Setting Up InSched
All aspects of preparing the program for use
A Brief Explanation
InSched is a sophisticated, but elegant program. By design, most of the complexity is in setting up the kinds of events, so that the user sees a simple but powerful interface.
In summary, InSched keeps track of “Events”. An Event can represent an appointment for an office visit or a procedure. It can also represent a note for a given day or a day of vacation, for instance. An event can be setup as a “Block”, which is to set aside time (“Blocked Off”) for certain events, such as office visits or surgery.
InSched is capable of tracking multiple “Resources” and “Locations”. A Resource is anything used, usually exclusively, by a given Event at a given time. For example, each provider is a Resource, as is an Operating Room and a Laser.
Configuration
By design, the setup is more sophisticated, and may require you to read this documentation more than once. We promise that the time and effort telling InSched about your office will pay off handsomely in a scheduling system that will be easy for your staff to use, and will quickly show you at a glance you they (and you) are doing. Remember, scheduling is a key strategic operation. Control of your schedule is control of your income.
Setting up InSched requires:
- Deciding which Resources and Locations you want to track
- Deciding what kind of Events you want to schedule
- Deciding what kind of Blocks you want to have for scheduling those Events
- Scheduling the Blocks
- Scheduling the Events
Resources and Locations
InSched is capable of tracking multiple “Resources” and “Locations”. A Resource is anything used, usually exclusively, by a given Event at a given time. For example, each provider is a Resource, as is an Operating Room and a Laser.
A Location is like a Resource, except that any given Event can use up to 8 Resources but only one Location. Also, multiple Events can use the same location without conflict.
Depending on your InSched license, InSched can define up to 36 Resources and 36 Locations but defining more Resources and Locations than you need will make the schedule unwieldy. If you only have one Resource to schedule, you need not define any Resources or Locations. Any given Event can use up to eight Resources, and zero or one Locations.
In general, define a Resource for each provider and for each major room or piece of equipment that needs to be scheduled independently. For example, if a piece of equipment, like a laser, is only used in conjunction with the Operating Room or with a specific provider, there is no need to define the laser as a Resource in addition to the room and provider. On the other hand, if the laser can be used in several procedure rooms and by several providers, it may need to be scheduled independently, and thus defined as a Resource. That way, if two Events are scheduled to use the laser simultaneously, InSched can identify the conflict.
In addition to identifying conflicts, Resources are used by the program to “fill up” Blocks. For example, if Dr. “O”, defined as Resource “O”, has a Block on Monday morning to see consults, an Event with Resources “O” will fill up that block for the time it is scheduled.
Adding Resources
Select Setup then Resources. Enter a single character code for each Resource. It may be a letter or a number. Some examples are: “A” for the Aesthetician, “N” for Dr. Nachbar, “P” for the Procedure Room and “X” for None. It also has a description, and a provider code that is used for billing (explained later).
The navigator bar at the top of the dialog lets you make a new record, edit a record, delete a record, or move to another record. Simply type into the “edit boxes” to edit a record, and move to another record or click the “Post” button to save your changes.
While the main InSched interface has been carefully honed to allow front-line users to quickly make and access appointments using either the keyboard or the mouse, these setup dialogs work best with a combination of the keyboard and the mouse.
The first time you make any changes to the Resources, you will be presented with the “Enter Initials” dialog. Please review the next section for information about initials.
Initials Tracking
InSched uses a powerful but flexible Audit Tracking system. Every database change, including additions, changes, and deletions, is automatically stamped with the date and time it was made, as well as the Station (computer name) from which it was made, and the user who was logged in. You will also be asked for your initials, which will be included in the Audit Stamp.
The use of initials is especially helpful at shared computers, where each user may not log in every time they go to the computer. When you enter your initials, InSched starts a timer, and does not ask you for your initials again for additional database changes made within the next minute. Further, every time you make a database change, InSched restarts the timer. The timer can be seen by looking at the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
You can “log out” your initials by selecting File/Logout Initials” from the menu, or pressing F3. You can configure, by station, whether or not you will be asked for initials, whether initials must be entered for InSched to accept a database change, and how long initials are valid. However, even if you are allowed to make database changes without entering initials, InSched will log the date and time, the station, and the logged-in user.
Locations
Locations are similar to Resources, but are used to group Events together rather than identify conflicts or match Events with Blocks. If you only use one Location at a given time (even if you use different Locations on different days), or do not mind seeing all of your Events grouped together, there may be no need to define Locations.
To setup or edit Locations, choose Setup then Locations. Enter a one-character code and a description.
Events and Blocks with no Location defined match, and are shown in, every Location column.
Setting Up Event Types
Perhaps the most important Setup function is defining the Event Types you want to schedule. Each Event is associated with an “Event Type”, which defines the behavior of the Event. “Behavior” includes the color (background, text, stripes, etc), and default Event characteristics, such as duration, Resources, and Location. The defaults can be changed for any given Event, but allow the front-line user to quickly schedule an Event. Behavior also includes whether InSched should notify the Coordinator that an event has been scheduled or canceled.
