter and omit the version code

• Contact Information Section

  • Current Address: Ensure the Street Address, City, and Postal Code are all entered

  • Permanent Address: Ensure the Street Address, City, and Postal Code are all entered (or all removed if no Permanent Address needs to be entered)

You can make appropriate updates to all the missing mandatory fields and then scroll down to the bottom of the recipient profile page, and use the  “Save Recipient” button (instead of using the section specific save buttons).

This should allow you to save the above changes at one time without issues and then permit you to proceed with updating other areas of the recipient profile. If you are still encountering technical issues, please contact TGLN for further investigation and support.

Recipient Organ Referrals

Q: Why are there mandatory asterisks in Referral Details section but I am able to save without entering them?

A: In some areas of OATS, you are able to save information within a section of OATS without having all mandatory data populated, but the mandatory fields are required in order to move forward to another step in OATS. For example, Referral Details are required in order to move forward in the system and save a “Referral Accepted” decision.

Q: The system is not allowing me to save an Assessment Decision to list the recipient without verifying blood type. How do I verify the blood type in OATS?

A: The Blood Type Verified checkbox can be selected and saved within the Recipient Profile’s under the General Clinical Information section. This field is next to the Blood Type and RH Factor fields. Afterwards, you can return to the Medical Assessment section within the organ journey and save the Assessment Decision.

Note: At least one set of measurement data will also be required to save an Assessment Decision of “Recipient To be Listed”.

Q: For Consultation Date – what date should be entered, when the consultation starts or ends?

A: Here is a breakdown to explain Consultation Date vs Assessment Date:

Consultation Date: The date the patient has their first scheduled, consultation with a transplant specialist. Date of Consultation, is the initial point of contact for a patient, which actually begins the assessment period, leading to a disposition decision.

Assessment Date: Date that identifies the current or final outcome of the referral/transplant work-up process.

Q: When the recipient is too well for transplant or family declines, what can be entered as the “Reason (for recipient not eligible for transplant)”

A: The reason “Recipient Request” can be used and any details can be added in the Comments box within this section, as needed.

Q: Liver - Why does the INR only go to up to 7.5?

A: The system will issue a warning message if INR value entered is not within the range of 0.9 and 7.5, however the system will not stop you from saving this data. 

Q: Liver – How do I view PELD/NaMELD scores after I have entered PELD/NaMELD data?

A: The PELD or NaMELD score will calculate and display within the PELD/NaMELD History tables after the data is saved successfully. 

Q: Liver – Why is the SMC Score History sort order seemingly random?

A: For migrated TOTAL data, updates to the SMC Score history will sort by the most recent data once the page has been saved for the first time.

Q: Liver - Right now for pediatrics our labs do not expire regardless of whether it is PELD or MELD. What is the expiry in OATS?

A: There are 2 different types of paediatric recipients:

If the paediatric recipient is <12 years old: the PELD Expiry will be set to the Recipient’s 12th birthday regardless of how recent the data is. The expiry in this case just means the point at which the PELD data is no longer used for allocation purposes. The 'expiration' of the PELD data has no bearing on the recipient waitlist status. 

If the paediatric recipient is >=12 years old: the NaMELD Expiry will be set to the Recipient’s 18th birthday, after which they would be subjected to a NaMELD Suspension and not included in allocations until new NaMELD data is added.

Q: How are patient transfers handled in the system? 

A: If a patient requires a transfer, please reach out to your TGLN contact. They will assist you with completing the patient transfer process.

Waitlist and Waitlist Reports

Q: What is the difference between the waitlist report and the customizable waitlist? 

A: The Waitlist Report is found in the reports tab in OATS. This is the same waitlist report that you are familiar with from TOTAL. However, there is also a new feature in OATS called the customizable waitlist. This is housed in the Waitlist tab. The customizable wait list is a dynamic list that you can filter, manipulate, export as a CSV file and print to support ongoing patient management. However, the customizable waitlist is not intended to be a replacement for the waitlist report. 

