When you add a quick link to a facility on a patient's record, you are placing a shortcut on the View Patient Information screen for the purpose of sending messages. This allows you to simply click the name of that facility when you wish to send a new message about the patient. Note: Adding a quick link does not cause that patient to appear on the linked facility's screen (assuming the facility is online), only sending a message about the patient to that facility creates a link. Likewise, removing a quick link does not remove that patient from the other facility's screen, only the other facility can do that.

To add a facility quick link to a patient:

1. Go to the Main Window screen, click on the patient name in the Patient column. The View Patient Information screen displays.
2. Click Add in the Linked Mailboxes section, which opens the Facility Search screen.
3. On the Facility Search screen, enter the search criteria, then click Search. The Search Results screen displays. Tip: If the facility you are searching for is not listed in the search results, you may need to contact your Facility Administrator and request that the facility be added to the system.
4. On the Search Results screen, select the facility from the search results by clicking on its name, which opens the Select Mailbox screen.
5. . On the Select Mailbox screen, select the mailbox by clicking on its name, which opens the Mailbox Selection screen.
   Note: Mailboxes at online facilities often let you direct your messages to specific departments, however an online facility may have only one mailbox named "Main."
   Tip: Mailboxes at fax-only facilities direct messages to an individual's fax number. If you do not see the name of a specific contact, you may add a mailbox for this facility by clicking Add Contact on the menu bar. Once you save the new contact mailbox, you will be returned to the Select Mailbox screen. You can then link the facility to the patient.
6. The Mailbox Selection screen may display instructions for the mailbox you selected. Instructions are either defined by
   1) the facility themselves for online facilities,
   2) or by your facility administrator for fax-only facilities (facilities you add to the system for your local use).
7. After reading the instructions, click Save on the menu bar. The View Patient Information screen redisplays.The quick link for the selected facility is now listed in the Linked Mailboxes section, completing the process.

In the application, you can write and add notes to a patient record. Once the note is created, it is added to the patient's documents list (i.e., on the Documents screen) and is treated like any other document or e-Form used in the application. For example, you can send a patient note as an attachment to a message, or attach a signature to a note.
Note: The Note form is available only if your facility administrator has selected it to be visible on your specific work list. If you do not see Notes listed on the E-Forms drop-down list contact your facility administrator and request it.
Tip: To save time, use the Templates feature, on the menu bar, to insert frequently-typed text into the body of a note. Your facility administrator can create customized templates as needed.

1. Go to the Main Window screen, click on the patient name in the Patient column. The View Patient Information screen displays.
2. Click Documents on the menu bar. The Document Management screen displays.
3. On the menu bar, click E-Forms, and select Notes from the drop-down list to access the Patient Information screen.
4. In the Note Document Name field, enter a descriptive name. This is the name that is displayed on the Document Management screen, as well as the attachment name in a message.
5. Type the contents of the note in the text box. If templates are available, click the Templates button to display and select the one appropriate for the note.
6. Click the appropriate Save option on the menu bar.
   Note: Upon saving, the form is listed as a document on the Document Management screen. If you need to access a note at a later time, go to the Document Management screen and click on the name of the note.
7. Once the note is saved, if approval signatures are required, the application gives you the option to print the note to obtain a physical signature, and then fax it, using the application, to a fax-only facility, or to sign the form electronically and send it online.

The patient task list is similar to a "to do" list for each patient. Each task has an associated due date. If the date has past or is today's date, the status of the task will be "Due." If the task date is one or more days in the future, the status of the task will be "Pending." In ProviderLink, there are two types of "message" tasks; 1) No Reply From and 2) Respond To. Before a patient may be removed from a work list, all tasks must be completed relating to that patient. Messages tasks are displayed on the Task screen.
Note:
1. No Reply From - This task is created when you send a Request Message to another facility. Clicking on the task description opens the Message screen. This task is completed when either a) the receiving facility replies to the request or b) the sending facility withdraws the request. Upon completion, the task is removed from the task list, and a history record is created on the History screen, stating the task was completed.
2. Respond To - This task is created when another facility sends a message to your facility. Clicking on the task description opens the Message screen of the received request message. This type of task is completed by replying to the message. When a reply is sent, the task is removed from the task list and, a history record is created on the History screen, stating the task was completed.

