HCAI’s Fall System Release 3.36 will go live on Monday, November 30, 2026. This bulletin contains important information and timelines to help you prepare for the upcoming release.
Here’s what you need to know about Release 3.36:
Release 3.36 will not be an integration-impacting release. There will be no changes to the PMS integration interface, and the PMS vendor package distributed as part of Release 3.35 will remain in use without any changes to the PMS Toolkit or schemas.
We strongly encourage PMS vendors to perform comprehensive regression testing of their systems during the official testing period to help ensure a seamless transition when HCAI Release 3.36 goes live in production. Details of the test environment will be communicated closer to the start of the official testing phase.
Here are some dates to help you prepare:
September 11, 2026 – Release 3.35 test data copied over to Release 3.36 test environment
September 21, 2026 to October 23 2026 – PMS official testing period
November 27, 2026 to November 30, 2026 – Production outage for Release 3.36 implementation
November 30, 2026 – Release 3.36 goes live
What’s new in the HCAI web application?
Additional 2FA option available on HCAI Web
System Release 3.36 introduces support for using an Authenticator Application as an additional two-factor authentication (2FA) method for logging in to the HCAI web application. Web users will be able to configure and use an authenticator application by scanning a QR code generated from the “My Profile” section of HCAI Web. This enhancement provides greater flexibility by offering an alternative method for receiving 2FA verification codes when another authentication channel is unavailable. The existing email and text message code delivery methods will remain available, and users may continue to use these options if preferred.
As this enhancement applies specifically to the HCAI web application, there is no impact on PMS integration, and no changes are required by PMS vendors. However, your facility users may wish to take advantage of the new feature when logging in to HCAI.ca to manage their PMS credentials or perform other tasks.
Test environment data backup & outage dates
On Friday, September 11, 2026, test data from the current Release 3.35 test environment will be copied for use in the upcoming Release 3.36 test environment. Any test data created in the Release 3.35 test environment after this date will not be available in the Release 3.36 test environment.
To accommodate this activity, the HCAI Release 3.35 test environment will be unavailable from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) on September 11, 2026.
Production system outage
An outage is required prior to each HCAI system release to implement the changes. In preparation for Release 3.36, the following system unavailability window is planned:
Friday, November 27 – Monday, November 30, 2026
The HCAI system will be unavailable from 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Friday, November 27, 2026, and is expected to resume active status at 8:00 a.m. (ET) on Monday November 30, 2026.
Every facility must have their transactions successfully processed by 4:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday, November 27, 2026.
During this time, the HCAI System Status on HCAIinfo will indicate red, with the message “Scheduled system release implementation underway.”. Visitors to HCAI will be unable to sign in, and will instead be presented with a generic, web browser-generated message indicating that the webpage is unavailable.
Other important reminders
Attendant Care Services Invoice (ACSI) - Successful pilot completion
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has announced the successful completion of the pilot phase for the Attendant Care Services Invoice (ACSI). For additional details, please refer to our recent bulletin, FSRA Announces Successful Completion of HCAI’s ACSI Pilot.
PMS vendors whose clients provide attendant care services are encouraged to implement ACSI submission capabilities within their PMS systems, to enable their clients to take advantage of this functionality.
Data deletion activities continue
As was previously communicated, deletion of eligible claim-claimant records and their associated documents has continued in 2026. Eligible claim-claimant records include all those that have been deactivated by the insurer for at least seven years.
What’s next?
Prepare to regression test your systems as soon as the Release 3.36 test environment becomes available.
Explore HCAIinfo today to view step-by-step training resources and find the answers you need.
