The Form Designer includes options to add any field in CAREWare to any location on a form functioning as a data entry screen, which may appear the same as currently used forms of the organization. These forms can be printed as PDF’s and the data in the forms can be exported in CSV format. The main impetus for building the Form Designer was that users found it cumbersome to have to click a number of buttons to get to different locations in the application. Users expressed concern about having to jump back and forth between the services screen, for example, and then maybe clinical encounters to enter vital signs or diagnoses, and then case notes, etc. Form Designer can be designed to place critical fields for data entry on one (or more) forms in the order that mirrors static forms (such as clinical encounter forms) used externally from CAREWare.

The Form Designer reduces the amount of time needed to enter data for each encounter and can eliminate the need to first record information on paper forms. This is a decision that should be made within the context of the workflow and demands of the provider.

 

Getting clinical forms set up properly in the Form Designer can take a lot of work. Form maintenance is usually less work, though from time to time administrators need to go back into a form, change the layout, add or remove fields, and so forth.

 

How to Begin

 

Before designing a form in CAREWare it is important to work out the clinical data elements to be included in the form, review how and where those data elements are entered in CAREWare, and to review any customizations in client data in order to be informed of the effects of entering data through the form. When designing a form, it is important to establish which users and providers should have access to the form. Determine which data elements should be editable vs just viewable. In the review process of entering data into CAREWare, consider the field lengths of the field names as well as the options for completing those fields as that determines to amount of space used by that field in the form. If users tend to use abbreviations in the old paper form, there may be a benefit to incorporate those abbreviation options incorporated in CAREWare so that the fields meet the spatial requirements of the form in the design. Once the data elements and spacing considerations are complete, controls can be added to the form, moved to the correct location in the form, and expanded so the field has adequate space for legibility or to match the original paper form.

 

Terms to Know

 

It is important to understand the following terms, which are used in the Form Designer.

Page – This is the main document on which the form is created.

Form – This is the actual workspace on which fields and their labels are placed. It is possible to have multiple pages per form.

Record – A record group is a set of fields that must be placed on the form together.

 

For example, to enter services on a form, you must place at least two fields on the form within the same box--the checkbox for the service name itself and the contracts field that identifies the funding source for that specific service. Adding the service container onto the form generates the service box to add other service controls. The contract field and any other service-related fields such as units and price must be added while the service container box is selected. If the page or any other box on the page is selected, the service controls are unavailable in the list when clicking Add Control. Service controls are only available in the service container.

Field – These are simply the data fields in CAREWare (e.g. gender, risk factor, etc.)

Labels – A text field used to label fields added or to replicate data entry spaces from paper forms.

Properties – Formatting for labels and fields such as setting fonts, colors, etc.
 

To grant access to the Form Designer, permissions need to be granted by following the instructions here.

Note: The minimum permission required to add new forms is Create/EditView Form Design in Central Administration. The providers and users need the permission Create/Edit Form Design. Data entry in forms requires the permission Edit Form Design Records.

Instructions for the creating forms in the Form Designer can be accessed by clicking any link below:

 

• Creating a Form
• Activating a Form
• Setting up Control Rules
• Adding Custom Reports to Forms
• Adding Form Images
• Adding Encounter Grids
• Activating Custom Form Custom Field Controls