1. Go to the Main Window screen.
2. Locate the patient's name, and in the Tasks column, click on the number (a dash in the column indicates there are no tasks). The Tasks screen appears, displaying all pending and due message tasks for that patient.
3. On the Tasks screen, click on the description for the task you want to complete.
4. The Message screen displays. Complete the task by using the Withdraw option. Begin by clicking Withdraw on the menu bar of the Message screen. The Withdraw screen displays.
5. On the Withdraw screen, enter the reason for manually withdrawing the message in the Viewable Comments area.
6. Click the Withdraw Reply Requested button. The Task screen redisplays, and the task is removed from the patient record.

To complete a "Respond To " task:

1. On the Tasks screen, click on the description for the task you want to complete. The Message screen displays.
2. Complete the task by using the Reply option. Begin by clicking Reply on the menu bar of the Message screen. The Create Message screen displays.
3. On the Create Message screen, notice that the recipient field is already populated with the facility that requested the reply. Complete the subject and message field, and attached any documents as needed.
4. Click Send to transmit the message.The Task screen redisplays, and the task is removed from the patient record.

When using ProviderLink, if a pop up message displays telling you that a "Runtime Error" has occurred and asks if you wish to debug, you should click 'No" and proceed using the application. The error message is generated by the Windows Internet Explorer browser. This feature can be disabled so that the error message does not display when using ProviderLink.

To disable script debugging in Windows Internet Explorer (IE):

1. On the Internet Explorer menu bar (i.e., not ProviderLink's menu bar, but the one at the very top of the screen), click Tools, and select Internet Options from the drop-down list. An Internet Options screen displays in a new window.
2. On the Internet Options screen, click the Advanced tab. The Settings screen displays.
3. On the Settings screen in the Browsing section, check the box titled Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer).
4. Click Apply at the bottom of the screen.
5. Click OK at the bottom of the screen to save the changes and close this window.

When using this application, you have the ability to sign any document, whether added electronically or by fax attaching. There are three ways to obtain signatures for documents: 1) electronic signatures using a physician's user name and password; 2) printing the form for signature and scanning it into ProviderLink with a bar-coded cover page; 3) sending the document to the physician's office with a bar-coded, fax-back cover page. Once the form is signed, the signature is stored with the document in the Documents list, and the form is tagged with the signature icon.

Electronically Sign
Most skilled facilities, various other healthcare, and State or Federal organizations will accept electronic signatures on documents. In fact, most of these organizations have a written policy for electronic signature acceptance. You will need to verify your organization's electronic signature policy before using the application to sign your documents.

To electronically sign a document:

1. Go to the Main Window screen, in the Documents column, click the date or None.
2. On the Documents screen, click E-Forms on the menu bar, which displays a drop-down menu listing all available E-Forms.
3. Select the E-Forms to be filled out; the form displays on the screen.
4. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Signatures, and then select Electronically Sign from the drop-down list. The Add Signature screen appears.
   Note: If the Signatures option does not appear on the menu bar, you need to save the document.
5. Select your name from the I am drop-down list
6. Enter your password.
7. Click the Sign Document button. The system re-displays the form or document you signed. Notice the menu bar now has fewer options.

Note: HIPAA regulations require that healthcare organizations archive a copy of every form that is signed or sent to other facilities. Because of this, ProviderLink locks the form as soon as it is signed or attached to a message and it may not be altered. When you need to change the data on the form, you must create a copy of the form with the Save Copy option on the menu bar and change the form data on the copy. If required, the new copy of the form will need to be signed.

Print for Signature
After completing a form, you may print the document and attach it to the patient's chart so that the physician can sign it. With the document, the system will generated a bar-coded cover page that is used to scan (fax) the signed document back into the patient's document list. The signed document is stored with the patient's record and can be transmitted to anyone who needs it.

To print a document for signature:

1. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Signatures, and then select Print for Signature from the drop-down list. The system will render the form as a PDF document and you will be asked to open it using your PDF reader.
   Note: If the Signatures option does not appear on the menu bar, you need to save the document.
2. Click the Open button to open your PDF reader and view the file. The first page will be the bar-coded cover page, followed by the document itself.
   Note: If you are using Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed, Internet Explorer may display a security message at the top of the page: and prevent the file from appearing. If this occurs, simply click the yellow security message and, when the pop-up menu appears, choose to Down Load the File.
3. Using your PDF reader's print function (usually File -> Print), print all pages of the document on your desktop or network printer.
4. Place the form where the physician can sign it.
5. Once the form is signed, place the bar-coded cover page on top of the form and fax it to the number on the cover page. Once the ProviderLink system receives the fax and reads the bar code, the signed document will appear in the patient's documents list.