In advance, you may want to write out the Event Types that you plan to use before entering them into InSched, or you can use and/or modify the Event Types in the Tutorial database.
An Event can represent an appointment for an office visit or a procedure. It can also represent a note for a given day or a day of vacation, for instance. An event can be setup as a “Block”, which is to set aside time (“Blocked Off”) for certain events, such as office visits or surgery. Please refer to the next sections for an instructions on setting up Blocks.
Each Event Type can be known by one of several names, depending on the context and how much space is available. For example, if the context menu (the small menu that pops up when you click the right mouse button) needs to refer to an Event Type, it will use the shorter Abbreviated Name, if available. The Abbreviated Name is also used in the cells within the schedule grid. Similarly, the longer Event Type Description will be used, if available, in the Panel under the Calendar, and in Reports, including Audit Reports. If the Abbreviated Name and/or Event Type Description are not available, the Event Type Name will be used.
A given Event can be repeated on multiple days. Repeating can be by sequential days, by certain days of the week (e.g. every Monday and Wednesday), by certain days of the month (e.g., the 15th, or the third Tuesday), or by a certain day every year (e.g. March 22nd). Repeating events always have a start date, and may or may not have an end date. Individual instances of repeating events can be modified or deleted. Later, while scheduling, if the user modifies a repeating Event, a message appears asking whether you want to modify the single instance, all instances, or all instances from that date forward. Modifying a single instance breaks that instance from the rest of the repeating Events.
The Default Resources and Default Location will be used for events of this Event Type, again unless changed by the user. If no Default Resources and/or Default Location are set for this Event Type, Resources and Location may be determined by the Block Event used to create the Event. Depending on your practice, you may want to have Resources and Location set by the Event Type or by the Block.
Each Event Type can have up to eight default Resources. To set Default Resources, simply enter each Resource character, one after the other, in the Default Resources box. For example, to specify that an In-Office Procedure uses both the doctor (resource “S”) and the procedure room (resource “P”), enter “SP”. The Default Location for the Event Type is entered as the single character. For example, if Location “M” is Mesa, enter “M” in Default Location to indicate that Events of this Event Type will be in Mesa by default.
Default Procedure Code is used differently for Block Event Types and for other Event Types. For Block Event Types, you should enter into Default Procedure Code the Event Type Code for the Event Type you want the Block to create. For example, if Cosmetic Blocks should normally be filled with Events of type “COSCON”, enter “COSCON” in the Default Procedure Code box for the Cosmetic Block Event Type. For non-Block Event Types, the Default Procedure Code will be put into the Procedure Code box for Events of this Event Type. In future versions of InSched, the Procedure Code box may be used for generating charges in your Practice Accounting Software.
Timeless By Default means that Events of this Event Type will automatically be made “Timeless”, which is to say that they generally refer to the whole day, rather than to a specific time. Generate Superbill means that future versions of InSched may generate a Superbill for collecting charges for the Practice Accounting software. For example, Call Events and Meeting Events probably do not need to generate Superbills, but Office Visits do.
Class - Choose one of the following: Regular Event, Note, Call Coverage or Time Off. An explanation of each of these types is below, in the section entitled: “Event Type Classes Explanation”.
Trigger Type is used by InSched to allow schedule changes to automatically generate stage changes in INFORM & ENHANCE™™. For example, if the user creates a Surgery Event (an Event with an Event Type that has Trigger Type set as Surgery), InSched can make sure that the patient has a plan with Surgery Scheduled as the Stage, or can prompt the user to create one.
The remaining selection lists allow you to set the color and appearance of Events of this Event Type. The most important color is the Background color. You can select one of the pre-defined colors by clicking the down arrow, or can select any color at all from the dialog by double-clicking the selection. You can also select the text color, stripe pattern, and stripe color. You should generally reserve striped Event Types for less frequently scheduled Events, as they can become distracting. You can also choose contrasting colors for specialty Event notifications. For example, InSched shows conflicts by placing diagonal stripes (from upper left to bottom right) on the effected Events. These stripes are generally Red, but the color can be changed if Red would not contrast with the Event’s background color. Canceled Events are shown by criss-cross stripes (horizontal and vertical), generally Blue. No Show Events are shown by a single vertical stripe along the left of the Event, generally Black. Alert stripes are shown if the Event has anything in the Alert Note box; you can select the pattern and color for Alert Stipes.
Colors - Laying out the colors is important in making the resulting screen display intelligible. In the tutorial database, Cosmetic events and blocks are in purple hues, Reconstructive events and blocks in red hues, and Aesthetician events and blocks in blue hues. Unfilled blocks are lighter in color (less saturated colors, selected by moving the slider at the right side of the Color dialog further up) than the Events that will fill them. New patient Events have White text, whereas returning patient Events have Black text. Of course, you can set up any color arrangement you find helpful.
The time you take setting up your Event Types will be repaid many times, so take your time doing this.
