Glossary
Appointment
As used here, an appointment is equivalent to any block of time reserved on the scheduling (or main) screen: For example, a patient scheduled with a resource, a block time, or a hold time. The later two examples are specialized appointments that are used (in respective order) to restrict scheduling or to provide for specific scheduling needs of a practice or resource.
Appointment Status
The appointment status refers to the state of completion of an appointment: Pending, arrived, seen, canceled, or a no-show. Status is used to calculate statistics in several of the standard reports included with Appointments, so that maintaining accurate records (i.e., checking in patients consistently and properly) becomes an important daily scheduling function.
Blank Appointment
The blank appointment is a specialized appointment that is used to clear template block times or hold times from a resource’s schedule. In domain-aware products, it is also used to clear shift schedule items (Here and Not Here times).
Checkbox
A checkbox is a selection tool used in a dialog box to include or exclude options for the function you are about to perform. Check marks indicate the option is selected, blank boxes indicate the option is not selected. When provided options using checkboxes, you usually can select any combination of the available options: none, one, all, or any combination between.
Check-in Screen
The Patient Check-in screen is a scheduling management tool that not only allows you to view your daily schedule but also allows you to specifically track patient visit behavior in one respect by looking at appointment status. In another respect, it can (if you maintain the statistics) provide a concrete measure of the front office or first response you give your patients by comparing your arrived and seen times through the Arrived Versus Seen Comparison report.
Click (Left click)
When working with Windows you will frequently be instructed to "click" items on the screen. To click an item, position your cursor, "pointer," over that item and then press the left mouse button. The term click comes from the clicking noise that the mouse button makes when it is pressed. Clicking an object usually causes something to happen in the computer (i.e., starting a program, closing a window, etc.).
Click and Drag
Click and drag refers to placing the cursor on a reference point (the first cell of an appointment, for example) on the screen and then clicking and holding the left mouse button down while "dragging" the mouse to move the cursor over an area or group of continuous items to be selected.
Closed Day
This is a function found on the Check-in screen that freezes all appointment activity for a given day. To close a day, the system requires that all appointments for the organization be checked in—i.e., there can be no pending appointments. Consistently using the closed day function helps to ensure accurate patient statistics and reporting.
Control Click (Ctrl + Left Click) refers to holding down the Control key while clicking the left mouse button. This method is used to select multiple, noncontiguous items from a list, for example In Appointments, control click is a visual means of selecting multiple time slots for multiple resources (or discontinuous appointment times for a single resource) to schedule either (a) a single, multisegment appointment or (b) several individual appointments for a single patient. The times scheduled do not have to be concurrent. Rather, each portion of the appointment with the individual resources can begin at completely different times. For example,
- Select the required time for the appointment with the first resource as described for the click and drag definition.
- Hold the Control key (Ctrl) down and then click the required time slots for the next resource.
- right-click on any of the selected cells to display the Scheduling Options menu and (a) click Make to schedule a multisegment appointment or (b) click Make Multiple, to schedule distinct appointments
Delete Button
Use the Delete button on data selection screens (e.g., resources, reasons, procedures, etc.) to remove items from the data lists.
De-link
Use de-link to separate an appointment segment from a multisegment appointment in order to modify the segment, move it, cancel, or delete it.
Patient Demographic Panel
This is the portion of the main scheduling screen that displays critical patient demographic information, including name, address, case, etc of the patient that is currently selected.
Display Fields SeeGrid Display Fields
Double-book
As used in the program, double-book has two meanings: (a) one in reference to resources and (b) one in reference to patients.
When a resource is double-booked, more than one scheduling operation has been scheduled for the same resource at the same time. Examples include multiple patient appointments or patient appointments and block times that are scheduled at the same time.
When a patient is double-booked, he or she has been scheduled for different resources for the same time. Examples may include a patient who is scheduled for a Practitioner and a Nurse. If these appointments are scheduled separately (i.e., not as a single, multisegment appointment) the program will generate a Conflict screen.
Multiple is also used describe double-booked appointments. The time slots for resources who have double-booked appointments will appear in Cyan (the default color) or in the color the program administrator has chosen. In addition, the appointment status portion of the time slot will display the letter |M in the status portion of the scheduling cell.
Double-click
Double-click refers to placing the cursor over a reference point and then pressing and releasing the left mouse button twice in rapid succession.
Grid Display Fields
The display fields are patient demographic and case data fields that are used for the text display in the scheduling grid. Program administrators choose up to 8 fields from a larger list. These then become available to each user of the program, which can choose any combination of the 8 provided by the administrator. The text from each selected field is displayed in the first cell of each appointment, or in a mouseover if the cell is not large enough.
Highlight
Use highlight in reference to making a selection. For example, click and drag the cursor over several time slots in a resource’s scheduling column to highlight the cells for scheduling. Alternatively, in data selection dialogs, click the description (a resource’s name for example) of the item you want to use once to highlight or "select" it.
Inactive (Patient)
Inactive patients are those who do not have any future, pending appointments. This includes new patients who have not yet been scheduled for an appointment.
Left Click
Usually refers to placing the cursor on an item or scheduling cell you wish to select and then clicking the left mouse button once. This will highlight or select the item on which you clicked. See Click.
