The Scheduler™5.5
The Scheduler 5.5 is the standalone version of theAppointment scheduling system integrated in PracticeMaker®, our medicaloffice software system. The Scheduler™ consists of the several modules.

The Modules in Brief
Running on a Macintosh Running on Windows2000 or greater Networking your software
If you are using The Scheduler™ in a multi-user setup, you will need to set up your network in the following manner.







Network Troubleshooting
Occasionally, when you first install The Scheduler™ on your network, and you try to connect from a workstation, you are unable to connect to the Host/Server databases and get the dialog box below. First thing to do is to make sure that The Scheduler is running on the Host computer, or the FileMaker Pro server is running on the Mac or that FileMaker Server is running as a service in Windows NT/2000/XP/Server.




An easy way to see if your FileMaker network is functioning is to do the following.


If there are databases in the host window, especially 1.Office Startup, then the network is properly configured and we have to reconfigure the network "pointer" inside the Scheduler Client file. Follow these instructions, which are also included inside the Scheduler Client file,to make the needed changes.
Setting up The Scheduler™
Note: Read this manual carefully!
Many things are not fully intuitive and many of your questions will be answered by the manual. Each module has on-line help and can be accessed by clicking the help [?] icon on almost every screen.

Make sure all related modules are in the same folder at the root level of your computer. On the Mac this would be Macintosh HD or Drive C on the PC. For the sake of continuity and technical support name this folder or directory The Scheduler.

Single User Setup

If you are using the software only on one machine, then network considerations are not needed. In this case your maximum users will be set to one by your license.

Multi-User Setup
Starting The Scheduler™
If you using the single user version of The Scheduler,or you are the host machine for all databases, double click on 1.Office Startup. FileMaker Pro will ask you for your database password (the graphic below). Type it in and click OK.



After FileMaker Pro starts you will get our log in dialog forThe Scheduler. Click in the User ID field and select yourname, then enter your password and click Continue.

 


Starting a workstation
This option assumes that you are using the networked version of the software. If you are using the networked version of The Scheduler, and you are at a workstation computer, do the following:

Navigating The Scheduler

Except for specific navigation buttons as show above, The Scheduler™ uses a unique way to navigate from database to database. The Navigation List, seen to the left, has a pop-up menu of databases. To go someplace to the following:
The navigation list is editable in each module. To dothis select Edit... on the bottom of the list as shown above. Ifyou select an entry that is not part of the navigation system you will get the dialog below.




The Main Menu of Office Startup

The buttons on this screen are used to navigate to various portions.

The Setup tab of Office Startup
  


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When you receive your software, you can go to the Setup tab and customize the Licensee fields located in the blue section.

The Syst Prefs tab
 

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Appointments Module (the pink section)
There are many preferences that can be set here.





Side-by-Side screen (middleof pink section)
The Side-by-Side screen allows up to 5 providers to have their schedule for one specific day on the screen at the same time. For Columns 1 through 5 select which providers or resources will be used in these slots on a default basis.

Available, Not Avail, Taken
You can select the colors that will be associated with each of these appointment slots designations. To change the color you need to click once on the color from the Palette, copy the color, then click where you want it and then paste. You can also add to the palette by using your own painting program to create a color, copy it and paste it into anyof the palette boxes.

Additional Settings
Administrator's Password

This password allows access to the Utilities screen and the possibility of other areas inside The Scheduler. This field can ONLY be changed when the software has been opened with your highest level FileMaker Pro password. To change the Administrator's  Password click in the field. You get the dialog box below. Enter the new password. If your password does NOT allow you to edit this field you will get beeped.




The Utilities tab

The Utilities screen has many different functions that can only be set up by the system Administrator. As discussed above, theAdministrator's password can only be changed when the system has beenopened with your highest level FileMaker password. To access this screenyou will need to enter the Administrator's password at the dialog below.

 
 
Once correctly entered you have access to the screen below and all its functions.



