Tips On How to Get the Most Out of Activity BarCoding Search this wiki

Some tips on scanning your diary with Activity BarCoding

1. Use the scanner wherever possible. If you scan a session it takes far less effort than using a computer.
2. If you’re busy, scan the patient’s barcode then forget about scanning until the end when things are slower.
3. If you don’t have a patient’s barcode, scan a "temporary" (dummy) patient barcode. You can add the patient’s number online or using a "fix dummy" barcode.
4. Scanning a start barcode stops the last session.
5. If you’re not sure if you scanned stop, scan stop again. The system is smart enough to count only the first time you scan stop.
6. NIPA sessions become IPA sessions if you scan a patient’s barcode.
7. Keep in your notes the barcodes of your current patients. Take their stickers if available.

Tips on using the online component of ABC

1. Use the scanner wherever possible. If you scan a session it takes far less effort than using a computer.
2. Sessions with warnings will not submit when you submit the whole day. You will have to mark these sessions as submitted if you want to override the warnings.
3. In the month calendar at the top left hand corner of the screen, days will appear bold if there are sessions you need to look at.
4. There are four different ways to look at your diary – grid view, Outlook view, direct entry, and patient history. Work out what works best for you.

Tips for administrators

1. When staff become used to the system, give them auto-approve privilege. This cuts down the effort required of you clicking approve each day.
2. Keep the number of interventions to a minimum. We recommend approximately 6. If you have more than ten, you are probably recording at a level that is too fine grained for use.
3. Encourage staff to be accurate rather than attempting to fill every hole in the day. Be prepared for a drop in utilization as the increased accuracy flows through to reports.
4. You can filter by staff member – see the drop down under filters.
5. Keep data entry requirements low. Most data collected in organizations is not used effectively. Limit collection to what is used constructively in your organisation.