Q: After listing an organ cluster, the waitlist history table remained blank, what do I do?

A: In this case, refresh the page to see the latest up to date data. If the issue persists, please contact TGLN for support. 

Q: If an additional organ needs to be taken after the allocation (e.g. Liver/Small Bowel cluster may take Pancreas after allocation), there will be no referral for this organ and so how can we add it?

A: The Transplant Program should add the referral for the additional organ, cluster the organs, and then a CSC can allocate to the cluster during the recovery stage (CSC can rerun the allocation once listing is corrected, reoffer and reallocate).

Q: What is a Serum Hold?

A: Recipients waiting for a Heart, Kidney, Pancreas, Pancreas Islets, Kidney-Pancreas cluster or VCA must have a cPRA score to be allocated an organ. In order to receive a cPRA score, the patient’s profile must include at least one complete HLA antibody test. If a Heart, Kidney, Pancreas, Pancreas Islets, Kidney-Pancreas, or VCA patient is waitlisted without a cPRA score or their most recent set of Serum data has expired, their organ request is immediately placed on a Serum Hold. A patient with an organ request on Serum Hold continues to accrue wait time for that request but is not eligible for inclusion in organ allocations.

Allocation and eOffers

Q: Will the donor profile still be populated from iTransplant?

A: Yes, donor information is still pushed from iTransplant. The only field that needs to be updated directly in OATS is the “Consented for Research?” checkbox. This will be included in the push from iTransplant as part of a future release. 

Receiving and Responding to Offers:

Q: What type of documents will Transplant Programs have access to in OATS?

A: Transplant Programs will have access to all of the same redacted documents in OATS that are shared today. This includes (but is not limited to) a donor chart created in iTransplant, imaging reports, culture reports, etc. 

Q: How will Transplant Programs know when updated information is available in a donor profile?

A: The PRC will be responsible for notifying Transplant Programs when significant changes have been made to a donor profile or when an updated document has been uploaded that a Transplant Program is waiting for. The CSCs can record the date/time donor charts were generated in the “File Description” field when they upload them to the OATS profile, making it easy to identify which donor chart is the most recent. 

Q: Will there still be a phone call/page to notify a transplant program of a primary offer?

A: Yes – the PRC will still phone and/or page a transplant program to notify them of a primary offer. When you are on-call as per the on-call schedule in OATS, you will also receive an email, text or both (depending on your subscription preferences) with the link to the donor in OATS to easily view the donor info and list of recipients. 

The PRC will not phone with back-up offers. TGLN is approaching offering in OATS similar to UNOS whereby during the day we will notify all programs about an organ being available by making multiple back-ups offers. This will enable you to log in if you wish to view the donor details in advance of getting a primary offer to determine if you might pre-emptively accept or decline should the primary offer eventually come your way. 

There is no requirement to respond to back-up offers. It's our hope that this will improve the length of time allocation takes and also make it possible to shift offer reviews away from the overnight period.

Q: Can I Decline an offer after having “Accept“ or “Accept with Conditions”?

A: Transplant programs cannot change an “Accept” or “Accept with Conditions” to “Decline”. This scenario requires Transplant programs to call the PRC as the CSC needs to “Discontinue/Cancel” the acceptance. The rationale for making this action available only to the CSC is to prevent any delay in the reallocation of an organ. 

Urgent Listing:

Q: Why can I only select certain medical statuses when urgently listing a recipient?

A: Urgent listings are limited to the following medical statuses:

Q: Transplant coordinators currently fill out the Status Changes / Listing After Hours form for urgent listings and status changes after hours. Will this form still be used after the implementation of OATS? 

A: Yes – if the PRC is required to assist with an urgent listing or status change after hours, transplant programs will continue to submit the Status Changes / Listing After Hours form. Updates have been made to this form to ensure all data required in OATS is captured.