Main Menu
The Main menu is a list of pull-down options that provide access to the Appointments’ functions. These include the following menus.
Scheduling
Demographics
Wait/Recall List
Check-in Screen
Workflow Manager
Data Maintenance
Reports
Help
While in the program, click the menu item once to display a submenu of program functions for that menu selection.
Main Scheduling Screen
The scheduling screen is the window that first appears when Appointments is started. It contains the grid in which the appointments are made, the patient demographic information, the page tabs, etc.
Mouseover
A “mouseover” is a means of displaying additional information about an item when a user places the cursor over an appointment cell or other program function, for example. The appointment information is a selection of display fields that have been configured through a combination of administrator and users preferences. Tool tips are another common example.
Grid display fields are primarily patient or group demographics and case data that appear in the first time slot of each appointment. Up to 8 fields can be made available to users by the system administrator. Each user then selects any combination of those fields to use for scheduling. Different users may have different requirements, so different fields may appear.
When the first time slot is too small to display all of the information, mouseover the appointment and this information will appear.
Multiple SeeDouble-book
Multisegment Appointment
Multisegment appointments are single appointments composed of several resources. Typically, these are created when you use control click or find appointment to schedule several different resources for a single patient for a single appointment. The appointment segments (i.e., the time spent with each resource) are not required to be concurrent or contiguous, but may occur over several disparate times. Make multisegment appointments when your patient must see or use several resources and you want the entire visit to be treated as one appointment. That is, (a) when you check a multisegment appointment in, all the resources are checked in; (b) when you cancel, delete, or mark one as a no-show, all segments are so marked; and (c) when you view the appointment history, you view it for all resources at once. Further, you cannot cut and paste multisegment appointments; you must reschedule them. Nor can you copy them.
If your patient must see or use several resources, but you want each resource appointment to have its own history and count toward statistics individually, you need to make each resource appointment separately. See Control Click for additional information.
Using Control click on the grid will always make multisegment appointments. Users can, however, use Find Appointment to schedule multisegment appointments or several individual appointments for the same patient with different resources.
Navigation Calendar
Located on the main scheduling screen, the Navigation Calendar is the means by which you select days/dates for scheduling or reporting. The active date (indicated by the highlighted day) on the calendar determines the date that is used for scheduling and reporting functions.
NPI
The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique 10-digit number in which all medical resources are issued by law. The NPI number is used in Eligibility and Outcomes data as well as other reporting.
Right-Click
Right-click refers to pressing and releasing the right mouse button. (Note that the cursor should be on the desired reference point — e.g., a selected time slot — before you click the right mouse button.) When the documentation states to click "something," use the left mouse button. Otherwise, you’ll be instructed to "right-click," or press the right mouse button.
right-click is used throughout Appointments to display a list of options for whatever you may be using currently. Examples include the Options menu on the scheduling grid, the options menus on both the Patient and Group Appointments tabs, Authorization and the Charge Entry screens. Generally then, right-click is used to display options or scheduling functions for whatever item you may have selected currently.
Radio Button
Radio buttons (indicated by the round circle), like checkboxes, are selection tools used in dialog boxes to make discrete selection options. They are used in either/or situation: That is, select Option A or Option B, but not both A and B.
Save Button
Click the Save button on data entry dialogs to save the current record and clear the screen for additional data entry (i.e., another record).
Scheduling Cells
Scheduling cells are the individual time slots that make up the scheduling grid. They do not have to be equal from resource to resource, but must be divisible by units of five minutes.
Scheduling Grid
The scheduling grid comprises the scheduling cells (time slots) and resource columns that are used to define resource schedules. It is the active portion of the screen in which appointments are made and displayed. The grid can be displayed in a
- Daily View Provides multiple resource columns for the active date.
- Weekly view Provides 7 columns for each day of the week for a single resource.
- Monthly view Provides a column for each day of the selected month for a single resource.
- Daily by Resource
- Patient view
Scheduling Options Menu
The Scheduling Options menu is a pop-up list of scheduling options that appears when you right-click selected (highlighted) time slots on the scheduling grid. Only the options that are available for the cells selected will be active — otherwise they will be grayed out.
Select See Left Click and Highlight.
Select Button
Click the Select buttons on the data entry screens to display a list of all records of that type. All the search screens should look similar and operate similarly.
Select Patient Button
Click the Patient Select button to pull up the list of patients that are available for scheduling — Patient Search screen.
Shift Tab
While holding the Shift key down on the keyboard, press the Tab key. This will move the cursor back one field in a data entry screen. See Tab.
System and Security Options
System options comprises a wide variety of program configuration settings that control appointment functions, display, and data entry requirement preferences.
Tab
As a verb, tab means to press the Tab key on the keyboard. In data entry, for example, you tab to each field of a dialog box to enter the appropriate information. The tab order on a dialog box is from left to right, top to bottom as in reading.
We also refer to folder tab when discussing screens that have multiple parts: for example, the Add/Edit Patient screens. We also have the Page Tabs at the bottom of the scheduling grid (Page 1 … Page 10).
Time Slot Length
Defined, the time slot length is the duration (time) used to define a single scheduling unit or cell (used on the grid) for a resource—that is, the smallest default appointment length. Time slot lengths may be any value between 5 and 60 minutes in 5-minute increments.
