Update Notes

Software Additions

• AAIMS Certified for submission to Alberta Health & Wellness. This version supports the new AAIMS patient care report (PCR) and has a module designed to prepare batch files for submission to the AAIMS website. The submission process has been tested and subsequently certified by Alberta Health & Wellness. To deal with all eventualities that may occur, the module allows a user to:
  
  • Verify PCR’s to ensure that they comply with AAIMS business rules.
    
  • Create an XML batch file for submission.
    
  • Mark selected PCR’s as failed if they are rejected by the AAIMS website.
    
  • Remark them as fixed once the user has addressed the issues identified by AAIMS.
    
  • Re-submit the fixed PCR’s in the subsequent batches.
    
  
  
• Divisions are now part of AmbuStats. If an ambulance service is providing support to more than one municipality, then each municipality can be assigned a division. All billing reports and patient care reports can be run for a specific division, a selected group of divisions or all divisions.
  
  
• The billing menu now has a section for Agency reports so that selected billing reports can be printed for a specific agency.
  
  
• Trip Log reports have been added to the billing menu and can be printed showing trip information only or trip and billing information.
  
  
• Cheque Search screen to help find the correct invoice for application of a cheque when the cheque arrives without proper documentation.
  
  
• Four new staff reports that provide summary information for:
  
  • All medics (Active and Terminated)
    
  • Active Medics Only
    
  • APPA Card (with expiry dates)
    
  • Driver’s License Abstract (with abstract dates)
  
  
• Data Entry Rules for over 60 data elements that allow each Ambulance Service to configure a data element with the following settings:
  
  • Mandatory data element (Validation fails if a value is not entered)
    
  • Enabled data element (allows or prevents access to the data element on the data entry screen)
    
  • Default value (program assigns the default value to the data element when a new PCR is input)
  
  
• Multiple PCR types. In addition to the Alberta Health PCR, other types can be assigned. This allows AmbuStats to differentiate between the different types so that only Alberta Health PCR’s are submitted to their website.
  
  
• Ambulance Station table and form that allows each Service to assign a Station Number, Station Name, Longitude and Latitude for each station. Station Numbers are mandatory for Alberta Health submission and are assigned by Alberta Health (as far we know)
  
  
• Backup tools to back up the Access database either as a full backup or as a text file backup which backs up the data to text files.
  
  
• Record Locks. This feature flags Account as active when a screen opens that can modify the record. Other users in a multi-user environment cannot access the record until the person using it closes the record. (This does not prevent reports from running as they do not change data)
  
  
• AAIMS Verification. PCR’s can be verified individually or as a batch. A report is displayed that shows all data elements that failed the verification and the reason for the failure.

Software Improvements

• All data elements collected on the AAIMS PCR can be entered into AmbuStats (not just selected data elements).
  
  
• Unified Reporting Menu for Statistical and Billing reports allow the user to set criteria such as the date range, division, etc. and then print any or all reports with the same settings.
  
  
• The Billing Date can be changed when a billing transaction is being processed. A Billing Date can also be set for all transactions and will continue to bill using that date until it is changed. The program prompts each time it is opened if the billing date is not the current date.
  
  
• Invoices draw their information directly from the PCR and Client Account so if an address is incorrect, it can be changed in the Client Account screen and all invoices (both new and existing) will reflect the new address. Also, if a piece of information is wrong on a PCR and is corrected, the invoice for that PCR will reflect the change if it is a data element that is displayed on the invoice.
  
  
• The Medic criteria for selected statistical reports allow the user to select All, Specific, Active Medics Only and Inactive Medics Only. The previous version only allows All or Specific.
  
  
• The Billing Plan screen has been improved by displaying a list of billing plans on the left and the details for the selected plan on the right.
  
  
• The Program Users screen has been improved by displaying a list of users on the left and the details for the selected user on the right.
  
  
• All AAIMS value tables are included in the Setup Menu so that a value addition, change or deletion can be corrected immediately. A new version of AmbuStats will not be required for this type of change.