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The following computer tips have been published in our eStream and are listed here for your reference. If you have any tips for other users, or have a question about computer use in your practice please email dfrankham@mwdgp.com.au.
TIP 1: Using the Tab key to move between fields:
When entering information into a form you can usually use the Tab key to move from one field to the next. This can reduce the amount of time taken to carry out many tasks as you don’t have to constantly move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse and vice versa.
In this tip I use the term ‘form’ loosely as it could describe anything as basic as a username and password prompt on a computer / web page through to a multi page form, and anything in between.
When entering information into a form you can usually use the Tab key to move from one field to the next. This can reduce the amount of time taken to carry out many tasks as you don’t have to constantly move your hand from the keyboard to the mouse and vice versa.
In this tip I use the term ‘form’ loosely as it could describe anything as basic as a username and password prompt on a computer / web page through to a multi page form, and anything in between.
Do you access your common programs / files directly from your desktop? You can show your desktop (i.e. minimise all windows) just by pressing the “Windows key” and “D” simultaneously. The Windows key is often between the CTRL and ALT keys on the keyboard.
TIP 3: When should I single click, and when should I double click?
There are many Windows computer users who double click, when all that is required is a single click.
The general rules:
There are many Windows computer users who double click, when all that is required is a single click.
The general rules:
· If the mouse cursor stays as an arrow, then you need to double click (the left mouse button) to run or open the program / shortcut / document.
· If the mouse cursor changes to a “hand with pointing index finger” then only a single click is required.
TIP 5: Switching between active programs with your keyboard:
You can switch between active programs by pressing Alt – Tab (hold the Alt key down and press the Tab key). A single Alt – Tab will take you to the last program you used (that is still running). Holding Alt down and pressing Tab multiple times will cycle through a list (display is different depending on which version of Windows you are running) of your active programs.
TIP 6: The right mouse button:
Many programs have a context sensitive subset of menu options available from the right hand mouse button.
Example 1: If you are using a word processor (Microsoft Word, Best Practice Word Processor, Medical Director Letter Writer etc) and right click on an area within the document you will be presented with some menu options (e.g. Cut, Copy, Paste, Select all, font selections etc). You may find that some of the options are ‘greyed’ out (unable to select), this indicates that you need to select some text (or similar) prior to using the right mouse click.
Example 2: If you are using an Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox etc) and right click on a Hyperlink (link to another website / page etc) you will see options to Open, Open in new tab, Open in new window, Copy shortcut etc.
These are but 2 examples of ‘right clicking’ functionality, give these a try, or try right clicking in your commonly used applications.
TIP 7: Keyboard shortcuts:
Many tasks that you carry out with a mouse can also be carried out by using keyboard shortcuts. Using keyboard shortcuts can save time as you reduce the amount of time you spend moving your hand from the keyboard to the mouse, and vice versa. Following are a few of the common keyboard shortcuts.
(NOTE: that Ctrl+C indicates you should hold the Ctrl key down, and then press C)
Many tasks that you carry out with a mouse can also be carried out by using keyboard shortcuts. Using keyboard shortcuts can save time as you reduce the amount of time you spend moving your hand from the keyboard to the mouse, and vice versa. Following are a few of the common keyboard shortcuts.
(NOTE: that Ctrl+C indicates you should hold the Ctrl key down, and then press C)
· Copy: Ctrl+C
· Paste: Ctrl+P
· Cut: Ctrl+X
· Select all text: Ctrl+A
· Exit current program: Alt+F4
· Best Practice / Medical Director Open patient – F2. NOTE: There are many more keyboard shortcuts for BP/MD. See the help section (keyboard shortcut: F1) within the program for more details.
TIP 8: Mail Merge:
Mail merge is a function that creates multiple documents (e.g. personalised letters) from a single template form and a data source. E.G. you can search for a group of patients in your clinical software and then send a personalised letter based on a template, to each of them. See the help section of your clinical software for details on how to do this.
Spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel are great for calculations, but can be also be very useful for managing and organising data. They are much more powerful than any table created in a Word processor as you can sort, filter, hide, calculate, count, conditional format and do many other things easily. One of the common issues when using spreadsheets is that once you have more than a page full of information you have to scroll up to see the headings. To avoid this issue you can “Freeze panes” (Window – Freeze Pane in Excel 2003, and View – Freeze Panes in Excel 2007).
Mail merge is a function that creates multiple documents (e.g. personalised letters) from a single template form and a data source. E.G. you can search for a group of patients in your clinical software and then send a personalised letter based on a template, to each of them. See the help section of your clinical software for details on how to do this.
TIP 9: Selecting Multiple files:
With Windows Explorer (My Computer) and a number of other programs you can select multiple files in a couple of ways:
With Windows Explorer (My Computer) and a number of other programs you can select multiple files in a couple of ways:
· Click on the first file you want to select, and then hold the shift key down and click on the last file you want to select. This process will select all files between the first and last files.
· Click on the first file you want to select, and then hold down the Ctrl key and select the other files you want to select. This process allows you to select multiple files that are in no particular order.
Once the files are selected, you can then copy, move, delete etc as need be.
TIP 11: Clinical Software Training:
Do you have a new starter, or are you unsure of what features you aren’t using, or aren’t using fully in your clinical software? Why don’t you take a look at the GP Association of Geelong’s video modules at http://www.gpageelong.com.au/Our-Services/IT-Services/video-modules.html.
Do you have a new starter, or are you unsure of what features you aren’t using, or aren’t using fully in your clinical software? Why don’t you take a look at the GP Association of Geelong’s video modules at http://www.gpageelong.com.au/Our-Services/IT-Services/video-modules.html.
Do you free text enter (i.e. type in) your patients diagnosis rather than pick from a list? If so, you are making it very hard for data analysis tools (e.g. Canning Tool or Pen CAT tool) to do their job properly. Data analysis tools look for certain words when searching for patients with a particular disease. When free text entry is used for diagnosis, there may be many different terms, abbreviations and spellings used for one condition. It is strongly suggested that you select an entry from the existing list, rather than create your own. Both Best Practice and Medical Director have ‘clean up tools’ that are able to standardise diagnosis.
TIP 13: Best Practice Software - Autofill:
Do you commonly find yourself entering the same, or similar information over and over again? If so you will find the Autofill function in Best Practice very useful. It offers a way to store and quickly insert text that you use frequently, into documents (Today’s notes and Best Practice word processor) you are creating. See the Best Practice help for details on use.
Do you commonly find yourself entering the same, or similar information over and over again? If so you will find the Autofill function in Best Practice very useful. It offers a way to store and quickly insert text that you use frequently, into documents (Today’s notes and Best Practice word processor) you are creating. See the Best Practice help for details on use.
Do you commonly find yourself entering the same, or similar information over and over again? In Medical Director you can define “Management” and “Comment” text and shortcuts for use in progress notes. This means that you can type a shortcut (such as PR*) and press enter and the text associated with the shortcut will be entered into the progress notes. See “Comments” and “Management” in Medical Director help for more details.
TIP 15: Working with files from different versions of Microsoft Office:
Microsoft introduced new file formats in Office 2007 (*.docx for Word files, *.xlsx for Excel, *.pptx for Powerpoint). This means that any files saved in the new format can’t be opened in older versions of Microsoft Office. Fortunately Microsoft have provided a free compatibility pack that allows Office 2000 - 2003 to open, edit and save files in the new format.
Microsoft introduced new file formats in Office 2007 (*.docx for Word files, *.xlsx for Excel, *.pptx for Powerpoint). This means that any files saved in the new format can’t be opened in older versions of Microsoft Office. Fortunately Microsoft have provided a free compatibility pack that allows Office 2000 - 2003 to open, edit and save files in the new format.
To obtain the free compatibility pack, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads and type Office Compatibility Pack in the search box. Then download and run the installer on the computers with Office 2000 – 2003 to enable compatibility with Office 2007/10.
Medical Director 3 – Click on Patient - Open Another...
A dialogue box appears and you can simply switch between the patient records.
