The main user interface of the Neuron Tool Kit is organized in a very clean hierarchy within the browser window, which scales smoothly to make the best use of a wide array of screen sizes. The application screen uses a tab-and-menu-style layout to segregate information into appropriate groups for ease of viewing. Further, tabs and menus are the basic components used to define access permissions for user roles. For more information on security, please see the [System Administration Guide]. The following guide walks you through each part of the application screens and discusses the basic functions of the components found therein.
Every page of the browser app has the application bar at the top. To the left, you have the name of the currently logged in user, along with a link that allows a user to logout. In the center of the application bar is the name of the clinical account that this user has selected. For more information about the account in Neuron, see the [System Administration Guide]. The account name is accompanied by a link that allows the user to switch to another clinical account, be aware that this requires a user to re-authenticate to ensure only authorized access to clinical accounts. On the far right is a Preferences link that provides access to an array of settings. The options available on this screen are based on the user’s role; all users have access to the user profile options, but only account administrators have access to account settings.
Below the application bar is space for a logo. In your application, you may substitute any logo you like during application configuration. Just below the logo area, and positioned to the right, are the Information Tabs of the application. These tabs represent the top-level separation of information within the application.
Activity Tab
The Activity tab is a powerful feature of the underlying framework. Any time a user begins a data entry wizard, the system automatically creates a link to that wizard on the activity tab. As the user enters information in the wizard, that information is actively stored to the database. In the event of a connection interruption, the user may resume work in the same wizard by selecting the item from the activity list.
Admin Tab
The Admin tab includes a wide array of information menus for administrative configuration. This entire tab, or any of the menus on this tab may be hidden from non-administrative users by using the roles and permissions module. Items on the information menu that are not visible due to screen size will be available to the user under the More item on the far right.
Patients
The patients tab can include any number of lists that show all patients, all encounters, or any subset of either patients or encounters. Such lists are configured in the application metadata and populated by the rule engine.
Staff Tab(based on configuration)
When a user is associated with a staff member (see the [System Administration Guide] for more information), this tab will dynamically load when the user logs in. The content of this tab is scoped to patients, encounters, and events that are directly associated with the associated staff member. This is a convenient way to present the most relevant information to clinical staff.
New Results Tab
The New Results tab shows electronically received results for both lab and radiology orders. Staff can view the details of the received information, and complete a review action to accept these results into the patient chart. In addition, the New Results tab also has lists to display information about electronically transmitted result messages that did not match to a patient or order in the system.
New Activity Tab
The New Activity tab can be used to support a number of different work flows within a system. In the demonstration example, the new activity tab displays newly entered orders, which require additional verification by clinical staff in order to become active. In this way, the new activity tab functions as an application-wide worklist for staff. An alternate implementation of a list on the new activity tab is the Incomplete Tests list, which shows active lab orders that are awaiting results.
When accessing a patient in the system, a Patient Chart tab is opened at same level as the information tabs. Each time you access a patient, a new chart tab is opened for that patient (unless that patient’s tab is already open). In this way, clinical staff are able to work with multiple patients at the same time, preserving their work for each patient. The patient chart tab acts as a single point of access to all relevant information for the selected patient. The text of the Patient Chart tab contains the name, gender, and age of the selected patient. Below are some of the features of the patient chart.
Allergy alert bar
At the top of the chart tab is the allergy alert bar. This area will display any allergy information associated with the patient for either drug allergies or environmental allergies. The user may click on these messages to go directly to allergy detail and view this information.
Work in Progress bar
Below the allergy alert bar is the Work in Progress bar. When the detail page (called a drill-down) for a clinical event is opened, a marker is placed on the Work in Progress bar. This allows a clinician to switch back and forth between multiple documents for the patient with considerable ease. The user may also close any open documents by clicking the [X] link in the marker on the Work in Progress bar.
The patient overview page is the hub for all clinical information associated with the patient. For more details about how this information is organized, see the section on [Information Organization]. The collection of portlets on this page represent a current snapshot of the patient’s medical record. Each portlet corresponds to a list and to a link on the Chart menu.
Chart Menu
Each of the links on the chart menu can be rearranged or hidden based on the end-users preferences, which are configured under the More link. Items on the chart menu that are not visible due to screen size will also be available to the user under the More item on the far right. In addition to user-based configuration, system administrators can also show or hide portlets and chart menu items using the roles and permissions module.
A clinical encounter is represented by the Encounter overview page. This page is similar in design and function to the patient overview page, but the information contained therein is only that which was captured as part of this specific care episode. In contrast, the patient overview screen displays all historical information collected in association with any and all episodes of care. This page uses the standard portlet, list, and drill-down display mechanisms as described in the [Information Organization] section.
As you can see in the screen below, the Encounter overview page behaves somewhat like a Drill-down, because it appears within the context of the Patient chart and a marker appears on the Work in Progress bar. The Encounter Summary (labeled in the screen below) provides the essential attributes of the care episode as well as buttons for appropriate actions for this encounter.
Below the Encounter Summary is a white bar containing encounter menu items. This encounter menu corresponds to the portlets and lists displayed in the encounter overview, just as on the patient overview screen.
At the bottom of every Neuron page the application footer is displayed. On the left is a More link that is most useful for developers and system admins. Clicking the More link in the footer expands a pane with additional links and system data. Also, on the right side of the footer is a cluster of help links that can be configured in your plugins. Any legal hyperlink or help text can be used in the footer.
Wiki: Information Organization
Wiki: Order Workflow in Neuron
Wiki: System Administration Guide
Wiki: User Guides