Event Type Classes Explanation
It is important not to confuse “Events” with “Event Types”, “Blocks”, or “Event Type Classes”. Again, every Event has an Event Type. Every Event Type has an Event Type Class. The Event Type Class determines the behavior of the Event Type (and of Events using that Event Type), much like the Event Type determines the behavior of the Event. The Event Type Classes are “Regular Event”, “Off Schedule Event”, “Call Coverage”, “Note”, “Time Off”, and “Block”.
Regular Event - Most Events will have an Event Type that is of class “Regular Event”. Examples include Office Visits of various types, and Surgery. Events with Event Types of class “Off Schedule Event” are similar to Events with Event Types of class Regular Event, except that they do not generate conflicts and do not “fill up” matching Blocks. For example, a Medical Staff Meeting, where attendance is optional, could be scheduled with class Off Schedule Event, so that it would not interfere with Surgery being scheduled. Also, a Meeting within a Meeting, such as a committee meeting scheduled during the Annual Society Meeting, can be scheduled with this Event Type Class without showing a conflict. If desired, you can make Meetings be Regular Events, so they do generate conflicts if they overlap with other Events using the same Resource at the same time.
Note - Events with Event Types of class “Note” are used for making notes in the schedule. These notes can be “Timeless” (, associated with a specific date, but not a specific time on that date), or they can be associated with a specific time and duration. If the note Event is Timeless (set by a checkbox in the Edit Appointment dialog, but set by default based on the “Timeless By Default” checkbox for the Event Type), it is shown at the top of the day’s schedule in the Note Row. If the note Event has a time and duration, it will be shown at the appropriate spot in the Schedule Grid, based on Resources and/or Location set for the note, and “filling up” a Block that it matches. Note Events do not generate conflicts with any other Event except for Events with Event Types of “Call Coverage”, and then only if the note’s Event Type has the “Conflict With Call Coverage” checkbox set. You should define an Event Type called “No Call!”, with class Note and with the “Conflict With Call Coverage” checkbox set, so you can mark days you do not want to be on call.
Call Coverage - Event Type class “Call Coverage” is used to note dates (and times) that you are “On Call”, either for a Hospital Emergency Room or for a Practice. Events with Event Types of class Call Coverage are similar to Events with Event Types of class Note, except that they conflict with other Events whose Event Types have the “Conflict With Call Coverage” checkbox set, if the Resources of the two Events overlap. You should set up Event Types of class Call Coverage to represent the kinds of call you take, so you can record this in InSched.
Time Off - Event Type class “Time Off” is used for Vacation and other Time Off for a provider. Events with Event Types of class Time Off behave like those of class Off Schedule Event. Like Regular Events and Off Schedule Events, Time Off Events, if Timeless, are not shown in the Note Row at the top of the schedule, but rather fill or “Block Out” the whole day.
Setting Up Blocks
Once you have defined your Event Types, you are ready to start defining the Blocks. A detailed explanation of Blocks is in the section below, entitled “Block Explanation”.
To setup Blocks, choose Blocks then New Block.
Select the appropriate Event Type from the Event Type list.
Block Name - Assign a name for this block of time (i.e. Surgery – Dr. N) 4 Date Since Blocks tend to be repeating (e.g., every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning), the Date will be set from the Repeating button.
Time is the start time for the block
Duration is the duration of the Block in minutes (e.g., 1 hour is 60 minutes, 2 hours is 120 minutes). Duration can also be entered as hours and minutes, with the letter "h" after the hours, and the letter "m" after the minutes. For example, 1 hour 30 minutes would be entered as "1h 30m"
Resources – choose a Resource by click on that button. Selecting Resources for a Block does three things. First, it specifies which column this Block will be in for views that separate Resources. Second, it specifies which Events “fill up” this Block. Third, while the Default Resources from the Event Type are generally used when Events of that Event Type are created, if there are no Default Resources set for a specific Event Type, the Resources of the Block will be used when an Event is created from the Block.
If no resources are set for a Block, then the Block will show up in all columns for the day regardless of Resource settings for the columns, all Events will “fill up” the Block, and no Resources will be available for an Event unless Default Resources were set for the Event Type. The keyboard shortcuts for selecting Resources from the Select Resources dialog are the one-character codes assigned for the Resources.
Locations - If you have Locations defined, click on this button to select the Location for the Block in the same fashion as you select Resources.
Details - Detail text is simply a memo field, of unlimited length, that you can associate with the Block. Events created from this Block will have this Detail text added to their own. Click on this button to reveal a large window where you may enter as much text as necessary.
Repeating - lets you set the frequency of the Block. First, select the Unit of Time for the Block. Most Blocks will repeat on certain days of each Week, so select Weekly. As you change the repeating information, your current settings are shown in the box at the bottom of the dialog.
You can set the Block to repeat every week, every other week etc. in the Frequency box. Select the day or days of the week with the On checkboxes. Set the start date in the From box, and the ending date (if any) in the To box. Read the text in the bottom box to be sure you have specified the repeating info that you want, and click OK.
By selecting Day in the Unit of Time box, you can make an event occur every day, every other day, etc. For example, if you are on call (or want No Call) every day this week, select Daily. To make a Block on the second Tuesday of every month (e.g., for Botox), select Monthly and By Week.