Best Practice – Click on File - Open Patient or press F2 on your keyboard.
Multiple patients can be open at any one time whether from the same family or another patients record. The open patient’s records will be displayed in the task bar where it is possible to switch between records by simply clicking on the desired patients name.
TIP 17: Correcting uncoded text
As this process makes changes to your clinical database we suggest that you backup your data before following these steps.
Best Practice:
Run BP Utilities and select the Clean Up History icon. The left column will show uncoded past history terms. Highlight an uncoded item on the left, and then start typing in the correct code on the right (next to the keyword button). When the correct condition is displayed select it and click on Replace. Formore detailed instructions see the Best Practice Help and search for Cleanup.
Medical Director:
Ensure that MD is not running anywhere on the network before running this utility.
As this process makes changes to your clinical database we suggest that you backup your data before following these steps.
Best Practice:
Run BP Utilities and select the Clean Up History icon. The left column will show uncoded past history terms. Highlight an uncoded item on the left, and then start typing in the correct code on the right (next to the keyword button). When the correct condition is displayed select it and click on Replace. Formore detailed instructions see the Best Practice Help and search for Cleanup.
Medical Director:
Ensure that MD is not running anywhere on the network before running this utility.
Run HCN Maintenance - choose Medical Director - Diagnosis coder
The Diagnosis Coder will appear showing a list of diagnoses that have been entered via free text in the left
column. Meet with your GP’s and consider which entries are to remain. All duplicates can be assigned to the
corrected list.
1. Look down the left hand list for any items that relate to Diabetes e.g Diab, Type 1, Type 2, Diabetes etc.
2. Highlight the item and then in the right hand column type “Diabetes” and a coded list of diabetes diagnoses will appear. Scroll down the list until you find the correct coded diagnosis for the patient and highlight this.
3. Select “Link” or “Correct” and this will change the free text diagnosis to a coded diagnosis.
4. Continue this process for all diagnoses in the free text column.
Link – keeps the name but attaches a code so that it can be searched and will appear in registers. The link
only applies to that entry, not from that point onwards
Correct – changes the name and codes the diagnosis correctly - IDEAL
There are many possible causes for your computer to stop responding. The most common include software bug (operating system or application), malware (virus / Trojan / adware etc), driver issues (“drivers” tell the operating system how to communicate with a device such as a video card, printer, network card etc) or failing hardware.
TIP 19: Backing Up
Backing up your computer systems is very important, but equally important is testing that the backups work. There are many stories of data loss where people believe that their systems are being regularly backed up, but when a computer fails, they discover that the backups are useless. Please run regular restore’s of your backups in a test environment.
Backing up your computer systems is very important, but equally important is testing that the backups work. There are many stories of data loss where people believe that their systems are being regularly backed up, but when a computer fails, they discover that the backups are useless. Please run regular restore’s of your backups in a test environment.
It is important to enter Blood Pressure results in the correct place in clinical software (rather than directly into the progress notes as free text). It is then possible to report on the results and use data analysis tools for systematic management of patient populations.
TIP 20.5: Privacy.
When leaving your PC unattended it is a good idea to “lock it” to prevent prying eyes from accessing confidential information. You can lock your Windows PC by pressing “Windows key + L”
When leaving your PC unattended it is a good idea to “lock it” to prevent prying eyes from accessing confidential information. You can lock your Windows PC by pressing “Windows key + L”
Following are some of the common keyboard shortcuts for Best Practice and Medical Director’s Main Window. There are other shortcuts from the Patient / Clinical Windows. See the online help (Press F1 in your clinical software) for details.
|
Key
|
Best Practice
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Medical Director
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F1
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Help
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Help
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F2
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Open Patient
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Open Patient
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F3
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Inbox
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N/A
|
|
F4
|
Word Processor
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Import Investigation Results
|
|
F5
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Refresh
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Check Investigation Results
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F6
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To Do List
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MDref
|
|
F7
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Log off / Cancel Access
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Log Off
|
|
F8
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Internal Messenger
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Letter Writer
|
|
F9
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Batch Print
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Batch Print
|
|
F10
|
View Patients
|
Patient Database
|
|
F11
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Contacts
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N/A
|
|
F12
|
Open Appt Book
|
Product Information
|
TIP 22: Importing images (e.g. photos) into your clinical software.