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Database Updating & Recovery
Warning: Before you proceed to update or recover a database you MUST be on the host computer, or on the computer that is the server with the server quit (Mac OS9) or services stopped (Mac OSX or WindowNT, etc.) and no one else using or connected to out software. You mustopen FileMaker Pro on the host computer and proceed as described below!Additionally, the entries in the Path Names fields must be preciseso that the file management system knows exactly where the new files arelocated and where to place the old ones.

Updating
Occasionally we will send you an empty database to update your system. This database will have the word "new" in it. For example. Appointments new.fp5. This new database is put in your "The Scheduler 5.5 folder. You then do the following:
  • Click the Click here to select and update a database button
  • Select the database to update from the dialog below "Select A Database" pop-up menu and click UPDATE...


  • If the database you selected from the list is NOT in the same folder as the rest of our software you get the error dialog below.


  • If the database was in the right place you get the dialog below. It tells you what to do at the remaining dialogs.


  • At the dialog below, make sure that View by: is "matching names" and that at the lower left it has "Add new records" selected.



  • At the dialog below, "Import Options" make sure that "Perform auto..." is not checked!



  • If at any point you clicked "Cancel" you will get the dialog below.


  • However, if you selected everything properly you will get the following dialog.



Recovery
To Recover a database that is damaged click the Click here to Recover a damaged database button and select the faulty database inthe Scheduler folder.



Once a database is recovered, the damaged one is moved to the archive folder and the fixed one placed with all the other files.

If your Office Startup file ever becomes damaged it is best tocopy it from a previous day's backup!


In Path Names you will need to enter the following: "Pathname of The Scheduler folder on HOST" and "Pathname of the TS5 Archive folder on HOST".

The Reports tab
here are several reports that The Scheduler will create for you. These are listed on this screen. Some of these are also accessible from either the Main Menu of Patients or inside Appointments.
 
 


PhoneBook Module

The PhoneBook Module is where you store information about Contacts, Employers, Facilities, Personnel, Pharmacy, Providers and Vendors. Entering information on most of these is very straight forward. There are several section which needs a bit more explanation.

Personnel Section of PhoneBook
This portion of the PhoneBook module stores the name and pertinent information on each member of the office staff, including doctors, secretaries, technicians, etc. Anyone who logs into the software should have a record here and a password so that the log system can track them. To get to this section click on the green Personnel tab from any of the screensin the PhoneBook.



Special database security measures have been designed to prevent casual users from changing user settings. The section on the bottom shows youa list of all personnel and their current privileges.

Adding a New Personnel record
Before you add new personnel be sure you opened the software from step one with the highest level database password given to you from Medical Databases. This will is only way you will be able to add or edit passwords in this module. Once you are sure, do the following:

Click New and confirm your action.





Access Privileges
When you first create a new record all the privileges are set to "No". To change any of them requires the use of the administrator's password which was established and entered in the Preferences (Office Startup) module on the System Prefs tab. The following describes what each privileges allows.
If you are not the system administrator AND you try to change one of these privilege fields you get a dialog similar to the one below.


Providers Section of PhoneBook Module
The Providers Section of the PhoneBook Module contains all the providers whose names, addresses and other information.  This section also holds extra information on EACH doctor ( or other provider) in your practice. Providers in your office are assigned a unique "Office Doctor Number".



Creating a New Provider record
To create a new record click the New Button and confirm your selection at the dialog box. Most of the fields are straightforward.
In Practice Title of enter the actual title of the practice, such as “Ophthalmology Associates”. The Practice Title field is used to link providers in the same practice and therefore must be carefully entered. All providers in the same practice will be listed In the top scrolling list on the right.

Special Functions
Office Doc
This button takes you to a screen for detailed information onlyon those doctors in the practice under whom claims are billed. Thereare several sections on this screen as seen below.



