Welcome to the latest release of Vocera Secure Texting (VST)! The VST solution extends the power of the Vocera Communications System to physicians and care teams that are located outside the hospital. VST balances security and convenience by providing a secure, easy to use, HIPAA-compliant alternative to SMS as well as basic voice capabilities to enhance communication and collaboration. The solution integrates seamlessly with the Vocera platform, providing texting and voice capabilities across Vocera end points.
The Vocera Secure Texting solution provides the following features:
If you are logged into one of the clients or the Administration Console, you can find documentation for this version of VST at the following locations:
| Product Component | Where to Get Help |
|---|---|
| Within the Administration Console | Choose Help > User Guide |
| Within the Web Client | Choose Help |
| Within the Handheld Client | Choose More > Support > User Guide |
You can also access the VST documentation directly from a web browser without being logged in. Refer to the Vocera Secure Texting section of the Vocera Documentation Portal for more information.
For release notes for other VST products, refer to the Vocera Secure Texting section of the Vocera Release Notes Library.
This section summarizes the new features in this release.
The
The VST Server now provides support for the Apple Pushkit framework for iOS clients, providing the following capabilities (VST iPhone Client versions 2.2.2 and earlier are still supported): (VSTP-7266)
The VST app uses type-ahead search to filter Favorites and Contacts when adding recipients to new and existing messages. (VSTMC-4612)
The VST app interface has been optimized to take advantage of the larger screen size of some iOS devices, such as the iPhone X. (VSTMC-4643)
The VST app allows you to copy text from one message and paste it into another message. (VSTMC-4390)
You may copy and paste only within the VST app itself. The VST app prevents you from copying a VST message and pasting it into an SMS or other app.
The VST app now resizes image attachments instead of cropping them. (VSTP-7613)
The
The following list contains fixes and improvements made to the Vocera Secure Texting iPhone client.
VSTMC-5378 The section headers in the Home and More screens are now displayed without extra margins.
VSTMC-5385 On the Home screen, the Compose Message icon is now positioned properly.
This situation no longer occurs.
The following issues are fixed in
VSTMC-5110 The mobile app occasionally fails when a user clicks the Secure Texts tab.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-5111 When you move the mobile app from the background to the foreground, in some situations the app displays the message "Check the internet connection. Functionality is limited in offline mode" even though the device is connected to the network.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-5139 When a message recipient's VST app is in the background, it does not acknowledge receipt of messages if the device is running iOS 13.x and Passcode is enabled. In this situation, the recipient's device still receives and plays the message notification, but the sender's app does not display the status of Delivered until the recipient opens the app. Any reports or audits consequently show a delay in delivery, even if the message is delivered on time.
The recipient's app now acknowledges receipt of messages correctly in all situations, and the sender's app now correctly displays the status of Delivered promptly.
VSTMC-5076/CASE-1481 In some situations, a user is unintentionally added to one conversation when a message is sent in a different conversation.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4988 The Not Connected banner sometimes appears even though the device has internet connectivity.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4989 When the VST app is idle in the background for several days, in some situations notifications for incoming messages are not displayed.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4961 If the VST app is configured to require a PIN and you terminate the app after placing it in the background, the device does not play a tone or notify users about incoming messages.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4959 If a user terminates the VST app, the device does not display a notification banner (and if the device is locked, the screen also does not light up), when the first message is sent to that user. Subsequent messages correctly cause the device to display a banner and light up the screen.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4955 The VST app causes the iPhone to play a notification tone for an incoming VST message when the Ring/Silent switch on the iPhone is set to silent mode.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4958 In some situations, the Forgot PIN link on the Login screen of the app causes the app to shut down.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4953 The VST app fails to launch or come out of the background in some situations when Face ID is enabled.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-1756 Vibration patterns are incorrect or inconsistent for Normal and High Priority messages.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4759/CASE-908 Mobile phone number disappears after entering it in the To field.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-2160 The space character does not filter the Contacts list correctly while searching.
This situation no longer occurs.
VSTMC-4456 When no messages are on the Home screen, loading a new message thread takes a long time.
This situation no longer occurs.
This release of the
VSTMC-5415 Sending messages to non-users via SMS is currently not supported.
VSTMC-5290 After upgrading the app in some versions of iOS, when the app is in the background it may not play the notification tone for a new message until it is brought into the foreground.
System notifications are visible for these messages.
VSTMC-4926 During a group conversation, in some situations availability and presence information are not updated on the user icon in the conversation screen.
The majority of VST users are part of only 1 or 2 organizations. This should have a minimal impact and there is no workaround at this time.
The majority of VST users are part of only 1 or 2 organizations. This should have a minimal impact and there is no workaround at this time.
There is no workaround at this time.