Vocera Collaboration Suite is a healthcare mobile application that provides real-time situational awareness and actionable patient data to inform clinical decisions so that care team members can easily communicate and collaborate, improving the experience of the patient and the caregiver.

For detailed documentation on Vocera Collaboration Suite, refer to Vocera Collaboration Suite.

For the previous versions of the release notes, refer to the Vocera Release Notes Library.

This release includes the following new features and functionality.

This release encompasses changes required by Apple to use its Notification Service Extension for all non-call related notifications. These changes require Vocera Messaging Platform version 5.5, Vocera Voice Server version 5.5, and iOS 13.3 or later. If a device is running this 3.8 version of VCS and an earlier version of iOS or the Messaging and Voice servers are earlier versions than 5.5, the experience will be as it was with the 3.7 version of the app.

• Critical Alert Support

  If you are using iOS version 12 or later, you can now specify that when you receive a message of Urgent priority, it is sent to you as an Apple iOS Critical Alert. These alerts play a sound and appear on your device's lock screen even if your device is muted or you have set the device's Do Not Disturb setting.

This release includes the following important changes.

These changes require Vocera Messaging Platform version 5.5, Vocera Voice Server version 5.5, and iOS 13.3 or later. If a device is running this 3.8 version of VCS and an earlier version of iOS, or the Messaging and Voice servers are earlier versions than 5.5, the experience will be as it was with the 3.7 version of the app.

• Remind Me Later status not immediately reset when message read on VMP Web Console or badge.

  If you are using VCS 3.8 for iOS and read a message for which the Remind Me Later status has been set, you may still receive Remind Me Later notifications for up to 15 minutes after the message has been read.

• Location of VCS client may not be updated for up to 15 minutes.

  If you are using VCS 3.8 for iOS, and you change your location, other VCS or badge users who use the Vocera Genie's Location command to find you may not receive your updated location for up to 15 minutes.

• Notifications are now grouped.

  Notifications are now grouped instead of having separate notifications for messages, voicemails, and missed calls. Critical notifications appear at the top.

• New Critical Alert icon.

  There is a new Critical Alert icon for notifications for urgent priority alerts or messages. This icon is provided by the Apple iOS operating system. The VCS icons have not changed.

• Voice login when logged out of dual mode.

  If you log out of the badge while in dual mode, and VCS 3.8 for iOS has been terminated, the VCS client will not automatically log into the Vocera Voice Server until VCS is started again.

• Vocera vibration patterns not supported in background.

  When VCS 3.8 for iOS is in the background, Vocera vibration patterns are not supported. The device's vibration pattern setting is used.

• Message notification tone changed when in call.

  If you are in a Vocera call or a cellular call, and you receive a message notification, you now hear the message notification tone at a low volume. In previous versions of VCS for iOS, you received a vibration only.

• Lower priority message notification tones and banners suppressed when urgent message notification in background.

  When you are using VCS 3.8 for iOS and it is in the background, and you receive an Urgent priority message notification, any notification tones and banners for lower-priority messages are suppressed until you respond to the urgent message notification. This is based on the new Apple iOS Critical Alert functionality.

• Message notification tones for different priority messages may play simultaneously.

  In VCS 3.8 for iOS, if the device is locked or the app is in the background, if you receive a lower-priority message notification and a higher-priority message notification, both notification tones play at the same time. In previous versions of VCS for iOS, the lower-priority notification tone was stopped and the higher notification tone was played.

• Call notification and message notification may play simultaneously.

  When VCS 3.8 for iOS is in the background, and you receive both a notification of an incoming call and a message notification, the notification tones for both the call and the message are played. In previous versions of VCS for iOS, the call notification tone was played and the message notification appeared as a vibration only.

• Device's Do Not Disturb Mode and silent mode suppress call notification banners.

  If you have set your device's Do Not Disturb setting or have put your device in silent mode, VCS 3.8 for iOS no longer receives call notification banners. (Do Not Disturb mode in VCS is unaffected.)

• Ringtone length for urgent priority message is a maximum of 30 seconds (iOS 13.3+).

  In iOS version 13.3 and later, the length of the ringtone is controlled by the iOS operating system.

You must be using a supported device and operating system to be able to run Vocera Collaboration Suite.

This release includes the following fixes:

• VCS-18667 Encoding issues with the registration key URL have been resolved.

• VCS-18765 When calling a group created on the Vocera Voice Server, repeated taps of the Call button are now ignored.

This release includes the following known issues and limitations for versions of the Vocera Collaboration Suite running on Apple iOS operating systems.

• VCS-16761 If you are creating a message template, and the template contains a field in which you can provide text, it may be difficult to tap in the text field to indicate that you want to type text in it.

• VCS-18273 If you receive a notification of an urgent or high priority message, and then receive and terminate an urgent call, the notification does not continue after the call is terminated.

• VCS-19053 The incoming notification for a new message is not displayed when you are in the face ID pop up screen. If you lock the screen or the timeout interval is reached, the message is displayed. This is an iOS limitation.

• VCS-19067 When you place a call to a contact from the Contact Details screen, there may be a short delay before the call is started. If you tap the Genie button during this transition period, your call may be terminated.

• VCS-19075 The broadcast chime cannot be configured to play locally on VCS client devices.

• VCS-19115 Broadcasts initiated from the VMP Web Console do not start properly when the VCS iOS app is in the background. The connection to the Vocera Voice Server may be lost for up to 1 to 2 minutes.

• VCS-19149 On devices running iOS 13.3 or later, the screens of instant conference participants are not properly updated from "Sending" to the group name or vice versa when a user taps "Push to Talk".

• VCS-19191 If you are running iOS 14 or later, your VCS app is in the background, and you receive a broadcast or other call that is automatically answered, the incoming call screen is displayed for about one second.

• VCS-19204 If your VCS app has been idle for a period of time or has been terminated and restarted, the Do Not Disturb for Text banner may appear briefly. Note that Vocera recommends that you do not terminate the VCS app.

• VCS-19254 In some cases, when placing a call to an extension or an outside number, an error message appears: "Feature not available. The line is busy at the moment. Please try again later". This error is not seen when placing a call to a Vocera user or contact directly.