Entering provider records

The next task is to create a small data record representing each provider who might operate CaptureDent™ at this practice.

The procedure for entering provider records is nearly identical to that for entering patient records — once you’ve typed in a few provider records, switching to patients will be easy.

On-screen controls for provider records

Provider records are entered and maintained using the left side of the page you’re already on — the “Practice” page — and the spreadsheet-style grid at the bottom of the page.

In the “Selected provider” box you’ll see a set of labelled boxes into which you can type information, plus a row of buttons, shown above, at the top.

Using these buttons you can create new provider records, search existing records for a specific provider, erase the data filled into the text boxes, go in to edit that information, and cancel or confirm an operation in progress. Depending on what you’re doing at a given time, some buttons will be enabled and others will be grayed out to show that they aren’t active.

The illustration to the left shows the buttons for editing the selected record and tells what each does. Later in this section we’ll examine most of these buttons.

With the exception of the “Search” button, all of these are used when entering and editing provider records.

The data entry procedure

To begin entering your first provider record, click the “Create new record” button (with the white star). The indicator to its left should now say New record. Note that if a record had been showing in the boxes beneath, the boxes would have been cleared, ready for you to type new information.

Type in a unique abbreviation, or “ID,” for the first provider. This is typically that person’s initials, but can be any identifying code that your practice prefers to use. It’s common to use all capital letters for ID codes, so they’ll be visually distinctive. A little care here can pay off in the future by helping to make your use of CaptureDent easier and more productive.

As with patient records, if you try to save a provider record that has the same ID code as an existing record, a warning will appear saying that you’ll have to choose a different ID.

Next, type the provider’s first and last name into the other boxes provided; a middle name or initial is optional. If feasible, it’s a good idea to use mixed upper and lower case when entering names, so that reports, printouts, and other CaptureDent output will have a professional appearance — more like personally prepared records or correspondence.

After entering the provider’s name, click the “OK” button (with the green check-mark). If you want to to start over, click the “Erase” button to clear all text boxes. To abandon this record and leave data entry mode, click “Cancel” (with the red X-mark).

When you click the “OK” button, the record will be stored in the database and displayed in the spreadhseet-like grid at the bottom of the page, as shown below. As you enter each provider, his or her record will appear in this grid.

The providers grid and alphabetic index tabs

You can click any row in the grid to select that provider — when you do so, that provider’s information will appear in the “Selected Provider” text boxes. You can then edit the record by clicking the “Edit record” button (with the picture of a pencil point). Once editing, simply proceed as if entering a new record.

The alphabetic tabs across the bottom of this grid will let you locate providers easily, even if your practice has a large staff. These tabs control which provider records will appear in the grid, and so which records you can select, view, edit, and so forth.

If you click the “All” tab at the bottom right of the grid, all provider records will be displayed in the grid. Click a letter to see just providers whose last initial is that letter, as in a mechanical telephone index. This index is more useful for viewing patient records than providers, but available here too in case you need it.

The “star” tab at far right is special. It will take you to the results of the most recent search — if any — or other lookup action. (Searching for records is covered in the manual’s tutorial section.)

Finishing the task

Repeat the data entry procedure for each provider at this practice: Create a new record, choose an ID that doesn’t conflict with any existing ID, type in the ID and name, then click “OK.”

When done entering provider records, you’re through with the “Practice” page.