Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi
We are needing functionality to allow the vet to add a note at the time of invoice that the receptionist can action but does not appear on the client invoice. Thoughts had been to include a box adjacent to the current invoice notes box that would remain associated with the invoice (having all the same properties of the current invoice note box) but would not appear on the invoice.
Currently we use the invoice note box, but it requires the receptionist to the delete the message before they finalise the invoice. Commonly we'll add in things such as: "Please create and provide the client with a Gr 3 dental estimate and book this in next week. Please also send them an email regarding the dental procedure and having an anaesthetic. Also their email address is wrong please update."
This information is easy to pass on when doing consultations, but for patient discharges it is often harder.
Any ideas or comments?
Thanks
David Mason
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Piece of cake. The OpenVPMS design using archetypes makes it easy to add a field to the invoice that shows on the screen. However, since what is shown on the printed invoice is controlled by the invoice template, we can add a field to the screen without having it show up on the printed invoice.
The brute force way to do this is to simply edit the act.customerChargesInvoice to add the field. However, this does not give you control of the where the new field comes - normally first. So we get:
The better way to do it is to edit the adl file and then import this using Administration|Archetypes|Import
Attached is the 1.7.1 archetype modified to put the new field after the Notes field. Here is the change:
If you want to change the displayName to say "Reception DO THIS' then just edit the file. If you want the reception notes positioned elswhere, just move these lines.
NOTE: do keep this modified version - you will need to make the same mod when you install 1.8.
Regards, Tim G
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Brilliant. THANKS. Never know what will be a 'piece of cake' and what will be hours of programing.
Thanks
David Mason
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
The other thing you could do is:
This way you don't need to change the archetype, just the report template.
If you are still using a 1.7 or earlier template, you'll need to modify and upload the new Invoice templates from either:
Limitation: OpenVPMS will populate the Notes field with any Invoice Notes from expanded product templates, so this approach may not be appropriate.
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi Tim A,
Thanks for the suggestion. We do use the Invoice note for client information and reporting, so not a useful. Will look at setting up the system as per TimG's suggesion.
Thanks
David
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi -
Another question along a similar line is that with the invoice note box; - the ALT-M doesn't bring up the macro list but if the maco shortcut (eg @.cons) it does. Is this deliberate or something amiss withour setup?
Thanks
David
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Humm - not a piece of cake. I just had a play with my system (Windows, both Firefox and Chrome) and it works as advertised - Alt-M brings up the macro select window - provided that I am on a data entry window (eg create/edit invoice). If I am on one of the 'top' windows - eg Customers|Information - then Alt-M take me to Administration [because this is Administration - which is displayed because the login I am using has category Administrator].
So you can check if in your setup, Alt-M is being swallowed by the browser and is NOT being passed to OpenVPMS by using a login that has Administration in the top menu, then select say Customers|Information and press Alt-M - if you don't switch to the Administration screen your browser is eating Alt-M.
By the way - I do not fully understand the 2nd part of your statement "ALT-M doesn't bring up the macro list but if the maco shortcut (eg @.cons) it does". What does the "but if the maco shortcut (eg @.cons)" mean?
Regards, Tim G
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi Tim,
I've check and the macro short cut doesn't work for me whilst I am in as an administrator, nor does it bring up the 'administrator' box either. It works fine though on the other free text boxes such as the summary page and 'notes'.
If I type a macro short cut into the box and hit enter (see below) then it will work. So it appears that the macro system is working just not the AL-M function. I dont' understand why it would be being swallowed up here and not elsewhere, except that this is not a popup window whilst almost always the other boxes are.
Thanks David
Re: Alt-M not working in Visit Editor|Invoice
OK - I can see from the screen shot that you are running 1.8 (because of the Customer Notes Tab). AHAH - I can duplicate the problem (in build 6548).
If you edit the invoice via Customer|Charges then Alt-M works as expected.
However, if you are in the visit editor, and using the Invoice tab, Alt-M does not bring up the Macro Select screen.
Tim A - I no longer have a 1.7 system to play with and cannot check if this is a 1.8 bug or whether it has always been this way.
Regards, Tim G
Re: Alt-M not working in Visit Editor|Invoice
It isn't supported, but probably should be. Raised as OVPMS-1604
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Whilst looking at this further, how easy / hard would it be to have either of the invoice notes and / or the newly created reception note be added to the patient summary page and the current visit?
This would mean that we could continue to collate all communication for a client about their patient still in the one section. Also means the vets don't need to cut and paste and information into their history.
Thanks
David M.
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Invoices can be for multiple patients, so copying the notes wouldn't work so well.
E.g.
We could add a Patient Notes tab where you can add notes for individual patients, and these could update the history. So that reception knows there are notes without having to click on the tab, there could be an indicator on the tab (e.g. a large asterisk).
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Timely discussion as this is something that has been requested by some of our vets.
I am only periperally involved in this discussion but their requests were:
- They too requested the notes get added to the patient history.
- Their suggestion was a pop-up in the workflow that the consulting vet and reception couldn't miss/ignore... I.e. to finish the consult the vet would need to go through the "notes to reception box" and to finish check out reception would need to be presented and given the opportunity to action the information.
- They requested if the box can have a "default macro". I.e. It would be good if it auto-prompted vets to note when a followup appointment should be made, special instructions (e.g. sell this person flea control), etc.
Anyway, just feedback on a discussion happening here that might guide what other clinics would be hoping for from this sort of enhancement.
Cheers,
Adrian
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Adrian - I would be very concerned about any modifications mandated adding an extra step. ie a reception popup notice facility needs to be a facility that is only invoked if required, and NOT something that every checkout and visit completion goes through.
Regards, Tim G
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi Tim and Adrian,
Could we have it such that if the invoice box (or receptionist note) box is not empty, then the text within the box is added as a new note to each patient listed within the invoice automatically. If the box is empty then nothing happens.
This would eliminate any additional steps for staff but also help to capture that information in the summary page.
Just FYI - the new reception note section is working really well, both the vets and reception staff are utilising it regularly. They are however coping and pasting it into the current note that they are creating.
Regards
David
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
Hi Tim and David,
Tim - Fair enough. It was requested by some of the vets as they are worreid without prompting they might forget/reception might forget to check but I am somewhat in agreement with you. It would be frustrating for some visits.
David - Good idea.
Cheers,
Adrian
Re: Clinician - Reception communication box required.
I've created a new project to capture reception notes, and add them to patient history.
See Invoice Reception Notes