How do I build a document from scratch?

Building a new document in VetView can seem like a daunting task.  Because documents in VetView are designed to emulate paper forms for offline hospitals, they have many different possible parts that can be put together.  But because of this flexibility,  they can be customized for the needs of each service area, or standardized across the entire hospital, depending on how your medical records team and each unit wants to handle it.

The easiest way to make a new digital document is to create a mock up or version on paper, and then use VetView's digital document elements to emulate the paper form you designed.  If you are building a digital document based on existing forms used by your hospital, it should be simple to adapt the questions and format to VetView's Digital Document system.

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An example of a sketched out document mock up on paper

Questions to ask:

• Who is the audience for this document?  Is this intended for use internal to the hospital, to be sent to the referring clinic and DVM, or to be seen by the client?

• What is the purpose of the document?  Is it to describe a procedure, request a service, document the condition of the animal, or to be used as a teaching tool for the student?

• Where will the document live?  Will it fit into your hospital's existing medical record categories, or should you consider making a new one for it?

• When does the document need to be filled out?  If it can be accomplished at the beginning of the episode or will always need to be completed, you can consider setting it as Auto-Add for the episode type, to ensure it's filled out in a timely manner. 

• Why would this document be added, and not another?  Digital documents can be programmed with conditional answers that open up new sub questions, so it may be possible to have a single document serve multiple different purposes, to avoid confusion.  (For example, instead of a separate canine and feline spay/neuter form, they can be combined as a single document with Species being the first conditional question.)

Once you have determined how the form would look on paper, you can begin the process of building a digital version of the document.

How do I create a new document in 5.0?

Navigate to the Catalog Item Setup screen under the Hospital Setup screen list.

Find the Catalog where this document will live under the Catalogs By Unit list. Select the correct catalog.

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Catalogs by Unit List

Under the Catalog Item List window, click on the Add button to create a new Document or Request. This will open the new Catalog Item Editor screen in VetView..

New Catalog Item Setup Screen

This screen contains three sections: Catalog Item properties on the left column, the form display in the middle column, and the palette and properties for the form elements on the right column.

1. Upper Toolbar

This section has the Save button, and two new buttons for 5.0 - a Duplicate button to copy an existing document, and a Delete button to remove the document from the system if it was created by mistake and never used.

You can also click on the Back to List button to return to the Catalog Setup search screen.

2. Catalog Item Properties

Basic Attributes

On the left column of this page will be the Catalog Item Properties. This is where you can give the document a name, a description, assign it to a catalog and record group, and give it additional attributes that impact the workflows and displays on the patient record.

You must give the catalog item a label, a description, select a catalog, and assign a record group, before you can add any form elements from the palette.

FAQ for Basic Attributes

What is the difference between a Document and a Request?

Permissions around Documents and Requests are different.  Catalog Items that are intended to be added and completed all within the primary unit for the episode should be Documents.  Catalog Items that are intended to be submitted to another unit to be filled out should be Requests.  There may be exceptions:  Labwork will always be a Request, even if the accession will be handled at the hospital, since VetView internal labs are considered their own separate units.

Whether a catalog item is a Document or Request is automatically determined by the Catalog settings and it will be automatically imported and displayed on the Catalog Item in 5.0.

How can I automatically default to a custom report for this specific Catalog Item only?

The Report Override option will change the default printable report for this catalog item to that report, as opposed to the default printed report for Documents or Requests. This prevents your users from having to manually change the report type each time.

Do I have to have every document verified?

Documents or requests that are for internal use only and will not be seen by external RDVMs or clients can leave off the Requires Verification flag if it is not a necessary step in the workflow.

For documents that will be completed by students on clinical rotations, we recommend leaving on this flag so that their supervisors can oversee their work and ensure it is completed in a timely manner.

What does the Separate Request flag do? (Request Items Only)

For Lab and Imaging items that need to be performed independently, such as cultures or PET scans, you can have this flag set to force the request to be separated out from other requests to the same unit.

Otherwise, requests for imaging or lab accessions that are for the same internal lab or hospital unit will be combined into a single request - for example, a request for imaging X-rays from three angles can be submitted as a single request to radiology, so they can be performed together on the patient.

How can I require permission from a DVM to order a request for a patient? (Request Items Only)

You can limit the availability of Request items to a user with an Active DVM flag on their user account by turning on the DVM Required To Order flag.

You can turn this open on if your state law requires that a DVM sign off on all surgical procedures, radiographs, lab work, etc.

You can have this as a secondary check instead by allowing anyone with permissions to add Requests to submit it, but then adding Approval Requited to Order as the flag instead.

What does a DRAFT watermark do on a document or request?

If a document or request has not been fully verified, you can display a draft watermark on the printed report. You can also choose to keep this watermark on the report until the patient is discharged.

You can keep this set to “Never” for documents that are intended only for internal usage and will not be sent to clients.

