A LOOK at What's New...
THE MEDITECH FOCUS REPORT WRITER
from John Shipman - Interface People
TIMES ARE CHANGINGWe’ve all heard by now the rumors of the great strides that MEDITECH is making
in the release of the Client Server 6.0 (FOCUS) environment. Some of us have
even been fortunate enough to see it, feel it, and dabble in it. The buzz and the
hype have led to lots of questions, anticipation, and of course, excitement. We
at IPeople thought this would be the perfect opportunity to address a variety of
questions we are fielding on a daily basis regarding Client Server 6.0, with an
emphasis on the new FOCUS report writer. It is important to note that MEDITECH
is continuing their development efforts and as a result, the report writer is sure
to change as new features and functionality are added. This edition of IPoints
is from the IPeople perspective and discusses accessing data directly through
the MEDITECH provided FOCUS Report Writer and not MEDITECH’s data repository.
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGESThe report writer for FOCUS offers many new features and functionality that will make life for users easier than ever.· More Windows-like functionality than ever before· More graphical support for table joins, making this process similar to other report writing solutions· More secure· No coding knowledge needed· Drop-down lookups are available along with more detailed information on lookups· Improved section divisions· Simple and Advanced modes are available helping ensure success for different levels of users· Field lookups show all fields from all objects and records that are selected - you can find the desired fields to include on your report easier and faster!· Drag and drop functionality for defining the screen layout· More intuitive, thereby reducing the learning curve. While there are many great new features, there are also a few shortcomings of the current release that may change in upcoming versions.· Less coding support may limit the sites ability to create advanced reports· The report writer is still a work in progress and changing daily· There currently is no conversion utility available for converting existing C/S reports to the FOCUS report writer. COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONSQ. Can you view and/or print the data definitions? A. Yes, MEDITECH provides a report utility which lists table and field definitions for each FOCUS module. MEDITECH also provides Windows-like lookups for tables and fields within the report writer.
Q. Do macros or fragments still exist? A. No, at this time the concept of fragments for crossing applications and macros do not exist as standard functionality. However, the report writer does offer user-defined “links” for crossing objects and modules as well as new functionality for creating rules, formulas, and custom criteria.
Q. Can you query non-Focus data, such as data from MEDITECH’s DR, from the FOCUS report writer?
A. At this time the FOCUS report writer is designed to query FOCUS data only.
Q. Can you query MEDITECH C/S data from the FOCUS report writer?
A. No, MEDITECH still provides the traditional report writer for creating reports with C/S data. Currently, you can not combine data from FOCUS applications with other C/S applications in a single report though the report writer. Some data elements are interfaced between C/S and FOCUS so that these elements reside in both and are available through both report writers.
Q. Do DPM’s still exist for the FOCUS applications?
A. The DPM concept still exists although the terminology has changed. What used to be called DPM’s are now objects or areas. Segments are now known as records or groups and elements are now known as fields. The naming convention for fields and tables has also changed. Field and table names no longer contain periods.
Q. Are field and line attributes still available with the FOCUS report writer in order to create formatted reports? A. Yes, users still have the ability to define attributes at a variety of levels for customizing output. In fact, new attributes are now available providing more enriched graphical options, selections, etc.
Q. Do index tables still exist with the FOCUS data and are indexes utilized the same as before? A. Similar to the previous versions of MEDITECH, indexed data resides in seperate table structures. MEDITECH does provide numerous indexes for FOCUS data. In fact, a report cannot be written without an index. The Report Writer typically defaults to an appropriate index but the user can always override the default.
Q. Is there still a record size limitation with the FOCUS report writer?
A. The 255 character record limitation appears to no longer exist but the record limitation, if any, is unknown.
Q. Is the FOCUS report writer difficult to learn and use?
A. If you have experience working with the traditional MEDITECH report writer then utilizing the new report writer can be learned relatively quickly. The FOCUS report writer combines concepts utilized with the traditional report writer along with standard Windows functionality.
Q. Is the FOCUS report writer a finished product solution at this time?
A. At this time, the report writer appears to be a work in progress as new features continue to appear
MEDITECH FOCUS (6.0) applications currently consist of the advanced clinicals applications including EMR, PCS, ED, and OM. At this time, other MEDITECH applications continue to utilize the traditional C/S data structures along with the traditional MEDITECH report writer. The GUI for all applications has changed to provide a common user interface experience across the entire system. THE FOCUS ENVIRONMENT VERSUS THE TRADITIONAL C/S ENVIRONMENTThe new FOCUS environment offers many changes to the world of MEDITECH including the user experience with data entry, report writing, and the underlying database structures and programming language. That’s not all... the terminology has changed as well. Below is a comparison showing some of the differences in terminology and other report writing concepts between the FOCUS report writer and traditional Magic/Client Server report writer. DATA DEFINITION COMPARISON BETWEEN
TRADITIONAL AND FOCUS REPORT WRITERS| Magic/Client Server Report Writer | FOCUS Report Writer | | DPM | Object or Area | | Segment | Record or Group | | Subscript | Key | | Element | Field | | Index | Index | | Dictionary | Dictionary | | Attributes | Attributes | | Calculated Field | Computed Field | | Picture | Layout | | Macros | Rules | | Detail Segment | Detail Record | | MAGIC Language | No Coding Interface |
REPORT COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND FOCUS REPORT WRITERS| Magic/Client Server Report Writer | FOCUS Report Writer | | Macros | Rules | | Detail Segment | Detail Record | | MAGIC Language | No Coding Interface | | Picture | Layout | | Keyboard Interface | Drag and Drop |
The introduction of MEDITECH FOCUS (C/S 6.0) to the MEDITECH community has provided the opportunity for IPeople to expand our integration and report writing options, as well as our development strengths in support of our products and solutions. To assist in the success of the new MEDITECH environment, IPeople experts are on hand to help in the strategic planning of platform migration (including data conversion, report writing - real time querying of MEDITECH tables via ODBC, bidirectional interfaces, and training). IPeople’s solutions will support this new environment ensuring IPeople remains committed to providing the healthcare industry with tools and solutions for easily accessing and managing your MEDITECH data.
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