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The Blue Book is a searchable directory of service providers and community contacts. You can use this tool to build a custom directory of contacts (individuals and/or organizations) for your agency. These contacts are called Blue Book Entries and can be referenced throughout Penelope. For example, Blue Book Entries can be:
Added as a Collateral Contact for a client (i.e. a person or organization connected to the client in some way and whose name and contact information you want to maintain; for example, a third-party service provider, referral source, primary care physician, etc.)
Added as a Collateral Contact for a funder (for example, a specific representative your Billing department is in contact with)
Booked into appointments as attendees
Documented as an inbound or outbound referral
Shared across multiple Cases or be unique to one individual
Reported on via the Referral History and/or Blue Book Entry reports
The Blue Book is comprised of a few components and related tools: the Blue Book List, the Blue Book Entry, the Add Collateral Contact tool, the Referral Wizard, etc.
Blue Book List
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The Blue Book List is the searchable directory component of the Blue Book and contains all of your Blue Book Entries. No matter where you are in Penelope, you access the Blue Book List by clicking the Blue Book icon on the left of the page.
When you click the Blue Book icon, a new window opens where you can search for existing Blue Book Entries as well as the list of Available Services offered by your Blue Book Entries.
Blue Book Entries Tab
The Blue Book Entries tab is the main search area of the Blue Book List. You can use this tab see a list of all Blue Book Entries currently in the system (by clicking Go without selecting any search criteria) or you can see a filtered list of Blue Book Entries by selecting criteria. Several of the search criteria options (i.e. Available Services, Serviced Area, Other Attributes, etc.) are configurable and you can customize them to suit the needs of your agency.
You can click on the name of any of the individuals or organizations in the Results list to see their Blue Book Entry page.
Available Services Tab
The Available Services tab allows you to search for services offered by your Blue Book Entries. While the Search Criteria are the same on both tabs, the Results list is visually distinct and includes an option to show or hide more details about the Available Services (for example, any comments or restrictions you’ve added to the Blue Book Entry). Note that for a Blue Book Entry to appear as a result on this tab, you must configure both the Referral Information and Available Services for the entry.
Like with the Blue Book Entries tab, you can click on the name of any of the people or organizations in the Results list to see their Blue Book Entry page.
Blue Book Entry Page
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Each individual or organization in the Blue Book has their own Blue Book Entry page which displays their contact, referral, and service information (if applicable).
Blue Book Entry with basic Profile information
Blue Book Entry with referral and service information
The basic information (name, type, address, contact methods, etc.) on the Blue Book page is populated when you add a new Blue Book Entry, Collateral Contact, or Referral source and can later be edited or expanded upon directly on the Blue Book Entry page.
Profile Tab
Component | Description |
Name | The name of the individual or organization. Depending on the Blue Book Type you select, the Name field will either display as Name (for organizations) or First Name and Last Name (for individuals) on the Edit screen. |
Type | A user defined list of types of Blue Book Entries. A Blue Book Type is either an Individual or Organization (determined by your System Administrator). |
Role | The title or role of the contact. This field is optional and can be left blank if you are entering an organization, are unsure of the person’s title/role, or the information is not needed by your agency. |
Private | A Yes/No indicator of whether the Blue Book Entry is Private (Yes) or Public (No). |
User Defined Drop-Down | A user defined drop-down list. |
Address | The address of the Blue Book Entry. The Hours and After Hours fields are also found in this section. |
Affiliates | A list of associated Blue Book Entries. You can use the Affiliates component to link related contacts together and create a hierarchy between Blue Book Entries (for example, multiple contacts or branches in an organization). |
Notes | A text box for any general information you want to capture for the Blue Book Entry. |
Contacts | A list of contact methods (i.e. phone numbers, email addresses, websites, etc.) for the Blue Book Entry. |
Make Private | An option to make the Blue Book Entry private. This option does not appear for Blue Book Entries that have not been used in a Referral or as a Collateral Contact. |