Additional Attributes Subtabs

Below the basic attributes section is a series of subtabs for the additional options. Here, you can add charges, assign verification privileges, link reminders, and set this document as the episode default.

Use the arrows to navigation between Charges and Episodes Defaults in this small sub section.

How do I automatically add Charges to my Document or Request?

Select the charge to associate with a document or request on the first tab. You can add multiple charges to a Catalog Item. For example, you can setup up a Surgery document to automatically add a general surgery fee and auto add a product charge for a surgery kit.

If you want the charge to be automatically be applied to the patient’s bill immediately, turn on the Auto Bill setting. Otherwise, the charges will be applied when the document or request is completed.

How do I indicate which roles have Verify Privileges? (Replaces Edit Privileges in 5.0)

Once any role has been added to a document under Verify Status, it indicates that the document must be verified by a DVM or other faculty member before being released to clients.

You can add as many roles with verification status as you need to to ensure that documents are approved in a timely manner.

How do I automatically link reminders to a catalog item?

On the Reminders Subtab in 5.0, you can set links between Reminders and Catalog Items. Reminders must have been set up on their own screen via Reminders Setup which is unchanged in version 5.0 compared to previous versions.

The Make Default flag means that the reminder will be turned on by default when the item is added. When this flag is turned off, the reminder link will still be available on the patient orders, but it will not be automatically turned only, only available. This can be useful for optional follow up appointment reminders, for example.

Episode Defaults Subtab (Replaces Episode Type Parameters in 5.0)

In Version 5.0 of VetView, all Catalog Items have the option of become the Default Catalog Item for their medical record category. This means that when the user clicks the Document or Request icon on the patient record for that medical record category on this episode type, this will be the catalog item that loads as the first template.

The ability to automatically add this Document or Request for the episode type is also still available on this subtab. For example, you can automatically add a physical for any wellness exams, or automatically add a weigh-in request to any nutrition episodes.

3. Report Setup and Request Form Panel (Digital Documents in 5.0)

The Report Setup panel replaces the separate Digital Documents from earlier versions. Now each Catalog Item will have its own unique digital document, and you will drag and drop digital document elements directly onto the report to build the form as you want it to appear.

4. Palette Items and Properties (previously called Digital Document Elements in 4.2 and earlier)

The biggest change in 5.0 is the presentation of Digital Document Elements. These items are now displayed as visual icons on the Palette and they can be dragged directly into the Report Form area, allowing you to build your form visually in real time instead of switching between tabs.

Palette Items

All the previous digital document elements are still available, and all their custom attributes are still available, with several new options including the ability to insert SOAP elements and build a custom SOAP document.

Properties

Each document element still has a section to adjust its properties. You can change the result name to display a custom field, changing the text label to become a question, for example.

Value Lists Types and Value Lists in 5.0

Global vs Local Value Lists

Any previous Value List from an earlier version of VetView has been imported and is now considered a Global Value List.

In comparison, a Local Value List is only available to this one document. This allows you to keep certain types of value lists that are specific to only one document from being available globally, such as some of the radiology options that appear in this list.

How do I add items to a local value list?

Click on the Add button to open a small window. A value list item can have a name, a short code, and a standard code, just like regular Value List items.

Custom Value List Entries can also be turned on as an option, to allow for choices outside the boundaries of the fixed options on questions where it makes sense.

Can I still set macros on text fields?

All text element data types still have the ability to predefine macros. Any existing macro sets have been imported alongside their catalog items and data elements into 5.0 so you should not lose any existing functionality.

You can choose from the Global Macros from Macro Setup, or create a new local macro unique to this document or request under the Macro Setup subtab.

How do I make a question, form item, or section on a document or request required?

You can set each individual result to be required on the form as well, which is a new feature in 5.0.

When the Required flag is turned on, the field will appear highlighted in the form, both in the preview of Report Setup, and on the form itself on the Patient Record.

Can I still set a data element to have a Standard Code for my interfaces?

Yes, this flag has been moved to Misc Options for any document or request that will be used in communications via the API or other machine interfaces that require standard codes on the elements.

Are there any new data elements available in 5.0?

In addition to the SOAP elements

Request Form Setup in 5.0

Catalog Items that are of type Request have a few slight differences in their layout than Documents.

The Report Setup panel in Documents is joined by a new Request Form Setup tab. This tab allows the unit that is building the request form to add the questions they want the submitting unit to fill out prior to passing through the request, such as patient condition or confirming that certain steps have already been taken in preparation for the request (such as pre-op bloodwork.)

Can I still set my Date Needed By on requests in 5.0?

You can use the Date field on the Request Form to set the Date Needed property on the request, so that when the submitted unit has sent through the request, the date will appear on the Request Screen.

Internal Lab Setup in 5.0

Version 5.0 of VetView has several improvements to Internal Lab, including a better indication of the links between the Lab and Hospital products.

Internal Labs are considered a unique catalog type.