Office Provider Information
This section has this provider’s Office Doctor’s Number. If you are entering a new office doctor, clicking Assign Next will automatically assign the next number to this provider. If there is a particular Fee Schedule associated to this provider (i.e.: 14), enter it here.

Personalized Letterhead
These fields have information used to create the letterhead in the Forms module. This way each letter can be personalized with each provider’s special information. There is one line for the Letterhead Name and two (2) lines of Letterhead Extra.

Current Office Doctors
This shows a list of all doctors assigned Office Doctor numbers!

When you are finished checking/reviewing the information here, click Return and you will be taken
back to the Provider screen.

Provider Numbers
This button takes you to a screen were the UPIN, Blue Shield, Medicare and other numbers for this provider are stored.



Enter as many insurance numbers that you need for this Provider.

The UPIN must be entered if the patient was seen in consultation for this doctor so that Medicare can identify the referral source.  If the UPIN is not entered, and a procedure is done that requires one, PracticeMaker® will not allow the invoice to be completed untila doctor with a UPIN is assigned to the claim!  Other insurances, such as Medicaid, require the referring doctor’s Medicaid number appear o theclaim. Provider number 1 through 6 cannot be changed and are system requirements.

Provider number fields 7 to 22 can be customized with the name of the insurance carrier that uses that number. The name entered here is used to create the pick list used in the Insurance Module whenyou need to link an insurance to a specific provider number. For example, Aetna is number 7, Cigna is number 8 and Oxford is number9. If a "provider number" is available for any of these carriers, enterit in the corresponding field.

When you are done click Return.


Hospital Affiliations
You can link a provider to three facilities. Basically this is done so you will known where other providers see patients.

Insurances Accepted
In this field enter the name of the insurances that this provider accepts, such as Aetna, Cigna, Travelers. This is for non-office providers.

Flagged Records
One of the strong features of this section of the PhoneBook is being able to maintain mailing lists of your providers so you can send them bulk mail correspondence. There are four fields that you can use to flag records and then find those flags. These fields, Flag 1 toFlag 4, can be checked or unchecked as needed. On the List screen these fields can be checked or unchecked one at a time or for the entire found set of records.




If you click on one of check boxes above one of the Flag Fields you will get the dialog box below. For example, if the current record you are in has that flag field "unchecked" then all records in the found set you are in will be "unchecked" if you click Update. This method allows to to have a mass effect. Be careful with this feature as itis permanent



Edit Merge
Instead of using a word processor and mail merge to create formletters to send to referral sources, you can use the PhoneBookModule instead. Click this button to edit the appearance of the letterthat will get printed and the text of the letter itself. Below is anexample screen.


Export Records
You can export to the Forms Module the current found setof records. You can decide what to do with those records while insidethe Forms Module.




Patients Module
The Patients Module is where each client or patient has their record stored. This records links the client/patient to their appointments, and any related providers. Below is the Main Menu. The majority of the functions in the middle can be done on each screen using similar buttons.



Creating a New Client Record
The best way to learn about all the fields and features of the Patients module is to go step by step through entering a new client. The process of starting a new client first involves searching the database for the possibility that this new client is already in the system.
 

 
Preventing duplicate patient entry
 
  A Chart number is automatically assigned
Write this number on the outside of the patient's chart for quick reference. It is one way to find a client’s record. If a client changes his/her name, the chart number would remain the same. The Patient ID Code is created.
The record is created with the client’s name.
This record has already been completed and remains on the Visits Info Recall tab.
 

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General Information in the top section
The client’s name is entered. Fill in as many of the remaining demographic fields as you need. In the phone number and social security numbers fields you do not to enter dashes as they will be put in for you. However, if you have a foreign patient/client that has unusual numbers numbers,check Format No to turn off these auto formatting features. Note:The information in the top section is the same on each tabbed screen.The following fields need to be explained
Visit Info and Recall Tab
This tab shows all of this person's appointments still in theAppointments database in the left side list. The next appointment(s)always sorts on top and have a red bullet to further signal you. The liston the right is the archive of all past appointments.



