Case Settings

Case Settings comprise a set of 8 data entry fields that each organization can tailor (to varying degrees) to meet their contact and resource tracking needs. The program affords each organization the ability to choose what contact or resource data it wishes to track on the patient case record. The fields (except for Referral Source and Employer) can be labeled to fit the data for which they are intended and, furthermore, they can be linked to the appropriate resource or contact type to ensure that only the appropriate data is recorded in each field.

By default the program is configured to use

• Primary Physician
• Referral Source
• Practitioner
• Employer

In a brand new systems, you should see the above fields in the Assigned panel. Contact 2–4 and Resource 2–4 should appear in the Available panel.

Configuring Which Fields to Use

To configure the fields to use in your organization, move a field to or remove a field from the Assigned list according to the following:

1. Select Data Maintenance > System and Security > Case Settings from the Main menu. The Case Settings screen will appear.
2. Do either of the following:
• Double-click an Available field to add it to the Assigned list.
• Double-click an Assigned field to remove (delete) it.
3. Use the Up and Down buttons to arrange the fields in the order in which you would like them to appear on the Contacts and Files screen in case demographics.
4. Click Save to commit the changes.

Field Definitions

Primary Physician: This data entry field corresponds to “Occurrence Contact 1” in the database and is assigned the label Primary Physician by default (see “Customizing System Labels”). Change the label as needed.  The program’s default configuration allows users to enter any contact from any contact type in this field. Administrators can, however, link the field  to a specific contact type so that contacts of only the assigned type can be selected.

Referral Source: This data entry field corresponds to a “specialized” type of contact that is linked directly to the Referral Source table: Data Maintenance  > Referral Maintenance > Referral Sources. This field cannot be changed.

Practitioner: This data entry field corresponds to a resource data field that uses “Occurrence Resource 1” in the database and is assigned the label Practitioner by default. Use this to track any type of resource required (e.g., Attending Physician, Therapist, etc.). Similar to Primary Physician, administrators may choose to leave this field open or restrict the field to a single type of resource..

Employer: is another specialized type of contact that is linked directly to the Employer table: Data Maintenance > Employers. This field cannot be changed.

Contact 2 – Contact 4: These are similar to Primary Physician in that they are contact data (Occurrence Contact 2–4). The labels are customizable, and administrators can restrict each to a specified contact type.

Resource 2 – Resource 4: are similar to Practitioner in that they record resource data (Occurrence Resource 2–4). The labels are customizable and administrators can restrict each to a specified resource type.

Linking Case Fields to a Specific Type

At the point of being assigned in Case Settings, the contact and resource fields are simply placeholders: that is, they are not linked to any particular contact or resource type. As such, for example, any contact for any contact type can be entered in the Primary Physician field. However, the program does allow the fields to be linked to a specific data type so that they are restricted to contacts or resources corresponding to the type to which they are linked.

To create the data link,

1. Click the Description of the field you wish to edit. Depending on the type of data, a Contact/Resource Type field will appear in the lower right portion of the Case Settings panel. For example, if you click Primary Physician, the following field will appear with a drop-down:

Contact Type «Not Assigned»

2. Click the drop-down and choose the contact/resource type with which you want to associate the field.
3. Repeat as necessary for the other 5 fields.
4. Click Save to commit the data.

In the event that the assigned type is incorrect, simply repeat the steps above to select the appropriate type or select Not Assigned.

Related Topics

Key Considerations

• Case settings maintenance is governed by the Global User Right "System Preferences."
• To link case settings to the corresponding resource or contact types, they  must first exist in the database. So plan your configuration workflow accordingly. Contact maintenance is governed by the Global User Rights “Edit Contacts” and “Edit Contact Types.”
• Any contact or resource field you choose to use will require a label change to meet the purpose of that use. Label maintenance is governed by the right “User Label Preferences.”
• Users have the option to configure up to 6 of the 8 potential Case Setting fields to appear in the Patient Panel on the scheduling grid.