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Advanced SMARText issues
This page is only applicable for SOAPware 2008 and later versions
How do I...
- show and hide unused SMARText items?
- determine what type of SMARText items have usage points added to pick list items in which fields?
- explain the points added to the usage score based on location in the SMARText search list and in Quick Access List?
- prevent medication SMARText items from being in lists for Assessments and visa-versa?
- find and use the chief complaint SMARText items that help the pick lists function better?
- determine which fields’ pick lists can be improved by entering a chief complaint?
- fix the items in a pick list to always appear in the same sequence/location?
- make use of the Usage Setter?
- prevent a medication item inadvertently used once in the assessment field from showing up in the assessment field’s pick lists in the future?
Rules for how Pick List Items are Selected and Ranked
Unused Checkbox
Checking or un-checking Show Unused in the pick list dialogs is a decision for the user to make as they are looking for ST items. This offers an option to expand and contract the number of items in the list. The default is for it to be unchecked.
ST items that have never been used in a particular field/setting will have a usage count of zero and thus will not be included in pick lists unless a check is placed in front of Show Unused. In other words, there has to be a check in the box in order for ST items having a count of zero (i.e. Unused) to be placed in the list. The default setting is for this option not to have a check. So this prevents ST items from cluttering up the list if they have never been used in that field even if they contain a matching keyword or shortcut, etc. Within actively viewing within a pick list, the user can check-uncheck the Unused checkbox to expand/decrease the number of items listed. This resolves the issue in earlier versions where there were often medication items in pick lists for the Assessment field and visa versa.
None of the following information is particularly important or necessary to understand in order to use SOAPware efficiently. Most of these actions on this page are intended to be automatic and otherwise fairly hidden to the user. If you are a novice, your time is likely better spent in other areas.
Prior to SOAPware-2008, the pick lists in SOAPware were not particularly useful. The following is somewhat for the brave and adventuresome types and it is mostly hidden behind our graphical user interface. User do not necessarily need to understand any of this. So, please don't panic at the apparent complexity. The complexity is actually hidden in the background so that the lists just work better. The explanations are included here for completeness.
Location point additions to the Usage Score in the SMARText and Quick Access Lists
For specified fields, ST items types that are intended to be used in a particular field automatically have one point added to their usage count when that field is active. For example, when in Active problems, this causes 1 point to be auto-added to the usage count of all Structured Dx ST item types.
Current Relationships where a point is automatically added
| Field | SMARText Item Types |
| Assessment, Active Problems and Inactive Problems - | Structured DX Items |
| Plan - | Structured Plan Items and Order Entry Items |
| Medications - | Structured Rx Items |
Chief Complaint can affect usage count in pick lists
If a Chief Complaint ST item type (i.e. Item type is Chief Finding Specific) is used in the Subjective, this action triggers the possibility for additional points to be added to ST items in lists in other fields. In the subjective chief complaint pick lists, these items have RFE’s (Reason for Encounter) in the front of the description. Using these when documenting Chief Complaints will result in pick lists acting much smarter.
This quickly becomes a bit complicated to explain, but is based on a system we are using to relate ST items in SOAPware. (SWICPC)
In this generation of SOAPware, only the first RFE/Chief Complaint entered into the subjective triggers actions elsewhere.
If a ST item type already within a pick list has a usage count above zero (from the Location Ranking Rule, above), then more usage count points may be added if that ST item is in the same system (i.e. Respiratory, Cardiovascular, etc.) as the Chief Complaint (or RFE). If the ST item in the list has an identical correlation to the chief complaint item, then even more points are added. For example, if the chief complaint or reason for encounter is a follow up for hypertension, then the ST items to indicate a diagnosis/assessment of Hypertension will be in the top of the list when the Assessment field is active. Similarly, when in the mediation field, medications for hypertension will come to the top of the list when the medication field is active. To see an actual demonstration of this action, review the bottom half of this page.
In SOAPware-2008, the chief complaint associations are being created for use in the pick lists for the Assessment, Medication and Plan fields.
Pre-associating a usage count to SMARText items in specific pick lists
For some types of pick lists, it is preferable for the items in the list to always appear in the same sequence, and it is preferable for them not to change their order or sequence based on usage or other factors. There is now an option to create a pre-set sequence in a pick list of its ST items via setting the usage count to high numbers. For example, you could set the ST item you want at the top of a list to have a usage count of 1000. Then, set the usage count of the ST you want to always be the second ST item in the list to be 999, etc. By setting the usage numbers at a high levels, and in a preferred numerical sequence, this will actually result in the same as turning off the usage sorting and fix the items in a list to be in a preferred order.
The button to bring up the Usage Setter dialog is the one that has 123 in the icon and is just to the right of the cancel button in the image above. 
In the image above, the usage for the Albuterol Inhaler is being set to 1000 so that it will always be at the top of the list until some other medicine is used somewhere over 1000 times.
In the F11 and Shift + F11 pick lists, the Usage Setter button is in the lower left of the dialog as seen below.
The ability to reset the usage count for a ST item is useful in other ways. For example, if a ST item is used in the wrong area, by accident (e.g. a medication was inadvertently entered into Assessment), the user could reset the count to zero, thus removing it from the pick list (unless they put a check in the “Unused” option described previously).
Note: The ability to set the usage count is not fully implemented in the first release of SOAPware-2008. Sometimes, in the QA list, the usage count can't be changed. If this is not functioning properly in the release you have, it will likely be working with the next update.
Note: With F11 and Shift + F11, there will be differences in ST pick list items presented based on different parameter settings
- F11 and uncheck of unused
- F11 and check of unused
- Shift +F11 and uncheck of unused
- Shift + F11 and check of unused
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