Send for Signature
If the physician is not in your facility to sign the document, you may use ProviderLink to send the document to a fax machine for signature. A fax-back cover page is provided so that, after the FL-2 is signed, the physician may send the document back to you through ProviderLink. When it arrives, the system will automatically route the signed document to the list of documents in the patient's record.

To send a document to a fax contact for signature:

1. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Signatures and then select Send for Signature from the drop-down list.
2. The Create Message screen appears with the document already attached, the Subject is completed, and the Request a Reply and Create a Reminder Task check boxes are selected.
   Note: If the Signatures option does not appear on the menu bar, you need to save the document.
3. Click the To Recipients drop-down arrow, and select the appropriate distribution list or mailbox for the office of the person whose signature you need.
4. If the mailbox does not appear in the drop-down list, you can find it by clicking the Search button.
5. In the Subject field, enter an appropriate message.
   Note: The message subject is important for several reasons. First, the subject alerts the recipient to the potential importance of your message. Second, the message subject may assist the recipient to route your message to the person or department who can best complete your request. Also, ProviderLink uses your message subject as the link to open the message and displays it in the Message History. A descriptive subject should give users an idea of what the message contains without having to open the message itself.
6. In the Message field, if needed, enter a message in the text box.
   If there are any required form fields that have not been filled in or formatted correctly, you will see red error messages highlighting the errors. To fix the errors, you will need to return to the form by clicking on its name in the bread crumb trail
7. When you are ready to send the message, click Send. The system will send the document for signature, create a reminder task (to remind you that you are waiting for a signature) and return you to the Document screen.
   Note: When the physician signs the document and faxes it back using the bar-coded, fax-back cover page, ProviderLink will read the bar code and route the signed document to the patient's record. You will see an unread message for that patient appear on your work list. When the signed document arrives, the system will also mark the reminder task as complete.
   View/Hide screen shot

In ProviderLink, faxes coming into your facility can be stored in a facility folder, then processed using the Document Viewer screen. A folder is a type of document repository. The Document Viewer screen is used to process incoming faxes by sending messages or by simply moving documents to facility-defined folders. This screen also allows faxes to be split into separate documents, renamed, and processed in a single step. The manner in which a fax is processed depends on the type of facility folder in which the fax is stored. There are two types of folders:

- Message Folder: folder that contains faxes and documents to be processed as message attachments and sent to a facility mailbox and added to a patient record.
- Facility Folder: document storage folder that is not associated with a particular patient record.

To process an incoming fax stored in a message folder:

1. Go to the Choose Work List View screen, click on the View drop-down menu, and select a facility folder. The Documents screen opens, which contains the incoming faxes.
2. From the Documents screen, click on the fax name in the first column, which opens the Document Viewer screen. Faxes are processed using the features and options on this screen.
3. In a Message folder, faxes and documents are processed as a message attachment, which is sent to a mailbox and added to a patient record. Metadata can be added to describe the fax or document's contents. This will help users at your facility to search for the document.
   Options for processing a fax include:
   * Originator - Select the facility or individual that sent the fax from either the drop-down list or by using the Search feature. * This is a required field, but only if the Mailbox option is displayed, or when the Folders options is displayed and a document is forwarded using "Save and Reply."
   * Page(s) - Enter the page number(s) of the incoming fax to attach (added) to a patient record. You can enter either:
   1) a single page number such as 24
   2) a page range such as 1-5
   3) specific pages separated by commas such as 2,4,7,10
   However, a page range and comma separated cannot be combined.
   * Document Name - Rename all or part of the incoming fax. The new name is displayed on the document moved to the designated folder or mailbox, not on the Document Viewer screen.
   * Category - Select the category from the drop-down list to assign to the document.
   * Category fields - Enter metadata (keywords to help users to search for the document or fax).
   * Patient - Select the patient(s) records to attach new document by using the Search feature. This is a required field if the Mailbox option is displayed.
   * Mailbox - select a facility mailbox to route the message.
   * More - if needed, add another row of field inputs for Page(s), Document Name, Patient, and Mailbox.
   * Remove document from fax queue - if checked, the document will be removed from the fax queue upon save. Leave this unchecked if attaching partial document and there are pages to attach to a different patient.
4. Select one of the three Save options to finish processing the fax.
   * Save - Saves the document to the designated patient record.
   * Save and Next - Saves the document to the designated patient record and loads next oldest non-locked incoming fax, moves the document to trash bin.
   * Save and Reply - Saves the document to the designated patient record, and moves the document to trash bin, then displays the Create Message screen.