When you are done with the Select Repeating Info dialog, select OK, and then OK in the Edit Block dialog.
If that was your first Event or Block scheduled in InSched, it will now show you only those days and times taken up by your new Block. Follow the instructions above to enter the rest of your Blocks, so that you see all the days available for scheduling. Remember, although InSched doesn’t waste screen space on unused days and times, you can always press the Insert key to schedule an event, whenever you want.
Block Explanation
A Block is a special kind of Event, and is central to the correct operation of InSched. One of the key features of InSched is its ability to show, at a glance, what times are available for scheduling specific types of events. Therefore, even users who do not understand when certain types of events should be scheduled in your practice can immediately see what times are available for what events. If you set up Office Visit Blocks to be of a certain color, you need only show your staff that color and they know when Office Visits can be scheduled. Similarly, InSched is intelligent about using screen space, showing only the part of the day, and only showing days, where Events are scheduled. That is why you never need to tell InSched what part of the day it needs to show, and you never get those useless “Mornings this Week” views unless you want them. When you set up Blocks, InSched knows to show the whole day, even though you do not have Events scheduled in the afternoon yet.
Blocks are merely Events with an Event Type of class Block. However, Blocks are sufficiently different from other Events that they have a different User Interface. For example, Blocks are scheduled by using the Blocks/New Block… menu item, which brings up the Edit Block dialog. Only Block Event Types can be selected from the Event Type list in the Edit Block dialog, whereas only non-Block Event Types can be selected from the Event Type list in the Edit Appointment dialog. Blocks can be edited or deleted using the Blocks menu, or the context menu for a Block event.
The context menu is a general Windows interface item, made available by right-clicking on the Block event or selecting the Context Menu key, usually to the right of the Space key.
| Timeless shown all day | Generate Conflict if Resources Match | Fill Up Matching Blocks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Event | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Off Schedule Event | Yes | No, except Call Coverage if Conflict With Call Coverage is Set | No |
| Call Coverage | No | No, except if Conflict With Call Coverage is set for other event | No |
| Time Off | Yes | No, except Call Coverage if Conflict With Call Coverage is Set | No |
| Block | Timeless not allowed | No | No |
Scheduling
Scheduling Appointments and other Events
Once your Blocks are setup, you are ready to begin scheduling the Appointments and other Events. This is where InSched really shines, with flexibility unheard of in other scheduling systems.
The user interface has been carefully thought out, generally providing more than one way to accomplish your most frequent tasks. For instance, you can right mouse click on the schedule screen and choose “New Event”, to schedule an appointment or event. Everything is laid out on the screen, making it easy to point and click your way through scheduling. In addition, InSched has a great keyboard interface, so scheduling can be done entirely from the keyboard, with no need to go back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse. Please refer to the section in this manual entitled: “Windows Keyboard Shortcuts”. Expert users appreciate that, because it allows them to get their work done more quickly. The menus are laid out with shortcuts that teach the user, as they use the program, about the keyboard shortcuts.
The main InSched screen shows the Calendar in the upper left, the Detail Panel in the lower left, the Status Bar across the bottom, the Menu across the top, and the Scheduling Grid in the center. Each of these features are described in detail, following the instructions below.
While scheduling, if the user modifies a repeating Event, a message appears asking whether you want to modify the single instance, all instances, or all instances from that date forward. Modifying a single instance breaks that instance from the rest of the repeating Events.
To add an Appointment or Event (meetings, etc.), either right mouse click and choose New Event, or click on Events then New Event.
Select the appropriate Event Type from the Event Type list.
Procedure Code – a Default Procedure Code may come up for this event automatically, if it was entered in the Setup. For example, if Cosmetic Blocks should normally be filled with Events of type “COSCON”, enter “COSCON” a Default Procedure Code would be used for the Cosmetic Block Event Type. For non-Block Event Types, the Default Procedure Code will be put into the Procedure Code box for Events of this Event Type. When using Billing, the Procedure Code box may be used for generating charges in your Practice Accounting Software.
Patient Search – enter in the patient’s name, Last Name first, a space, then the first name, if necessary (e.g., "pad ant" to search for Anthony Padua). The patient’s name will then appear in the “Name” box below. Another option is to use the F9 key on your keyboard which calls up a patient search window. If the patient does not yet exist in the Inform database, you may press F8 on your keyboard and enter their demographics.
Plan – Click on the down arrow and choose the correct plan for this appointment.
Name - If the name has not been retrieved from the Inform database, enter it here. You may want to enter the last name first, then the first, separated by a comma and space (i.e. "Smith, Jane").
Phone – enter the patient’s phone number, unless it has filled in.
Note – enter in a note for this appointment, generally the name of the procedure (i.e. Abdominoplasty), if it is for surgery or an appointment. This note will appear below the patient’s name on the schedule as well as in the left panel, if their appointment is highlighted.
Alert Note - this particular note will appear before the note above which would generally contain the procedure name. This may be used to alert the user to certain considerations that need to be made for this patient or their appointment time.