We’ve all heard the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” so with the high availability of digital cameras (including those in your mobile phone), it makes sense to take advantage of this technology in certain circumstances. Best Practice and Medical Director both support importing images into a patients clinical records.
We’ve all heard the adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” so with the high availability of digital cameras (including those in your mobile phone), it makes sense to take advantage of this technology in certain circumstances. Best Practice and Medical Director both support importing images into a patients clinical records.
Best Practice: See http://www.mwdgp.com.au/content/Document/Importing%20photos%20into%20Best%20Practice%20Clinical%20Software.pdf for details.
Medical Director: For details, open Medical Directors help (Press F1 or select Help – Medical Director... from the main screen) and click on the Index tab. Enter Importing Documents from the Clinical Window into the “Type in the keyword to find:” text box and press Enteron your keyboard. Double click on Importing Documents from the Clinical Window in the Topics window and the topic should be displayed in the right hand pane of MD’s Online Help.
Many businesses create a domain name (e.g. mypractice.com.au) to assist in creating a professional appearance and identifying their business. Domain names are used for email addresses, e.g. user@mypractice.com.au and/or for web sites, e.g. www.mypractice.com.au. There are a number of steps involved in setting up an “online presence”. These include registering for a domain name, and then having a service (web and/or email) setup to use the domain name. Most ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) can assist you with the process.
Do you currently receive all your faxes in paper format on a fax machine? Did you know that there is “electronic faxing” that allows you to receive faxes as files on your computer. Receiving faxes this way can save administration time as staff members don’t have to scan the documents that need to be imported into patient records. Most version of Windows have basic fax software included, you will also need a fax/modem (they are relatively cheap) to take advantage of this functionality.
Tip 25: Email etiquette
There are many web sites dedicated to email etiquette that cover the topic in great depth. Following are a few guidelines:
There are many web sites dedicated to email etiquette that cover the topic in great depth. Following are a few guidelines:
· Be concise and to the point
· Include a meaningful subject
· Answer all questions, and pre-empt further responses
· Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
· Answer swiftly
· Do not write in CAPITALS – it is considered shouting
· If you are sending the email to multiple people, make it clear who you expect to action items
· Don’t reply to spam
Tip 26: Excel formulas – copying and pasting.
Microsoft Excel (and other spreadsheet applications) can be very useful for manipulating data. One common task is to perform calculations based on the data in cells. A very basic example is that you have a spreadsheet with two columns of data, and you would like to calculate the sum of the values in each row.
Microsoft Excel (and other spreadsheet applications) can be very useful for manipulating data. One common task is to perform calculations based on the data in cells. A very basic example is that you have a spreadsheet with two columns of data, and you would like to calculate the sum of the values in each row.
In this example cell A1 contains the value “10”, and B1 contains the value “20”. To perform the calculation of A1 + B1 you need to add a formula. This can be added manually by entering “=sum(A1+B1)” into C1, or by using the AutoSum function in Excel. Cell C1 will then display the sum of A1 + B1, which of course is 30. If you click on cell C1 the fx field will display the formula as can be seen in the screenshot below.
If you have more than one row you wish to calculate totals from, you can copy the contents of cell C1, and paste it into multiple cells. Excel is smart enough to change the cells that are being calculated, so if you paste C1 into C2, the formula will change from “=sum(A1+B1)” to “=sum(A2+B2)” and thus give an answer of 65.
To paste into multiple cells, first select one cell and use keyboard shortcut Ctrl – C to copy, and then select one (just click on a single cell), or more (hold shift on the keyboard and drag mouse over the cells you want to select with the left mouse button held down) cells and then paste the formula into the cell/s using Ctrl – V.