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There are three recall dates for each client. Each recall date field is searched whenever you do a Recall printing. Billing and Work Tab
This tab this persons employment information and the current credit card.
 

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Other Info and Photo Tab
This tab has any additional contact information for this patient/client, including a place to paste a current photo.
 

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Notes Tab
This tab has 15 User Definable Fields that you can label as you wish. In order to change a field's label, no other users can belogged onto The Scheduler and you must be on the host, oron the server. If you are using FileMaker Pro Server, do the following.
There are two Notes fields. The one in the yellow can store up to 64000 characters of information. Clicking the Date Stamp button puts in the date, time and current user ID at the top of the field and moves the other notes down. Just double click on "New note here" and enter the note.
 


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The note in the blue section is a pop-up reminder that can display up to 200 characters. When you find a patient

Messages Tab
This "tab" shows you all messages you may have stored for this patient/client. These messages can be simple "tickle" messages or complex reminders.
 


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To start a new message click...New Message. This starts a new record in the RecordsPM database, as seen below.



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Some of the fields on this record need some explanation:








Finding Patients
There are several methods to search for a patient. If youclick on the Find button on the pink button bar, you will getthe dialog box below. This dialog limits the user to just four fieldsand is therefore less confusing.




Directed and Open Screen Find
You can "find" any patient, or subset of patients,using any field on screen. If you want to find using the Chart,Patient ID, or Ext No click on icon just next to the fieldin question (see below). This puts the entire screen into find modeand places the cursor in the respective field.
 


List View
The screen below shows a list of all patients in the current found set of records. You can get to this screen by clicking the blue Listtab on the top of any screen. If you do a search that has more than one found record, you will also get this list.



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There are many functions on this screen.
Flagging Records
To find ALL records currently flagged for the mailing list click the Flagged button. You can select or deselect any record for this list as needed.
Creating a mailing of the found set
After finding all Flagged records as discussed above, or using the current found set of patients/clients, do the following...
Preparing your schedule
Two databases store the information needed to create yourschedule. The Calendar module has the current year’s dates. TheDays module holds the daily schedule of each provider


Calendar Module
The screen below is the main menu of Calendar. From here you can view a List of the current year’s days, change the current Year for building your schedule, or Build your calendar.
 
The Days Module
This is where every appointment slot (every day, everyprovider) is stored. A template of each daily schedule is created foreach provider and used to create the appointment schedule for that provider.When you are creating a new appointment schedule, it’s a good idea tohave all the time slots planned for each provider. Think of a "template"as being like an appointment book where there are more appointment slotsavailable then will actually be used.

Adding or deleting slots to the Days module does NOT affect those slots already created in Appointments. The lists you create in Days will be used to create all the actual slots listed in Appointments for patient to be scheduled.
 


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The template creation screen of the Days Module
 
To see the current schedule for a particular day, click on the corresponding button on the bottom of this screen. If no appointments have been created for that date you will get a dialog saying so.

Creating Appointment Slots

There are two ways to create appointments slots; either programming the module to do it for you (not boring) or one at a time (boring andtime-consuming).

Automating Appointment Slot Creation

Follow these step-by-step instructions to quickly build a daily or weekly schedule.
 


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Adding slots to a template
To further customize any day's template, you can add unusual times, such as double booking, or setting some as unavailable. There are three choices for adding additional slots to any of the Days lists.
Changing time slot setting (or attributes)
There are many setting for each slot.

When you have entered all the appointment slots for each provider (and reviewed them), you can proceed to actually creating the Appointment Scheduler for your office! This is done from within the Calendar module.

Reviewing Time Slots

When all time slots have been added you should review each day and determine if all of the time slots are available for patient care.

When the schedule is finally built, these time slots will be yellow indicating that patient should not be scheduled there (unless its an “emergency”).