Date – enter the date of the appointment/event. If you had used the right mouse click method to enter this appointment, the date and time will be filled in automatically. You may, however, change either of them.
Time - enter the time for the appointment/event
Timeless – click to put a check in this box if this event This will be an un-timed Event for this day. It will show either in the Note row, or all day in the Timed rows, depending on the class of the Event Type.
Duration – enter the duration of the appointment/event in minutes (e.g., 1 hour is 60 minutes, 2 hours is 120 minutes). Duration can also be entered as hours and minutes, with the letter "h" after the hours, and the letter "m" after the minutes. For example, 1 hour 30 minutes would be entered as "1h 30m".
The next three options can be entered on this screen or on the schedule by using the right mouse method and making your selection. These options generally only apply to appointments.
Status - the available status’ are: None, No Show, Checked In and Canceled. Click to change to No Show or Canceled if a patient does not arrive at their appointment or cancels. Checked In would be chosen once the patient has arrived.
Last Confirmed Date – you may enter the date the appointment was confirmed here or on the schedule by using the right mouse method and choosing it. If you are using Patient Connection, the confirmations will automatically be added to the schedule when the patient confirms online, and that will include the Last Confirmed Date.
Confirm button – click here to indicate that this appointment has been confirmed.
Resources – click on this button and click in the box for any Resources that are necessary, if any. For example, if you are scheduling surgery, you may need to choose the doctor as well as the laser.
Locations - If you have Locations defined, click on this button to select the Location for the Block in the same fashion as you select Resources.
Details - Detail text is simply a memo field, of unlimited length, that you can associate with the Block. Events created from this Block will have this Detail text added to their own. Click on this button to reveal a large window where you may enter as much text as necessary.
Repeating - lets you set the frequency of the Appointment / Event. First, select the Unit of Time for the Block. As you change the repeating information, your current settings are shown in the box at the bottom of the dialog.
You can set the Event to repeat every week, every other week etc. in the Frequency box. Select the day or days of the week with the On checkboxes. Set the start date in the From box, and the ending date (if any) in the To box. Read the text in the bottom box to be sure you have specified the repeating info that you want, and click OK.
Scheduling Screen
The Scheduling screen is the heart of the main InSched screen, and is the main interface for scheduling and modifying Events.
Event Grid
The rows of the grid generally represent different time slots, but Events are not constrained to those time slots. For example, if each row represents 15 minutes, say from 12:00 to 12:15, InSched can show the Event starting at 12:10 and going until 12:35. Events can start and/or end in the middle of a row.
If there are any Timeless Events (generally these are notes for that day), they will be shown in the top row. Simultaneous Events will be shown next to each other within the same column, although multiple notes for the same day will be shown one above the other in the top row. You can make any row taller (to see more detail) by moving the mouse to the row of time labels at the leftmost column and dragging the edge of the label cell.
Context menu – this is the "right click menu", which is displayed when you use your right mouse button while on the scheduling grid and are on the appointment or event that you wish to update. You may also display this list by pressing the Context Menu key.
To edit (or see the details of) an Event - press Enter (or double-click with the mouse) Right click for other options for the Event.
To change the status of an event – right mouse click, mark it “Checked In”, “Canceled”, “No Show”, or clear the status.
To confirm the Event - to indicate the date the patient was called to confirm, right mouse click and choose “Confirm”.
To make another appointment for the same patient - right mouse click and select “Make Another Appointment”; the cursor will change to indicate the mode. Use the Calendar or the keyboard to select the date, and click on the time for the new appointment. InSched will make a new appointment at the new time, with all of the information from today’s appointment. You may also drag the appointment copied information to another day, if that day is visible.
Copy appointments – right mouse click and you can select “Cut” or “Copy” to start a manual cut and paste operation. If you select Cut, the Event will not be moved until you go to the new time and select “Paste” (or Ctrl+V). You will then get a “Move Appointment” confirmation dialog to confirm that you want to move the appointment. Of course, all changes are logged to the Audit Trail.
The Context Menu for the Event will also let you enter a new Event, delete the Event (with confirmation), and get an Audit Trail report for this Event.
Calendar
The Calendar lets you choose any date. The Scheduling Grid generally shows a series of dates; the date chosen on the Calendar is in the far left column of the Scheduling Grid.
To select a date with the mouse, click on the date you want. To select a different month, either click on the right or left arrows, to move one month at a time, or click on the name of the month to get a menu of months. To select a different year, click on the year at the top of the calendar to get a menu of years. To quickly go to today, click on the bottom of the calendar where it says “Today” and today’s date.
You can also change the date using the menu with the mouse. Select Date on the menu to see your options. Page Forward on the Date menu means to move the Scheduling Grid forward a page, so that the date previously shown in the column at the right of the Scheduling Grid moves to the column at the left. Page Back moves the Scheduling Grid back in the same manner.
To select a date with the keyboard, the keyboard must be focused on the calendar. The main InSched screen has two main controls that can be focused: the Calendar and the Scheduling Grid. When you press the tab key, notice the change in the color of the bars at the top of the Calendar and the Scheduling Grid. Whichever control is active will have the color you have set as the Active Title Bar color in Windows.
