| Frequently Asked Questions |
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NOTE: Back up all fields and folders before upgrading to a newer version of Cottage Med, then import your records into the new version (call or write us for instructions if you need). Please share any changes to layouts and scripts with the programming team so we may include them in future versions for everyone to share. Open Source software succeeds when we put our fellow human being first. Please continue to share your donations of time and money with our team to move Cottage Med to the brighter future of open-source Electronic Medical Records. There are newer FAQ instructions included with the software itself. Please watch our video tutorials on the download page. They are the best way to start learning the software, and then dive right in. How do I start? How do I start?Open Cottage_Med, wait for it to open, then click the BIG red button to go to the first screen. This is the demographics page. Click in any field to enter information. There is a menu bar at the top of the screen and 8 yellow tabs below that. Click these labelled tabs to go to different parts of your patient's chart. You can cut, copy, and paste in any field until a note or field is signed or locked by the system for security. To start a progress note click on the tab for "Notes." Click the green button for the type of note you are writing, then start typing in the new window you see. You may insert boilerplate text by placing the cursor where you need and then click one of the green physical exam buttons in the upper right part of the screen. To write a prescription, please go to the bottom of the screen in the red prescription area and type what you want, hit the tab key for each field (dates are entered by the system automatically), click the first checkbox to flag your rx, then click the orange "Log" key above the rx window to log a phoned prescription or the orange "Print" key to print and log the rx. How do I dictate?Double click in the square under the word "Dictate:" at the top of the progress note windows. Record, pause, save as you wish. Ctrl-clicking the same square can erase the dictation. How do I dictate notes (the long version)?What's funny is this takes 2 seconds to show users in person, but it sounds like a chore in writing - once you try it you'll see what we mean and love it! You can dictate any note by starting in the "Notes" screen, click a green encounter button, then jump out of the new blank note by clicking on the yellow background of the Cottage Med screen. Now the dictation field is the bigger little box in your blank note under the word "Dictate". Double click this box, click the red record button to start and the stop button to stop. You can hear the note at any time after by double clicking the Dictation box in your note. You can erase dictation from the menu bar or with a Ctrl- mouse click. Why can't it find files when it runs?CottageMed learns as you use it. If it can’t find a file, please follow the onscreen instructions to show it where the file sits on your own computer. This ‘error’ message will go away as you use the program and teach it where your files are stored. All those files are included in the download. Another common beginner problem is the claim that 'it lost my data.' This always and inevitably occurs when a user enters data in FIND mode thinking that they are in BROWSE mode. You are entering a FIND, not new chart data, and of course there will be no data when you finish a find query. This is so common a mistake of new users that we have to beg you to read the Filemaker user manual carefully to understand all the power at your fingertips and use it wisely. Why does it print off the page?This information became obsolete with the 2009-2010 version 2.6.1 where we rewrote whole pages of the program to make it work on PC's which we now know have never had an intelligent way to adjust the 84% print scaling properly. (All printed forms are formatted to print at 84% of full screen size. On macintosh computers we have already set this preference for you. We have not yet found where this print parameter is stored on the many different PC computers. This is why some printouts are larger than one page until you set the print scale to 84% or less (if your computer has larger fonts).) Why do I get an error when clicking on the calendar (or other buttons) on the layout?There are a few file links which have to be tailored to your particular computer environment (usually PC) and application preferences (we wisely do not use Microsoft products, but other users certainly can). Please write us if you have any trouble fixing shortcuts or program links and aliases.
Why doesn't the "synch" button work?This feature is present but obsolete due to a lack of physician demand for synchronized data selections. (It does. The "Synch" button opens all databases relevant to a Palm Pilot or other PDA, runs their startup routines, and selects only active patients and all their chart contents less than 1 year old in preparation for synchronizing with your Palm Pilot. The actual "synch" operation is triggered on the Palm Pilot or Pocket PC with its "hotsync" button after Cottage Med's Synch button is pressed and subroutines completed.) How do I back up records?Copy all of the files (not folders) from your CottageMed folder to another hard drive, computer, or CD. Most of these files begin with "CTG_". We recommend hourly or daily backups to a separate hard drive volume, and weekly to monthly archival storage on a CD-R or DVD disk. You must stop all Filemaker programs before you backup your data. Only Filemaker Server can make automatic backups while running, but this is never recommended. Many backup and sync programs are available from third-party vendors, and other backup storage drives, tapes or cartridges are possible, but you must not run them while Filemaker is running at the same time. How do I upgrade to a newer version of Cottage Med?The upgrade process has been partly automated and is fairly painless. Please back up all records first with the "Backup" button on the opening home screen with the big red button to start. Then press the "Import Prior Records" button in the opening screen. Follow the instructions until you've opened Cottage Med and the routine finishes. Every other database will automatically run its own upgrade routine to choose "File" from the menu bar, then choose "Import" and then "File" for each one of your prior databases with the same names. All new data field names match the old ones. New fields added will have no old fields matched to them and will often be blank when first used. After importing for each of the 22-odd databases, your upgrade is done. Please check your files and file sizes and most recent (last are newest) records in each database to make sure they are the same before continuing your work and entering new information. How do I change to my address book program?Go to Scripts menu and open Scriptmaker, choose "Open Rolodex" script and edit it to point to your own address book with AppleScript or some Microsoft tool. How do I change to my preferred browser?Go to Scripts menu and open Scriptmaker, choose "Open Browser" script and edit it to point to your preferred browser with AppleScript or some Microsoft tool. How do I change the scheduling program?Go to Scripts menu and open Scriptmaker, choose the "Go To Scheduler" script, and edit it to point to your scheduler with AppleScript or other Microsoft tools. How do I store and view photographs?Click on the little squares to the left of the dictation square for the visit you're documenting. You can then cut and paste photos into the three windows you see for storing and viewing. Cottage Med won't open - what username should I use?'Hello' and 'Hello' for username and password. The username is identical to your password (please see the passwords section in the help file table of contents). We recommend changing your username and password for yourself and your office after downloading Cottage Med. Please see your FileMaker manual for more information. Is Cottage Med compatible with FileMaker version "blah"?YES. Cottage Med is fully tested on FileMaker versions 5 through 10. The current release runs on Filemaker v. 7-10, but we recommend Filemaker version 8 or 9. Filemaker version 7 was buggy and version 10 has no status bar on the left hand side which is a real handicap for some users. For future reference, what follows is our standard policy on the wisdom of Filemaker upgrades: We do not want to be part of the rapid pace and pressure in society and on consumers to constantly upgrade software. We want Cottage Med to remain affordable for doctors in developing countries and non-profit programs everywhere. Our upgrades will come slowly and responsibly as our patients need. Please use FileMaker versions 8 or 9 if available. Most commercial FileMaker medical record programs still use FileMaker Server 5.5 or 8 - most upgrades have no features that you need. Save your money to spend some more time with your children and spouse now that we have leapfrogged from FM 5/6 to FM 7-10 as of October 2009. Please keep those questions coming.
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