Edit | The Edit button allows you to make changes to the Blue Book Entry name, type, role, parent entry, and notes. |
Referral Information Tab
Component | Description |
Central Intake | A drop-down list showing the name of Blue Book Entry and any affiliates; you can choose from the list to indicate who the central intake person or group is. |
Blue Book Referral Drop-Down 1 | A user defined drop-down list you can create a custom name and list of items for. For example, a label of “Accepting new clients?” with the option of “Yes” and “No”. |
Blue Book Referral Drop-Down 2 | A user defined drop-down list you can create a custom name and list of items for. |
Blue Book Referral Memo 1 | A user defined textbox. By default, the memo box is labelled as “Referral Instructions”. |
Blue Book Referral Memo 2 | A user defined textbox. By default, the memo box is labelled as “Notes”. |
Edit | The Edit button allows you to make changes to the central intake, referral instructions, or notes. |
Serviced Area | A list of the geographic areas (for example, cities, regions, neighborhoods, etc.) the Blue Book Entry serves with the ability to add or remove options. |
User Defined multi-select | A list of any other unique attributes that you can use to describe or distinguish the Blue Book Entry; for example, you could consider the qualities that might affect whether you would or wouldn’t refer a client to the individual or organization. |
Available Services Tab
Component | Description |
Available Services | A list of services the Blue Book Entry provides. |
Public vs Private Blue Book Entries
Blue Book Entries can either be public or private. In the table below, you’ll find the key differences between Blue Book Entries that have been labelled as public or private:
Item | Public Entry | Private Entry |
Availability | No restrictions on availability in Penelope and open to be shared by all Individuals and/or Funders as Collateral Contacts, Referrals, etc. | Privately available in Penelope as unique contact for the particular Individual or Funder the Blue Book Entry is associated with |
Searchable | Searchable via the Blue Book List and suggest lookups | Not searchable via the Blue Book List or suggest lookups; are visible only in the Collateral Contact section of the Individual or Funder Profile pages for the specific Individual or Funder they’re associated with or from the Referral Entry page |
Referrals | Can be logged as an inbound or outbound referral for multiple Individuals | Cannot be logged as an inbound or outbound referral for other Individuals |
Collateral Contacts | Can be assigned as a Collateral Contact for other Individuals and/or Funders | Cannot be assigned as a Collateral Contact for other Individuals and/or Funders |
Use Cases | Typically used for common or public service providers like hospitals, doctors, shelters, etc. | Typically used for family members, friends, or other people whose information would otherwise not need to be shared outside of a specific Case |
A few additional notes on private and public Blue Book Entries:
When you add a Blue Book Entry via the “Add Blue Book” option on the homepage or when logging a new Referral, the entry is public by default (though you can modify this setting later from the Blue Book Entry page).
When you Add Collateral Contact from the Intake Wizard, Individual Profile, or Funder Profile pages, you have the option to specify if the entry is public or private.
If you make a formerly public Blue Book Entry private, the entry will no longer be searchable from the Blue Book List but you will be able to see it from the Collateral Contact section for any associated Individuals or Funders as well as from the Referral sidebar for any previously logged referrals to/from the entry.
Related Tools
Several tools in Penelope use the Blue Book:
Intake Wizard
When using the optional “Add Collateral Contact” and “Referral Information” steps, the suggest lookup mechanisms search existing public Blue Book Entries for a match prior to creating a new entry. Newly created public entries are added to the Blue Book.
Collateral Contacts
When adding a new Collateral Contact for an Individual or Funder, the suggest lookup mechanism searches existing public Blue Book Entries for a match prior to creating a new entry. Newly created public entries are added to the Blue Book.
Referral Wizard
When adding a new Referral for an Individual, the suggest lookup mechanism searches existing public Blue Book Entries for a match prior to creating a new entry. Newly created public entries are added to the Blue Book.
Event Attendees
When booking or modifying the attendees list of events, you have the option to include Blue Book Entries or Collateral Contacts as event attendees.
CMS Referring Provider
When populating the 2310A Loop in an EDI file with a Referring Provider, you add a Blue Book Entry with CMS information to the “Referring Physician” section of a Service File > CMS tab.