One of the newer features of PPS (v4.0.55 and onwards) takes merges fields to the next level by being able to use them within custom forms. You can define as many questions as you need to use merge fields, which enables you to automatically send the questions and answers from the forms into a Microsoft Word document or PPS letter. In addition, each Custom Form can have its own Word document associated with it so that the form can be printed directly to a Word document from the Custom Form screen which can be extremely useful for companies that require a strictly formatted questionnaire/form to be used.
Note: The following Guide is based on the assumption that you are familiar with the custom forms process of PPS and have an understanding of how this works. If you’re unsure, please consult the appropriate PPS Clinical Notes Help Guide before continuing.
- Firstly you will need to create the questions that will go into your custom form. These can be accessed by going to the PPS ‘Custom Forms Maintenance’ screen from within the Tools menu, and clicking on the New button in the questions section.
- Once you have come to the ‘Add a New Question’ screen, you simply need to follow the process of adding in the question category, type etc. Once you enter in the heading of the question, this will produce a box at the bottom of the screen entitled ‘Word Merge Field Name’ with your newly created merge field. Follow the same process for all of your questions.
- Additionally, if you have a question which you would like automatically to be filled in via data already inputted, you can do so from an existing merge field. Insert the merge field into the headings/answers of the question you have created and then this will automatically display when you produce the form itself.
- If you already have your questions setup, you can simply click on the Modify button and then enter in the merge field name of your choice if it is not already filled in automatically.
Below is an example how a form will be used. Generally it is a case of simply entering in the merge fields from the client’s details, appointments, or treatment episodes or for any answers that you need from questions that are taken from a consultation.
- The MS Word document that you will be attaching may be simply a medical health questionnaire or an initial assessment form. Once you have located your Word document you will need to attach it to the relevant Custom Form. To do this go to Tools > Custom Form Maintenance.
- Select the form you require from the ‘Maintain Your Forms’ menu and click on the Modify button on the bottom of the screen.
- You will be show the above menu, simply click on the Select Word Document button and attach the document you require to be filled in via merged fields from your custom form.
- Once you have setup all of your questions with merge fields that are required, have attached your word document with the appropriate merge fields in and completed your custom form, you will see the
 button at the bottom of the form.
- This will now open up your Word document with all the merge fields entered into the areas you have specified.
Add
Look this up under the type of new record you want to add – e.g. Client - Add or Appointment - Add Client
Client records are the hub of your PPS database. PPS refers to these records as “Clients” rather than “Patients” because PPS is used across a variety of business and clinical disciplines, some of whom use the term “client” and others use “patient”. A client record can have either minimal details entered, such as first name and surname, or can be a comprehensive range of details including full address/contact details, alternative addresses, DOB, sex, “known as”, full profile details including “source of introduction”, occupation (plus a range of entries you can set up yourself). In addition you can associate a variety of third-parties to clients such as doctors, insurance companies, etc. The more comprehensive the details you store for each client, the greater the opportunities to use these details in your reports and mail-merge operation. For example, by recording the “source of introduction” for each client (such as yellow pages, local advert, recommendation, etc.) you can run almost any report in PPS to show a breakdown by “source of introduction”, for example “practice revenue” by “source of introduction” will show where you earn the most money from – thus where you should concentrate most on your advertising! Clinical Notes
The Clinical Notes facility in PPS is available in the “Professional” version of PPS. This includes screens to record your Clinical Notes, manage Treatment Episodes, complete specific forms (Custom Forms) including body charts and your own questionnaires, etc. All Clinical Notes are structured into the framework of Treatment Episodes. Although some of you may be used to slightly different terminology, PPS uses “Treatment Episode” to define a specific course of treatment for a specific condition, and “Consultation” as the individual treatment sessions/consultations. Therefore each time you see a client – whether or not it is an initial consultation/assessment or a follow up treatment – this is known as a “Consultation”. You can have more than one current Treatment Episode per client if required. When you select to record clinical notes, PPS checks to see if there are any current (not completed) Treatment Episodes for the client. If there is more than one, you can choose which one to record your consultation notes for. Otherwise a new Treatment Episode will be started, and this consultation will be consultation number one for the new Treatment Episode. When you complete the consultation, you can enter set up the full details of the Treatment Episode including the name, number of consultations required, diagnosis details etc. See: Treatment Episode for more details. For more detailed information about recording clinical notes and consultations, see: various entries under Consultation and Custom Forms. Consultation