You can assign a Visit Type any time slot to remind those entering appointments to only schedule that kind of appointment for that slot. Now would be the time to add any omitted appointment slots (remember, it’s easier to make them unavailable than to add them later! The buttons on the bottom allow you to review any day's template for the currently selected provider or for all providers. If no appointments have been created for that date you will get a dialog saying so.

 
Building your Schedule(s)
Make a backup copy of your Appointments module before proceeding! This way if you really screw up you can revert back to the saved database.
You may want to delete old appointments in thescheduler before adding new ones (see the last part of this chapter)!

Building the calendar takes some time.
If you are not already there, go to the Calendar module's menu and click on blue Build Schedule tab.



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The screen below is the Build Schedule screen.



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  • Note: If you built the schedule and it does not look correct do NOT try to rebuilt it. It is likely you did not have the correct date selected in the Appointment screen. Do a find to see if the appointments really aren't there!
  • Fixing problems after a build
    When you "build" a schedule, you are actually creating records in the Appointments module. When a record is first created in this database it is date stamped with the date you created it. If you knowimmediately that you made a mistake with the slots you created today,or even the day before, you can use the Appointment module's ToolBox(available under the Scripts menu) to find and then delete this bad setof appointments. Many users have problems creating duplicate or even triplicateappointment slots because of the following reasons:
    When building your appointment scheduler, therefore, be mindful of the following: Using the Scheduler
    Once you have set your preferences for Appointments module, and loaded in appointments by following the instructions in the Building Schedules chapter, you can start entering appointments and learning other functions.
    The different calendar views
    There are basically three different ways of viewing the schedule. Below are examples of the Full View, the Single Day view showing only one day at a time for one provider, and the list view. Each has its own uses and layout


    Full week view - Monday to Friday


    Single Day View



    The calendar section is perpetual. To change the calendar, simply click the button of the month you want. To change the year, click either the or down arrow next to the year.

    Changing to a Different Provider
    To see a different provider’s schedule, simply click on the provider's name in the scrolling list. That provider's name this move's to the top of the list with the arrow pointing towards it.



    Selecting an appointment for an established patient
    To schedule an established patient an appointment do the following:


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    Scheduling an New Patient/Client
    First, create a new patient record and enter as much info as you want. The minimum is the name and phone number. Then click the Make Appointment button just as with an established patient.

    Changing Dates
    Changing to different days, weeks or months is very easy. On the top of the Full Week, Single Day and Side-by-Side screens are the buttons below. These buttons do the following:



    Rescheduling or Deleting a scheduled Appointment
    Rescheduling a patient's appointment is very easy. Do the following:
     

    Find Next Available

    Very often you need to find the next available appointment for one or any provider. Sometimes this is as easy as visually scanning the scrolling lists for a green (which means available) appointment slot. However, you sometimes need to find some specific open slots. Clicking Next Avail gives you the dialog below. You can see a list of ALL availableappointments for the Day of the week, Weeks Ahead and specificProvider. If you leave the Min and Max fields blank,the assumption will be 1 to 2 weeks.
     


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    Once you made your selection, and there are availableappointments, you get the list below. Simply click the blue arrow pointing to the open slot to use it for your patient/client (wecall this the Appointment Dialog screen).

     

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    Appointment Dialog Screen
    This screen shows you everything about an appointment slot onone screen, including all four memo fields that are associatedwith each slot. Basically, this screen functions as follows:




    Date To View

    This function first gives you the search dialog below. You use it to find a specific appointment list using any of the criteria in the dialog.
     


    Find Patient Appt
    Note
    : The best way to find a patient's appointment is to do it from the Patients module.

