Give urgent referrals a structured handoff
Carry an urgent referral into the program workflow while its context is still visible to the team.
Trigger
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Action
Submit Form to CommCare
Tool to submit an XForm to CommCare following the OpenRosa standard. Use when you need to submit form data with complete XML including required metadata fields (deviceID, timeStart, timeEnd, username, userID, instanceID).
Why this helps
Urgent messages can draw immediate attention but still miss the formal handoff needed for follow-up.
- Connect an urgent Slack signal to a structured program submission.
- Reduce the chance that follow-up depends on someone remembering later.
- Keep relevant context available for the team handling the referral.
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and CommCare to Notis once in the portal.
- 2Create an automation prompt that defines an urgent referral and the required form details.
- 3Pick the Slack channel message trigger and choose a channel for run reports.
- 4Test with one appropriate urgent referral example and check the result.
Questions about this workflow
Does this replace the team's urgent response process?
No. It submits a form through CommCare; use it as a handoff step within the program's established response process.
Does the channel trigger include DMs?
No. Slack channel messages and direct messages use separate triggers.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to CommCare. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
CommCare actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Create Lookup Table
Tool to create a new lookup table in a CommCare domain. Use when you need to set up reference data structures like product catalogs, price lists, or configuration tables. Requires 'Edit Apps' permission.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Create Web User Invitation
Tool to create an invitation for a new web user in CommCare. Use when you need to invite a user with specific role and permissions. Requires 'Edit Web Users & Edit Access API' permissions.
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
List Reports
Tool to retrieve available reports configured in a CommCare project. Use when you need to discover what reports exist before downloading report data via the Download Report Data API.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Single Sign On
Tool to validate login credentials and retrieve user profile for a mobile worker or web user. Use when you need to authenticate a user and obtain their profile information including roles, permissions, locations, and configuration details.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Submit Form to CommCare
Tool to submit an XForm to CommCare following the OpenRosa standard. Use when you need to submit form data with complete XML including required metadata fields (deviceID, timeStart, timeEnd, username, userID, instanceID).
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Submit Form ODK Compatible
Tool to submit form data using ODK-compatible endpoint for Android client compatibility. Use when submitting XForm data to CommCare. Requires properly formatted XML with metadata including unique instanceID.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Slack and CommCare, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Save your first hour today.
7-day trial of any paid plan, with 20$ of usage included.
No card. Works with personal or business CommCare.