Tip 27: How create a shortcut on all users desktops (Most useful in a Terminal Server environment but can also be used in a Windows workstation environment)
From an administrative perspective it is often handy to create a shortcut on all users desktops to make sure they have easy access to certain information / resources. To achieve this you need to be logged into the Terminal Server computer with administrative privileges and create a shortcut on the desktop. You then need to move this shortcut into C:\Users\Public\Desktop (for Windows Server 2008/Vista/7) or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (for Windows Server 2003/XP).
NOTE: In Windows Server 2008/Vista/7 you may not be able to see C:\Users\Public\Desktop as it is “hidden” and if not hidden, it may be displayed as “Public Desktop” rather than “Desktop”. To view hidden files and folders open Windows Explorer and choose Tools – Options. Click on the View tab and select Show hidden files and folders, then click OK to save this setting.
From an administrative perspective it is often handy to create a shortcut on all users desktops to make sure they have easy access to certain information / resources. To achieve this you need to be logged into the Terminal Server computer with administrative privileges and create a shortcut on the desktop. You then need to move this shortcut into C:\Users\Public\Desktop (for Windows Server 2008/Vista/7) or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (for Windows Server 2003/XP).
NOTE: In Windows Server 2008/Vista/7 you may not be able to see C:\Users\Public\Desktop as it is “hidden” and if not hidden, it may be displayed as “Public Desktop” rather than “Desktop”. To view hidden files and folders open Windows Explorer and choose Tools – Options. Click on the View tab and select Show hidden files and folders, then click OK to save this setting.
Tip 28: Managing Incoming Reports (Best Practice):
When reports are received electronically, Best Practice software tries to match up the Addressee and the Patient details. If there is a mismatch in the Addresses name, they will not be delivered to a doctors Inbox. To make sure that no reports are missed, it is very important that a member of staff monitors the Incoming reports (from Best Practices main screen select View – Incoming reports), and allocates any un-matched reports to the correct doctor. Reports with a patient mismatch can be treated in the same way, or managed by the Doctor.
When reports are received electronically, Best Practice software tries to match up the Addressee and the Patient details. If there is a mismatch in the Addresses name, they will not be delivered to a doctors Inbox. To make sure that no reports are missed, it is very important that a member of staff monitors the Incoming reports (from Best Practices main screen select View – Incoming reports), and allocates any un-matched reports to the correct doctor. Reports with a patient mismatch can be treated in the same way, or managed by the Doctor.
Tip 29: Results and Reports received by Healthlink:
There are approximately 90 GP practices, Specialist and other health care providers in the Manly Warringah area that have Healthlink Secure Messaging software installed. Most GP practices have Healthlink Secure Messaging software installed to receive results and reports from PALMS and PRP Diagnostic Imaging, but there are a some specialists (Dr Chester Kent and others) that are now sending letters via the service. It has come to our attention that some older Healthlink installations may not be configured to receive letters into your clinical software correctly. If you wish to check that your Healthlink Secure Messaging software is correctly configured please contact Healthlink’s help desk on 1800 125 036 for a quick check.
There are approximately 90 GP practices, Specialist and other health care providers in the Manly Warringah area that have Healthlink Secure Messaging software installed. Most GP practices have Healthlink Secure Messaging software installed to receive results and reports from PALMS and PRP Diagnostic Imaging, but there are a some specialists (Dr Chester Kent and others) that are now sending letters via the service. It has come to our attention that some older Healthlink installations may not be configured to receive letters into your clinical software correctly. If you wish to check that your Healthlink Secure Messaging software is correctly configured please contact Healthlink’s help desk on 1800 125 036 for a quick check.
Tip 30: Argus Secure Messaging – Updating address book / contact details:
If you wish to send letters from your clinical software via Argus, you must have the recipients Argus email address listed in both the Argus Address book, and in your contacts (Best Practice), or Address book (Medical Director). This is required due to the way information is passed from your clinical software to Argus.
For more details on sending letters via Argus see the following:
Best Practice:
If you wish to send letters from your clinical software via Argus, you must have the recipients Argus email address listed in both the Argus Address book, and in your contacts (Best Practice), or Address book (Medical Director). This is required due to the way information is passed from your clinical software to Argus.