When the keyboard is focused on the calendar, you can use the cursor keys to change the date. The up arrow goes to the previous week, the down arrow to the next week, the right arrow to the next day, the left arrow to the previous day. Page Up to the previous month, Page Down to the next month, Home to the first day of the month, End to the last day of the month.
The keyboard can also be used to change the date with the menu. Note that the “D” in Date on the menu is underlined. That is standard Windows Interface notation, and means that you can select the Date menu by pressing Alt-D (hold down the Alt key while pressing the D key). You can move to the menu item you want with the up and down arrow keys, and press the Enter key to select the menu item you want. Note that the “Go To Today” item has “F7” next to it. That means that F7 is a shortcut key for that item, and you can Go To Today by just pressing F7 from the main screen. Keep your eye out for these shortcuts, and the program will teach you how to use it more efficiently.
Because changing the date is such an important function for InSched, there are quite a number of shortcuts which can be used from either the Calendar or the Scheduling Grid. These are detailed under Scheduling Grid, below.
Detail Panel
The Detail Panel is on the left of the main InSched screen, just below the Calendar. As noted below, the Scheduling Grid always has an “active cell”, and the Detail Panel shows the date and time of that active cell, as well as the details of any Events scheduled in that cell If there is part of an empty block in the cell, that is noted as well. Therefore, one way to see the details of an Event is to move the active cell to the Event (with the mouse or the keyboard, as noted below) and look at the Detail Panel.
Status Bar
The Status Bar on the bottom of the main InSched screen shows the name of the user logged in, and if you have recently entered your Initials to make a database change, it will show your Initials for the Audit Trail, as well as a timer showing how long the Initials are good for. Making additional database changes renews the Initials. This allows the program to record your Initials with the Audit Trail, without repeatedly asking you for them. Press F3 (File/Logout Initials on the menu) to cancel your Initials.
The second panel of the Status Bar shows Hints for the various controls in the program. Move the mouse over a control to see the Hint for that control. Many of the controls also have “Popup Hints” that appear when you move the mouse over them.
Initials
Every database change, including additions, changes, and deletions, is automatically stamped with the date and time it was made, as well as the Station (computer name) from which it was made, and the user who was logged in. When you enter your initials, InSched starts a timer, and does not ask you for your initials again for additional database changes made within the next minute. Each time you make a database change, the timer is restarted.
You can “log out” your initials by selecting File/Logout Initials” from the menu, or pressing F3. For further information, please refer to the section above, under Setup, entitled “Initials Tracking”.
Edit Appointment
Most changes to Events are made through the Edit Appointment Dialog. From here, the user can enter all of the information about Events, such as office appointments, surgery, and notes.
If you select a repeating Event to edit, you will see the Edit Recurring Event dialog, asking whether you want to edit all instances of this Event, just this single instance, or all instances from this date forward. For example, if there is a change in your Block Time at the Surgery Center, you may want to change or delete the Block representing your Block Time from that date forward.
When you make a new Event, you must first select the Event Type. You can drop down the list and make your selection by typing the first few letters of the Event Type you want, and using the up and down arrow keys to make the final selection. Press the Tab key to move to the next control. Depending on the Event Type you select, the Procedure Code, Duration, Timeless checkbox, Note, Resources, and Location may be set.
If you have connected to INFORM & ENHANCE™, you will see the Patient Search control. To search for a patient, type a few letters of the last name, and optionally a space and a few letters of the first name. Tab out of the control (or press Space again) to search. If the patient is found in the database, it will be selected. If not, you will be given the option of making a new patient record in Inform. If more than one is found, select the one you want.
When you select the patient, the name and phone number are filled in for you. In addition, if there are “Special Issues” notes in Inform for this patient (for example, if this is a touchy patient or a problem patient), the user will be shown those notes, and the “Special Issues” flag will be shown in the dialog. In addition, those Special Issues notes will be put into the Alert Notes for the Event.
If you have selected a patient from INFORM & ENHANCE ™, you can also select the plan for this Event from the drop-down list. InSched automatically picks the most recent plan if there are more than one for this patient.
Whether or not you have connected to INFORM & ENHANCE ™, you can make an appointment for any patient by simply typing the name into the Name box, without searching the database, just like you can with a paper scheduling book.
You can enter Notes and Alert Notes for this Event in the appropriate box. If there are Alert Notes, the Alert Note Striping (if set for this Event Type in Setup/Event Types) will show in the Scheduling Grid. Also, the Alert Notes will show in Bold when the Appointment List is printed.
The Date, Time, and Duration can be selected. If the Timeless box is checked, this will be an un-timed Event for this day. It will show either in the Note row, or all day in the Timed rows, depending on the class of the Event Type.
The Event can be marked Checked In, Canceled, or No Show in the Status group. Press the Confirm button to indicate that the appointment was confirmed with the patient today.
