Adding treatment from the appointment edit window in 6.2+

[richardwaite]

How feasible would it be to have a "mini" chart window come up instead of the procedure code list? Maybe something like the chart module but without the progress notes area, etc. Just the tooth chart and the proc buttons so they can enter more complicated treatment. Now that I think about it, you'd probably still need the progress notes since past treatment would be charted anyway and it would be nice to look back and see what was done and when. If this is reasonable I'll submit it through the feature request system, I'm just curious about what kind of complications anyone can foresee.

[sparkly]

http://70.90.133.65/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1430

[drtech]

I have been requesting this for quite a while (on the forum). I think it would be a very good idea to have a popup (kind of like the lightbox javascript for photos in your browser) with a copy of the chart module. I think this is possible, but haven't really checked out to see how feasible this would be from a programming standpoint.

[jordansparks]

I repeat. This is a low priority because it encourages poor business logic. The front desk has absolutely no business entering treatment. This is a chairside responsibility. Any office that thinks they need this feature needs to reevaluate their office policies. For example, the dentist needs to approve ALL treatment plans. How is this going to happen if a TP is not even printed and archived? You end up with the risk of the dentist performing a procedure that he or she never even treatment planned. This is not acceptable. Procedures must only be entered while the dentist is actually sitting chairside with the patient and at no other time. I cannot understand for the life of me why offices insist on circumventing this logic.

And if that isn't enough reason to avoid this feature, what about the problem of entering treatment with absolutely no context? You wouldn't see history, notes, medical, etc. It's ludicrous to attempt to enter treatment in such a vacuum.

[drtech]

I am usually the one added this treatment when I am at the chair. I open the appointment, check to see if everything is correct and if not, I then have close the window go back to the chart and then when done entering tx, back to the appointment to re-attached the newly added tx and then complete the appointment and procedures.

What I would like is when you are in the appointment, be able to click a "chart" button or something and have the actual entire chart module, with prog notes included, pop up (like a java script light box on websites) That way I can add things using the procedure buttons or any other shortcuts necessary. Even though you would like to have all tx exactly they way you originally tx planned, it just doesn't work that way. Tx changes many times during the day and we make the appropriate changes. For example, you do a root canal when you only had tx planned a deep filling. It needs to be changed...this would help a great deal. Yes you can go in and change the individual code and then go back and add a crown and build up, but this is tedious and would be much easier to use the programmed buttons to do this anyway. Anyway, I would still like to see this done some time. I am certainly willing to give it a try myself whenever I have a bit of time.

[jordansparks]

I can't believe that people are seriously proposing bringing up an entire chart, complete with procedure notes. What a nested confusing nightmare. No, nobody will be allowed to add such a feature. I'm drawing the line. Let's look at some other options. I will list two compromise solutions:
1. Allow the quick-add list in the appointment to include tooth numbers. (this is already planned)
2. Add a button that jumps you to the Chart, closing the appointment in the process. It would be invisible by default and would need to be turned on in setup. Although this wouldn't really save a mouse click for users who are already doing this from the Chart, so I'm not sure it has much utility.
That's about as far as I'm willing to go right now. I think users need to be trained to change their procedures in the Chart in the first place rather then jumping into the appointment to do so. Make the Chart look right, then as a final step, make sure the procedures are attached properly in the appointment.

[drtech]

Being able to jump to the chart is certainly progress...although you would still have to re-open the appointment afterward.

Is the "nesting" idea really a bad idea as you are saying? I would think it would be easy to just just make a modal box open with a copy of the entire chart control and then it would allow for fast return to where you were. I was just envisioning something like the recall screen where you have a copy of the account basically. The thing you would have to do is implement a mode to disable functions like the "viewing in recall" function in the recall window. Anyway, if you think it is a bad idea I won't try it, just was an idea.

[jordansparks]

You might notice that the Account module is read-only in that window. The suggestion to have the entire Chart module come up in a modal window would open a whole new can of worms. Both from a programming-difficulty standpoint and from a user-orientation standpoint. It would be confusing, badly organized, and prone to bugs.

[drtech]

Maybe a better option then to make it simple and forget about nesting...the jump to the chart button you suggested earlier..and then is there a way we could implement a back button somehow? Any time you use the "jump" feature we could save the position (as in what window was open with what pt or appt ) and then a "Back" button could activate on the tool bar. Then once you are finished in the module you jumped to, you just hit that button to return to the appointment, list, billing window, etc that you jumped from. This would be limited of course to only back to places you jumped from (lists, appts, etc) to keep it simple and not have to track everything the user does.

How about that idea?

[jordansparks]

So no comment, then, about my suggestion to change the way you approach the problem? From earlier:

I think users need to be trained to change their procedures in the Chart in the first place rather then jumping into the appointment to do so. Make the Chart look right, then as a final step, make sure the procedures are attached properly in the appointment.

I think you are suggesting solutions to a nonexistent problem.

[richardwaite]

What if there was some kind of list of scheduled appointments when entering treatment (so it would appear on the procedure edit window) so that it would be easy to attach a procedure to an appointment as you're creating it. This would eliminate the "Open appt, oh noes, gotta add this 15-MO, go to chart, add the tx, go back to appt module, open appt, attach it". I have been thinking of a method for elegantly auto-attaching tx to the appts for some time, but it seems like doing it automatically would be prone to mistakes. Allowing the user to specify it explicitly, however, would work pretty well I'd assume.

Now, whether there is enough room to stuff a list in there somewhere, I don't know... Maybe a combo box that would default to "No Appointment" but when clicking it would provide options for any existing Scheduled appointments? Just an idea.

[drtech]

I think users need to be trained to change their procedures in the Chart in the first place rather then jumping into the appointment to do so. Make the Chart look right, then as a final step, make sure the procedures are attached properly in the appointment.

Yes, this is good for ideal method, I just like to make it work different ways or better ways when you realize it isn't right.