For more details on sending letters via Argus see the following:
Best Practice:
Argus 5 users: http://www.argusconnect.com.au/files/images/Using_Argus_with_Best_Practice__cheatsheet_.pdf
Argus 4 users: http://www.argusconnect.com.au/files/docs/cheatsheets/Using%20Argus%20with%20Best%20Practice%20%28cheatsheet%29.pdf
Medical Director:
Medical Director:
Argus 5 users: http://www.argusconnect.com.au/files/images/_Argus5_with_Medical_Director_3__cheatsheet_.pdf
Argus 4 users: http://www.argusconnect.com.au/files/docs/cheatsheets/Using%20Argus%20with%20Medical%20Director%203%20%28cheatsheet%29.pdf
For a list of specialists that prefer to receive letters via Argus see http://www.mwdgp.com.au/page/Division_Programs/Argus_Secure_Messaging/.
Completing a diabetes risk assessment
Main screen → File → Open patient → select patient
Patient Screen → Clinical → Diabetes risk → Complete Diabetes risk calculator (AUSDRISK)
information → Save
Finding the patient score
Once the AUSDRISK has been completed, saved and closed, the result will not be saved in the calculator.
To find the score: Patient screen → Observations → diabetes risk score is fourth from the bottom of the list
Creating a register
Patient screen →Today’s notes → Reason for visit → enter AUSDRISK and whether it is Hi, Med or Low in right field (e.g. AUSDRISK HI for a high reading, AUSDRISK etc)→ Save
Searching the AUSDRISK register
Main screen → Utilities → Search → Conditions → type AUSDRISK → click Reason for visit → Add → Ok
Database search screen → ‘Run query’
This will bring up all patients who have had an AUSDRISK coded in Reason for Visit but it does not tell you the score.
To search for patients coded AUSDRISK Hi, Med or Low, enter the term in the search box. You will then get a register of all patients with a ‘Hi’ score, and a separate register for ‘Med’ and another register for ‘Low’ scores.
For more detailed step by step instructions with screen shots please see
http://www.mwdgp.com.au/content/Document/Creating%20an%20AUSDRISK%20register%20in%20Best%20Practice.pdf
http://www.mwdgp.com.au/content/Document/Creating%20an%20AUSDRISK%20register%20in%20Best%20Practice.pdf
Medical Director allows you to create custom links that open a website of your choice. These custom links are then available from the patient screen as can be seen below circled in red.
In this example we will set the custom links as follows:
· Forms – MWDGP’s Useful Forms, Guides, Tools and Charts http://www.mwdgp.com.au/page/Links/Useful_Forms_Guides_Tools_and_Charts/
· Med Sites – MWDGP’s Useful Medical Internet Sites http://www.mwdgp.com.au/page/Links/Useful_Medical_Internet_Sites/
1. From the patient or main screen click on Tools - Options
2. In the General tab enter the name of the website (e.g.) Forms next to Custom 1 Web button Caption.
3. Enter the associated URL (web address) in the URL field.
4. Repeat for the 2nd Custom Web button.
When completed it should look similar to the following diagram. Click on Save to complete.
Did you know that you don’t need to exit your clinical software if you want to change the logged on user?
Medical Director: Close any patients you have open and select User – Log Off or press F7 (keyboard shortcut). To log on as a different user, select User – Log on and then select the desired user, enter the password and click OK (or press ENTER).
Best Practice: Close any patients you have open and select File – Change User. Select the desired user, enter the password and click OK (or press ENTER).
There are 2 formats that pathology providers deliver their results in, PIT and HL7. PIT (Pathology Internet Transfer) is an older format that is a text file and when imported into your clinical software is just displayed in the patients results. HL7 (Health Level 7) is a more recent format that allows auto population of certain fields such as HbA1c, cholesterol, microalbumin, triglyceride etc within your clinical software. Thus these values are displayed in the diabetes record and other applicable areas.