Click on Resources or Location to make those changes. The Details button allows you unlimited text to add additional details about this Event. Repeating allows you to make the Event repeating. The bottom of the Edit Appointment dialog shows you who made the last change to this Event, and when they made it. Check an Audit Report to see all of the changes to the Event.
Advanced Information
Scheduling Appointments and Events
The columns of the grid generally represent different dates, but can also represent different Resources and/or Locations depending on the view selected. Again, you can widen a column by dragging the label at the top of the column.
If a column shows all events for a date, the label at the top of the column will show the date. If it shows only one Resource and/or Location, that Resource and/or Location will be shown as well.
At any given time, the Scheduling Grid has one “Active Cell”, indicated by a different tint. If the Scheduling Grid has the keyboard focus, you can change the active cell by using the cursor keys (up arrow, down arrow, right arrow, left arrow, Page Up, Page Down, Home, End). You can also change the active cell with a single left-click of the mouse. Details of the Events in the active cell are shown in the Detail Panel on the left of the screen. You can also see the details of an Event by allowing the mouse to hover over the Event. Menu commands act on the Event in the active cell, as do keyboard commands. If there is more than one Event that could be acted on, you will be presented a menu of the Events; select one with the keyboard or the mouse, or Esc to cancel.
Resource Codes
You can choose any character for the Resource code. InSched does not guarantee placement of Events within a column, but tends to put Events with numbered Resources to the right within the column, Events with later letters (like Z) to the left within the column, and Events with earlier letters (like A) in the middle of the column. If you care whether certain events are shown to the left or the right, you can assign the Resource characters accordingly.
Events or Blocks with no Resources assigned match Events with any Resource (or no Resource). Therefore, a Block with no Resources will be “used up” by any Event, and an Event with no Resources will fill up any Block and will conflict with any Event. If you want to be able to have Events that do not match any Block or conflict with any Event (e.g., a timed note that a certain staff member is out), you may want to define a Resource as “None”.
General Information:
If you are familiar with traditional scheduling programs, you may find some of these concepts a little confusing at first. Insched scheduling program has been written to allow the user to easily adapt to the program. For example, a user does not need to schedule an event several times to indicate that it uses several resources. It will show sequential Events that use part of a cell (e.g., a ten minute Event in a thirty minute cell) sequentially. It will automatically show the entire day’s Events in a single screen, automatically highlighting available unscheduled time this week (or this month, or this quarter). It also allows the user to work in a patient, when necessary, scheduling an Event despite a conflict.
The program also comes with Audit Tracking, which allows us to see the history of an Event, including when, and by whom, it was changed, is essential to the smooth operation of the practice because it allows us to find and correct operational problems. A surgeon, who could not find any scheduling program that met his needs and was easy enough for his staff to use, wrote InSched.
Windows Keyboard Shortcuts
Ever since Xerox invented the Windowing Interface many years ago, there has been a lot of research on the user interface, and how to make programs easy for users to use. Microsoft publishes guidelines that programmers can follow to take advantage of this research, as well as to make sure that, to the extent possible, all software works the same, making it easier for users to learn new programs. The concept is the same as having the gas pedal to the right of the brake pedal, so you can climb into any car and drive it. InSched takes advantage of these standard Windows Interface conventions, a few of which are detailed below. Learn these conventions, and you can use any well-written Windows program. If you are already an expert Windows user, or are happy just using the program with the mouse, you don’t need to read this section.
An important keyboard interface concept is “keyboard focus”. Whichever control has the keyboard focus is the control affected by what you type at the keyboard. For example, in a dialog box, if you are typing into an “edit control”, you can press tab to move the focus of the keyboard to the next control, and type into that control. The Keyboard focus can also be moved to a control by clicking it with the mouse. Look for the flashing cursor to see which edit control has the keyboard focus. Buttons can also have the keyboard focus; look for a dotted line around the name of the button to see which button has the keyboard focus. You can press a button that has the keyboard focus by pressing the space key.
From the keyboard, the Tab key is the way to move the keyboard focus from one control to another. The Enter key, which was used for this purpose in DOS programs, has a different purpose in Windows programs. The Enter key generally signals that you are done with the dialog box, and are “Entering” the page of information into the computer. Pressing the Enter key is the same as pressing the “Default” button for the dialog box. If there are several buttons on the screen, notice that one of them has a darker border than the others. The one with the darker border is the default button, and is the one that will be activated by pressing the Enter key. The “OK” button is generally the default button, but if one of the other buttons has the keyboard focus (notice the dotted line around the name of the button), that other button will also be the default button, and is the one that will be activated by the Enter key.
While the Tab key moves the keyboard focus “forward” to the next control, pressing Shift+Tab moves it “backward”, to the previous control.
Another way to move the keyboard focus in a dialog is with Control Accelerator keys. Look for the underlined letter in the label for a control or a button. Press Alt plus the letter to move the focus to the control, or press the button.
Focus also applies to the different programs that may be running on your computer at any given time. Whichever program has the keyboard focus will have the “Active Title Bar Color” in its title bar, at the top of the program. You can change the Active Title Bar color using the Control Panel in Windows. Switch the keyboard focus between the different programs running on your computer with Alt-Tab: press and hold the Alt key while repeatedly pressing the Tab key until you get to the program you want, then release the Alt key. The program you selected will have the Active Title Bar Color in its title bar.