To process an incoming fax stored in a facility folder:

1. Step one is same as above.
2. A facility folder stores documents and is not associated with a particular patient record. Metadata can be added to describe the fax or document's contents. This will help users at your facility to search for the document.
   * Originator - Select the facility or individual that sent the fax from either the drop-down list or by using the Search feature. * This is a required field, but only if the Mailbox option is displayed, or when the Folders options is displayed and a document is forwarded using "Save and Reply."
   * Pages - Enter the page number(s) of the incoming fax to attach (added) to a patient record. You can enter either:
   1) a single page number such as 24
   2) a page range such as 1-5
   3) specific pages separated by commas such as 2,4,7,10
   However, a page range and comma separated cannot be combined.
   * Document Name - Rename all or part of the incoming fax. The new name is displayed on the document moved to the designated folder or mailbox, not on the Document Viewer screen.
   * Category - Select the category from the drop-down list to assign to the document.
   * Category fields - Enter metadata (keywords to help users to search for the document or fax).
   * Patient - Select the patient(s) records to attach new document by using the Search feature.
   * Folder - Select a facility folder from the drop-down list to route messages. This option displays only if this is a folder type folder.
   * More - Click to add another row of field inputs for Page(s), Document Name, etc.
   * Status - enter metadata.
   * Remove document from fax queue - same as above.
3. Select one of the three Save options to finish processing the fax.

The application includes system-defined facility reports that provide facility statistics tracked by the application. In general, the reports summarize the number of documents, messages, authorizations, patients records created, and changes to patient status within a user specified time period. You have the option of viewing and printing the reports as either an Adobe PDF file or in spreadsheet format.

Note: The Report feature is only available to a domain or facility administrator. You MUST have Adobe Acrobat® Reader software installed on your computer system to be able to create and view reports in PDF format. This software is free and can be obtained from Adobe's web site: www.adobe.com.

To run a report:

1. Go to the Main Window screen, on the menu bar click Reports.
2. From the drop-down menu, select Date Range Reports. The Reports screen displays.
3. Select the type of report you want to run from the drop-down list in the Report Name field.
4. Enter a beginning date for the report in the From Date field or use the pop-up calendar.
5. Enter an ending date for the report in the To Date field or use the pop-up calendar. Leaving the To Date blank will run the report through the current date.
6. Click the output format which to display the report in the Output Format field. PDF is recommended, which requires the Adobe Reader to view the report.
7. Click Generate Report to run and display the report. The File Download screen displays.
8. Click Open to view the facility report.

Following is a description of each type of report.

• Documents Sent by Mailbox: Shows how many documents were sent by day from each mailbox in your facility. The report details a number for each type of e-form or user created document.
• Documents Received by Mailbox: Shows how many documents were received by day to each mailbox in your facility. The report details a number for each type of e-form or user created document.
• Documents Imaged by Facility: Shows how many documents were imaged by day in your facility. This report will display the number of Print Attached, Fax Imaged and File Attached.
• Number of Status Changes by Facility: Shows the number of patient status changes by day. The report will display the number of each status, Admitted, Discharged, Deceased, Active or Inactive.
• Number of Patients Created by Facility: Shows how many patients were created each day by your facility.
• Authorizations Created/Received by Mailbox: Shows how many authorizations were created or received by day in each mailbox in your facility.
• Authorizations Approved/Denied: Shows how many authorizations were approved and how many denied by day in your facility.
• Authorization Detail: Lists patient specific detail about authorizations created by your facility.
• Messages Received by Mailbox: Shows how many messages were received by day for each mailbox in your facility. The report details a number for regular messages, requests and responses.
• Messages Sent by Mailbox: Shows how many messages were sent by day from each mailbox in your facility. The report details a number for regular messages, requests and responses.