Both Medial Director and Best Practice are capable of receiving results in both formats, however we suggest you use HL7. If you are unsure which format you are receiving from your pathology provider/s, contact their help desk (or check to see that your HbA1c values are being correctly populated in your clinical software).
Possible solutions:
· Ensure the recipient’s email address in your clinical software address book exactly matches the entry in your Argus Address Book.
· Practitioner is not an Argus user. File should be moved to another folder or deleted, and the message will need to be sent by other means (ie hard copy/fax).
· Practitioner has not been added to the local Argus Address Book. Add the Practitioner to the local Argus Address Book.
· Argus has different email address for Practitioner. If possible, the file needs to be modified to contain the correct email address.
Possible solutions:
· The only solution is to ensure the patient record in your clinical software has a valid Australian date and is not blank.
This indicates that there was a problem communicating with the Argus Users Directory LDAP Server. Once a day, Argus makes a connection to the central Argus server to confirm all entries in the local Argus Address Book are correct. If, for whatever reason, the connection cannot be made (ie: the internet is temporarily down) an error email is sent. This error is only a problem if it occurs once a day, every day—in most circumstances it can be ignored.
Tip 38: Argus Address Book Error – “Contact(s) in your Argus address book has been removed from the Argus Users Directory”.
This notification indicates that contact(s) in your Argus address book have been removed from the Argus Users Directory indicating that they no longer use Argus. Please remove the Argus contact information from your clinical software address book to keep things up to date.
There are a few useful enhancements to the recall functionality in Medical Director 3.12.
· The Recalls button is now always visible when a patients record is open. This makes adding a recall easier.
· When adding a recall you now have the option to mark it as “Return Urgently”. When a staff member searches for Recalls, they can specify only “Urgent” recalls by selecting the “Show Urgent Recalls” checkbox.
· Recall Actions is a new function that allows any contact, or attempted contact (e.g. Phone call, email, fax, letter, SMS etc)with a patient to be recorded. The View Recall Actions button is available from the recall window within a patient record. The recall actions are recorded on a per recall basis.
There are a number of points to consider when the time comes to dispose of old computer equipment.
· The first is to ensure that any confidential data is removed from the computer / device to protect you, your staff and your patients.
Computers: Data is stored on Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and simply deleting files isn’t sufficient to remove the data. This is because deleting a file only removes the ‘index’ to the file, but does not remove the data from the drive. To remove the data from the drive you need to run a utility that completely overwrites the data on the drive such as Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) from www.dban.org. If you are only concerned with securely deleting certain files then you can use tools such as Microsoft’s SDelete available from http://technet.microsoft.com. Another option is to remove the Hard drive from a computer and physically destroy it. Some companies offer computer recycling services that include shredding used hard drives.
Memory cards and USB Drives: These devices need to be treated in a similar way to Hard Drives. Tools such as Roadkil’s DiskWipe www.roadkil.net can be used, or the device can be physically destroyed.
CD / DVD’s: These should be physically destroyed. Many business grade paper shredders are able to shred CD / DVD’s.
Mobile phones and tablets: Mostof these devices have a built in ability to wipe the data (reset to factory defaults). If the device has a memory card installed the data should also be erased from it. Note that the ‘reset to factory defaults’ option may not erase data on the memory card so you may need to connect it to a computer to erase, or physically destroy it to ensure your data is removed.
Computers: Data is stored on Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and simply deleting files isn’t sufficient to remove the data. This is because deleting a file only removes the ‘index’ to the file, but does not remove the data from the drive. To remove the data from the drive you need to run a utility that completely overwrites the data on the drive such as Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN) from www.dban.org. If you are only concerned with securely deleting certain files then you can use tools such as Microsoft’s SDelete available from http://technet.microsoft.com. Another option is to remove the Hard drive from a computer and physically destroy it. Some companies offer computer recycling services that include shredding used hard drives.
Memory cards and USB Drives: These devices need to be treated in a similar way to Hard Drives. Tools such as Roadkil’s DiskWipe www.roadkil.net can be used, or the device can be physically destroyed.
CD / DVD’s: These should be physically destroyed. Many business grade paper shredders are able to shred CD / DVD’s.