In the main InSched screen, press the Tab key to move the keyboard focus between the Calendar and the Scheduling Grid. Whichever control has the keyboard focus will have the Active Title Bar color at the top.
Another important keyboard shortcut is the “Esc” or “Escape” key. Pressing Esc generally cancels the current operation, and is the same as pressing the “Cancel” button.
When the program needs you to make a selection from a list, it can use a drop-down box, often with an arrow to the right of the box. To select an item from the list, start typing the first few letters of your selection. To drop down the list without typing any letters, use Alt+Down Arrow.
Menu Shortcuts
You can access the menu with the mouse, but you can also access the menu from the keyboard. The Alt key, or F10, activates the menu. You can use the right and left arrow keys to select the menu item you want, and press Enter to select it. If there is a submenu, it will appear, and you can use the up and down arrow keys to select an item from the submenu, and the Enter key to select an item from the submenu. If the menu item has an ellipsis (“…”), it means that a dialog box will open if you select that item A Right Arrow on the menu item means that it has a submenu; you can access the submenu with the Enter key or the right arrow key.
Look for the underlined letters on the menu: they represent shortcuts to the menu. If the menu is already selected (by pressing Alt, F10, or selecting the submenu), you need only press the letter key to activate the menu item. Even if the menu is not selected, you can directly activate it by pressing and holding the Alt key while you press the letter key (e.g., Alt+F for the File menu).
Also look for “Shortcuts” or “Accelerator Keys” on the menu. An example is the “F7” on the Date/Go To Today menu item. Another example is “Ctrl+W” on the Date/Week Forward menu item. Shortcuts tell you how to execute a function without even using the menu. For example, pressing the F7 key will take you to today’s date in InSched without using the menu.
The Esc key also works on menus. If you have selected a menu you no longer want, press the Esc key repeatedly to close the menus.
Context Menus
One way to add or modify events is with the menu. For example, if you move the active cell in the Scheduling Grid to an Event, you can select Events/Edit Event from the menu to edit it, or one of the other items from the Events menu to act on the Event. Another way to act on an Event is with the Context Menu for the Event. Just move the mouse to the Event, and press the Right mouse button to see the Context Menu for the Event. From here, you can select an item on the Context Menu with the mouse or the keyboard (look for the underlined letter). You can also get the Context Menu for an Event with the Context Menu key (next to the Windows key, to the right of the space bar on the keyboard). Make sure that the keyboard is focused on the Scheduling Grid, position the active cell where you want it, and press the Context Menu key. If there is more than one event in the active cell, select the one you want, and you will see the Context Menu for the Event.
While using Windows Shortcuts is optional, they can significantly increase your efficiency using any Windows program.
InSched Keyboard Shortcuts
In addition to the standard Windows keyboard shortcuts described above, InSched has its own Keyboard Shortcuts to make it easier to use. All of these are also available from the menu.
The four most important shortcuts
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| F7 | Go to Today |
| 0 (zero key) | Show all events for the next ten days in the Default View (the default view can be configured to your preference) |
| > or . | Page the display forward by the number of days currently shown in the event grid |
| < or , | Page the display back by the number of days currently shown in the event grid |
Other useful keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| F1 | Help - show the list of keyboard shortcuts |
| F3 | Logout Initials |
| F5 | Check In Event |
| Ctrl-F5 | Confirm event (Indicate that patient has confirmed the event today) |
| Ctrl-F7 | Update Database (show any changes that other users have made to the schedule. InSched does this automatically every 10 seconds or so) |
| F8 | Search for patient by name |
| F8 from Edit Appointment Dialog | New Patient |
| F9 from Edit Appointment Dialog | Edit Patient |
| Ins | Insert a new event |
| Ctrl- Ins | Insert a new block |
| Del | Delete an event |
| Ctrl-Del | Delete a block |
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| - (minus key) | Return to standard "sane" view, showing all events. Very useful when some events are not visible in the current view. |
| 0 (zero key) | Show the default view. Unlike the minus key, this can be configured by the user, and thus may not show all events. |
| 1 | Show one day |
| 2 | Show two days |
| 3 | Show four days |
| 4 | Show eight days |
| 5 | Show two weeks |
| 6 | Show one month |
| 7 | Show two months |
| 8 | Show three months |
| 9 | Fill grid with tiny days |
| M | Show Mornings only |
| A | Show Afternoons only |
| D | Show all day long |
| S | Show each resource in a separate column |
| T | Show all resources together in a single column |
| H | Change the height of the rows |
| W | Move forward one week |
| Q | Move back one week |
| R | Popup the Resources menu to select a single resource to show in the event grid |
| Z | Popup the Locations menu to select a single location to show in the event grid |
Special Purpose
| Key | Function |
|---|---|
| L | Show just those days with a Laser block |
| B | Show just those days with a botulinum toxin block |