    The Visit Info & Recall tab shows all current appointments for the patient. However, there are times when you need to do the search from within this database, such as when you scheduled a "new" patientwho has not been put in the Patients database, yet. To do the search, click the Find Patient Appt button. The dialog below left appears. If you know the Patient ID enter if, otherwise any portion of the Name (first and last name fields), or any portion of the Memo field. To get a complete list of all patients/clients in the patient's database click the orange arrow and a list appears like the one on the right. Once you have entered your find requests, click Continue.


          

    TODAY All
    Click TODAY All to see all provider's appointments for Today sorted by date, time and provider. If there are four providers for each time slot than four records for each time slot will appear. Because of color coding you can quickly tell which provider has an opening.

    This Week Full

    Clicking This Week shows this weeks list for the current provider.

    Today Current

    Click this button to see a list of appointments for the current provider.

    Show All
    and Current
    At the top of each scrolling list (except on the Single Day View) are the Show All and Current buttons. Both choices creating lists, as seen below, but the Show All button shows all provider slots for the date on the scrolling list, while Current showsonly the current provider's list. Clicking on the blue arrow shows thedialog on the right where the appointment can be scheduled or changed.
    Using the ListView
    The list view shows appointments in one scrolling list. It can show one provider's schedule for one day, many days, or multiple providers for one or multiple days.

     

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    Below is a list showing the 9AM slots for the three providersin the practice. There are many things that you can do in this screenthat you cannot do elsewhere.


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    Special Features
    From within the Appointments module you are able to doing the follow:
    Add one appointment at a time
    The list view allows to do many things not allowed on other screens. 

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    To add just one time slot to a provider's schedule, say for an emergency, click the green arrow and you get thedialog below. You cannot change the provider but you can change the dateand time. To double book just click OK!




    Making slots unavailable
    To make any time slot in this list unavailable, uncheck . This turns the slot color yellow. To make an appointment available check the box.

    To make all appointments in this list available or unavailable, click the appropriate button at the bottom of the Av column and confirm you action at the confirmation dialog.

    Deleting time slots
    There is a fundamental difference between cancelling an appointment and completing deleting a record, which is why it is discussed here. To completely delete an appointment slot from the database so that is goes away forever click the trash can icon at the end of the appointment line and confirm your action. Only users with delete privileges are allowed to do this!

    Dialing patient's appointments

    Note: This feature does not work in Macintosh OSX!

    To make your life very easy, you can use the list viewto help you confirm appointments. Next to each patient's name in theList View there is the telephone icon . This is how you must set up your computer and telephone for this to work!

    The Single Day View
    This view shows only one day at a time and therefore the scrolling list shows much more detail for one day than you get from the week view.



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    Time stamp arrival and room assignments
    Both the Single Day view and the List View havethe ability to record room assignments (the "R" column), as well as thetime a patient was put In a room, was Seen and was Out of the room.

    Adding a block of appointments to one day
    There are several special functions associated with the Scripts menu located across the top of the screen.


     




    The Add Slots feature when selected gives you the dialogabove right. Here you can add slots to any day for the currently selectedprovider. This comes in extremely handy if a provider wants to open upa half day that previously was unscheduled. Here, we are adding appointmentsfrom 1:00PM to 4:00PM in 15 minute intervals. If you need help withthis feature click the Help button right on the dialog!

    Removing or cleaning up appointment slots
    Because of the flexibility of the Appointment scheduler, it is easy to make mistakes when you build you schedule or add slots to this database. To help you clean up this occasional mess, we have provided a "Tool Box", that when selected from the Scripts menu gives you the following choices...





    Once you select OK you are given the dialog on the rightwhich allow you to enter search parameters looking for the mistaken appointments. Probably the most important field here is the Date Created field. When appointments are added to this database, this field fills with the  datethey were added. Therefore, if you made the mistake TODAY you would put today's date in that field. Of course, you can search using any combination of fields in this dialog!

    Once you find you appointments you are presented with a list, such as the one below. Before you delete, it is wise to scroll through the list for any records you want to remove from this list! Click the Omit button removes them from the list.



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