Common Questions

Saving Data in a PDF Form

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Have you filled out a PDF, only to find that it wasn’t there when you tried to save the form? Did you save a form of data and believe it to be fine, but then e-mail it and the recipient(s) said that no data was there?

Next time, don’t choose Save when you are finished. Instead, choose to print and then name the PDF writer as the printer.

Print Dialog Box in a Browser

 

 

 

The user will be prompted for a filename and location. The data will be saved with the form and then viewable by the people who need to see the form after you send it.

Adding Your Own Custom Background to Teams

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Would you like to use your own custom background in Teams, instead of one of the default images?

Create an image (1920×1080 is the recommended size) and save it to the following location:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Teams\Backgrounds\Uploads

Click the Background Settings button when you are about to enter a meeting and scroll toward the bottom of the Background Settings pane.

Click on the image of your choice and then click the Join Now button to enter the meeting.

Changing Your Background in a Teams Video

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Are you using Teams for video meetings? Here is how to change your background to one of the available built-in images.

Click the Join button to enter your meeting pre-stage screen.

Find and click the Background Settings button, located beneath the Join Now button in the video preview screen.

Teams BG Image Button

 

 

Note the Background Options pane that opens on the right side of the screen.

Click the background of your choice. The first in the list (circle with a slash) will cancel the background image and show your actual environment. The second item will show only a blurred background. All other options are images you may choose. After selecting an image, click the Join Now button to enter your meeting.

Setting up Rules in Outlook Desktop

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Getting flooded with messages that you don’t want and all have a common theme (from the same person, the same subject, etc.)? Outlook enables you to set up a rule to clean it all up in one fell swoop.

  • Right-click one of the messages.
  • Select Rules and then Create Rules.
  • Click Advanced Options in the dialog box that pops up. The advanced options will give you more control with your rule than just the few options first presented.
  • Choose a condition, such as the subject containing certain text. (Since you right-clicked a specific message, the sender and subject should appear in the options from which you’ll choose.)
  • Click the Next button.
  • Choose what you want to do with the message, such as delete it. (If you just want to file the messages away and read them at a later time, choose to move the message into a folder.) Click the Next button to continue.
  • Add any exceptions (although this is rare).
  • Specify a name for the rule. This takes the theory that you may have several rules as time goes by and naming a rule with something obvious means you won’t need to go into the rule details to determine why you created it in the first place.
  • Click the Run this rule now on messages already in the inbox checkbox. This is crucial for cleanup when you have been plagued by a lot of messages for which you are writing a rule.

Understanding the Billing Tab in Elite

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Are you at a loss with the Billing tab in Elite when you’re working on a patient report? Here is a TechTip that might help.

Elite Billing Tab

 

 

 

Specifically, let’s talk about the CMS Service Level field.

CMS Service Level Elite Field

 

 

When you see this field, ask yourself: What is the level of service provided to the patient during transport? (Because of how we assemble resources, it is not always obvious if a patient was transported ALS or BLS.  We need to identify if the paramedic upgraded a call or if it was downgraded to BLS.)

  • If the patient received ALS service during transport, pick any option that contains ALS (ALS1, ALS1 Emergency or ALS Level 2 – it doesn’t matter which).
  • If the patient received BLS service during transport, pick any option that contains BLS (BLS or BLS Emergency – it doesn’t matter which).
  • Disregard other choices.

Note: The choices in this field are driven at the national level but not all of the choices apply to how we do business.  We have adapted what you enter to get the information we need locally, which is why you can choose any ALS, any BLS and disregard the rest.

Viewing a Patient’s Previous 12-Lead EKGs

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

ImageTrend (ELITE) recently added the functionality to view a patient’s previous 12-lead EKGs and other vitals.  Here are the steps you need to take:

  • Begin entering demographic information for you patient:
    • Use as much personally identifying information as possible (minimum of 2 pieces) to identify the correct patient including Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Home Address.
    • Note that, if the system finds a matching record, a yellow bar with a blue Find a Repeat Patient link will appear at the top and the Find a Repeat Patient button will turn blue — Use this button whenever possible to keep multiple patient encounters grouped together.
      Repeat PT Button

 

 

 

  • Click the Find a Repeat Patient button.
  • Select the proper patient from the list of possible matches.
  • Click on the Timeline power tool at the right of the screen. (This allows you to view information from previous incidents, such as vitals, EKGs, previous dispatch reasons, and provider impression.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Select the Medical Devices in the filter criteria to view a list of EKGs, and click the eye icon to view the EKG, itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions about how to use this function may be directed to Captain Tim Burns or FF Benjamin Brighton.

Recording Meds That Are Not in Elite

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Scenario: Your patient has a bottle of medicine that you need to record but one that is not in Elite. There’s no Other option in the drop-down list. How should you record it?

Click in the Other Medical History input box and add the medicine(s) there.

Other Medical History Input Box

 

 

 

 

Follow this up with e-mailing the name of the medicine(s) to Tim Burns (Tim.Burns@montgomerycountymd.gov) and he will have the medicines added to the Current Medications drop-down list. Please double-check your spelling.

Reporting a Downgrade in Elite

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Scenario: You are an ALS provider who needs to report a downgrade in Elite. The BLS provider has transported the patient in his/her ambulance and you intend to try to return to Station 8 without being dispatched. What do you need to report?

Ensure you are writing the report with the Unit/Call Sign as the ALS unit on the call.

Switch to the Call Info menu and Disposition tab to change the Primary Role of the Unit at the End of Incident  to Non-Transport-Other Reason and The Treatment & Transport Disposition field to Operational Support Provided – Patient Contact (if there was PT contact).Disposition Fields for a Downgrade in Elite

 

 

 

Leave the Patient Side Time blank. (Yes, it will be red, but it won’t trigger the additional validation rules this way.)

Remember, just as with the previous version of eMEDS, you still need to write a narrative to explain why you chose to downgrade the patient.