PPS uses the term “consultation” to define each time you see a client, whether or not it is an initial session, or a follow up one. PPS has a clinical notes system that allows you to record Consultation notes each time you see a client, and these are all part of a Treatment Episode. If you see a client once, and their treatment is completed in one consultation, then the Treatment Episode will only have one consultation. If, alternatively, you see a client six times before the treatment for the presenting problem is complete, then the “one” treatment episode will have “six” consultations. To access the clinical notes system in PPS, either select from the PPS Menu: Client – Consultation, or click Consultation on the PPS Task bar. You can select an appointment, or client record first if required to give immediate access to the consultation screen for that client. Create
See: Add; Charge – Create Custom Form
A Custom Form is part of the PPS Clinical Notes system. When you record a consultation record, you can also record one or more Custom Forms as part of that consultation. The term “Custom Form” is a very general term because there is a very wide range of uses for Custom Forms. They can be used for specific assessments, such as a “biomechanics” assessment, also for special questionnaires you may use as part of your consultation, or to record the results of specific examinations you carry out. A Custom Form can include as few or many questions/entries as you want, including using Charts for annotation purposes. There are a variety of question “types” available including Dates, Numeric, Text, Multiple Choice, etc. For more details about Custom Forms, see: various entries under Custom Form. Custom Forms
See: Custom Form Data
Data is a general term that refers to all your records. In computer terms, data is any piece of information that you can change, so this includes your normal records (client records, billing, appointments, etc.) and other information such as letter layouts, invoice templates and so on. PPS allows you to “back up” your data, which means to make a second copy of all your data. See: Back Up; Database for more details. Details
This is a generic term used to describe the information stored in any particular part of PPS. For example Main Client Details is the information you enter to this screen. In addition, there are several “notes” type fields that allow you to enter further “free text” details against a record – these are also sometimes referred to as Details. Form
See: Custom Form Maintenance
See: Database Maintenance. Merge Field
A Merge Field is used when preparing Standard PPS Letters, or sending a one-off letter to a client or third-party. There are a variety of Merge Fields to choose from including Name, Address, Date, Practitioner, etc. When a merge field is included in a standard letter (or you insert a merge field into a one-off letter) then the merge field entry is replaced with the “real” value for the selected client. Merge Fields are shown with the field name enclosed in double chevrons thus: <<SURNAME>>. When the letter is printed, this value is replaced with the actual client’s surname. You can insert Merge Fields when you are setting up standard PPS letters – see: Standard Letters for more details. Microsoft Word
Microsoft® Word is a Word Processing application. It is supplied as part of Microsoft® Office. PPS can use Word to produce individual letters to clients or third-parties. This can be done by setting up a PPS Standard Letter which is a “Word Document”. This standard letter can then be used when sending a letter to a client or third-party. See also: Standard Letters; Letters. Modify
This is the term used throughout PPS to “change” any of your existing records. PPS has buttons on many screens with a <Modify> prompt. Clicking this button will normally take you onto a further screen that allows you to modify the selected details. For more information about modifying various types of record in PPS, see the “modify” entry under the various section of this help guide, for example Invoices – Modify, Appointments – Modify, etc. Notes
See: Client - Default Notes Entry Open
Some screens in PPS have an “Open” button on the toolbar, this is very similar to the Modify button as it will “open” the selected record for “modification”. PPS
PPS is the acronym for “Private Practice Software”. Select
A term used when you choose something on the screen. Some PPS screens have a <Select> button, this normally means that you pick an option, or entry in a list, then click the <Select> button. This will “select” your chosen entry and proceed to the next screen, or return to the previous screen with your chosen entry selected. Tools Menu
Options on the Tools menu are listed alphabetically in this reference guide under each Section e.g. Look Up Tables. Word
See: Microsoft® Word
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