Mobile phones and tablets: Mostof these devices have a built in ability to wipe the data (reset to factory defaults). If the device has a memory card installed the data should also be erased from it. Note that the ‘reset to factory defaults’ option may not erase data on the memory card so you may need to connect it to a computer to erase, or physically destroy it to ensure your data is removed.
· As e-waste contains chemicals that are potentially harmful to human health and the environment please make sure you dispose of computers and electronic devices in an environmentally friendly manner – i.e. via a dedicated e-waste provider.
Have you ever visited a website and found that it just doesn’t work as expected? There can be a number of reasons for this and some of them are explained below:
· Popup Blockers
All common web browsers include a popup blocker. This feature attempts to block unwanted popups (advertisements etc) from being displayed when you visit a web site. Unfortunately popup blockers do block some valid content from being displayed and can make a website, or section thereof, almost unusable. Generally speaking browsers will display a warning when a popup is blocked, allowing you to bypass the popup blocker for the current site you are visiting. You can manually control the list of sites allowed by going into the configuration options for your Web browser.
All common web browsers include a popup blocker. This feature attempts to block unwanted popups (advertisements etc) from being displayed when you visit a web site. Unfortunately popup blockers do block some valid content from being displayed and can make a website, or section thereof, almost unusable. Generally speaking browsers will display a warning when a popup is blocked, allowing you to bypass the popup blocker for the current site you are visiting. You can manually control the list of sites allowed by going into the configuration options for your Web browser.
· Compatibility View (Internet Explorer)
Microsoft have made some changes in Internet Explorer 8 and later that ‘break’ (cause display problems etc) some web sites. You can turn on Compatibility View for these sites by clicking on the icon of the page with a zig-zag line across it in your browsers address bar. When it is running in Compatibility View mode, the icon will be blue.
Microsoft have made some changes in Internet Explorer 8 and later that ‘break’ (cause display problems etc) some web sites. You can turn on Compatibility View for these sites by clicking on the icon of the page with a zig-zag line across it in your browsers address bar. When it is running in Compatibility View mode, the icon will be blue.
· Java support required
Java is a programming language that is used on may web sites and by many applications. It was included in earlier versions of Internet Explorer / Windows, but due to a lawsuit Microsoft discontinued support, meaning that the free Java runtime (www.java.com) needs to be installed on a computer if need to access sites that use it.
Java is a programming language that is used on may web sites and by many applications. It was included in earlier versions of Internet Explorer / Windows, but due to a lawsuit Microsoft discontinued support, meaning that the free Java runtime (www.java.com) needs to be installed on a computer if need to access sites that use it.
· Flash support required
Adobe Flash is a browser based application that provides viewing of multimedia content. Many web sites contain Flash content so it is often necessary to install the free Adobe Flash player (www.adobe.com) on your computer/s.
Adobe Flash is a browser based application that provides viewing of multimedia content. Many web sites contain Flash content so it is often necessary to install the free Adobe Flash player (www.adobe.com) on your computer/s.
· Silverlight support required
Microsoft Silverlight is a tool for creating and delivering rich applications and media experiences on the web. It is a free download from Microsoft and may be required by some websites. It is somewhat similar to Adobe Flash, but is not as widely utilised.
Microsoft Silverlight is a tool for creating and delivering rich applications and media experiences on the web. It is a free download from Microsoft and may be required by some websites. It is somewhat similar to Adobe Flash, but is not as widely utilised.
Tip 42: Searching in Best Practice:-
Did you know that Best Practice comes pre-loaded with over 150 search queries that practices can use to find patients that match certain criteria. For details on how to use this functionality, and a list of pre-loaded search queries see http://www.mwdgp.com.au/content/Document/Best%20Practice%20Search%20Queries.pdf.
Did you know that Best Practice comes pre-loaded with over 150 search queries that practices can use to find patients that match certain criteria. For details on how to use this functionality, and a list of pre-loaded search queries see http://www.mwdgp.com.au/content/Document/Best%20Practice%20Search%20Queries.pdf.
