This article covers how to assemble EHR Templates to be used when generating forms. We'll touch on how to put together a Section, how to arrange Sections into full fledged Templates, and we'll address other elements of the Template Editor.

Template Editor

The Template Editor is made up of two nodes; Templates and Sections. The Templates node contains all of the Templates that have been created or installed via the Shared Templates node.

Templates are made up of Sections arranged together. In the Templates node, you'll manage and configure your Templates. In the Sections node, you'll be able to create and edit Sections that can then be used across multiple Templates.

Creating or Editing a Template

To create a new template, you can simply click the plus button in the sidebar with the Templates node selected. This will create a new blank template.

To view or edit an existing Template, simply select it in the sidebar. You can also archive or delete an Template by clicking the Red Minus with a Template selected, or you can press the Delete key on your keyboard with the Template selected.

There are three areas of the EHR Ability when a Template is selected, from left to right:

Open

Section List

The section list will display all of the sections that can be added into the current template. There are two different types of Sections; Preconfigured, and Custom.

Preconfigured Sections are designed by MacPractice to interact with a patient's Clinical Summary in the Clinical Ability, and cannot be customized. You can find a detailed list and description of each of our Preconfigured Sections here. 

Custom Sections are user-created and customizable in a wide variety of ways, but don't interact with a patient's Clinical Summary in the same way. A Template can be made up of any combination of preconfigured or custom sections. You can see what type a Section is by viewing the Type column in the Section List.

The Section List can be hidden by clicking the "Toggle Sections" button, as shown in the screenshot here:

Open

If hidden, clicking that same button will display the Section List. 

You can use the search box at the top of the section list to search for the title of the section you're looking for.

To add a Section to a Template, simply drag and drop the Section from the list to the Template Details pane.

Template Details Pane

The Template Details pane is where you can set a name for the Template and review the Sections that have been included in the Template. You can also add, remove, and adjust the position of those Sections within the Template.

At the top is the Template Name field, and two checkboxes below it.

• Available in Clipboard: This option will allow this Template to be used in the Clipboard iPad application.

• Available in Portal: This option allows the Template to be used on the Patient Portal.

You can add a section to the template by simply dragging it from the Section List into the Template Detail pane. You can also re-order the Sections by dragging and dropping them in the desired order. 

At the bottom right of the pane, the Export button allows the user to save a file of the form onto the computer or another drive outside of MacPractice. 

Preview Pane

The Preview Pane displays a quick preview of the currently selected template.

Preconfigured sections will have a limited view as these sections cannot be changed. Select fields in the preview to view how the form will function in patient's chart. If the preview panel is not showing, click the Preview button in the section detail column.

Creating or Editing Sections

A Section is an assembled collection of fields and form elements that can be added to Templates. This is where you can create custom Sections to meet your office's specific needs.

When creating Sections, we strongly recommend that you keep your Sections small and with a mind towards reusability. It is often better to have many small Sections which you can easily swap into place vs. a larger, more cumbersome Section that has only one specific use.

The Sections node contains two panes, the Section Details Pane, and the Field and Preview Pane.

Section Details Pane

Much like the Template Details Pane in the Templates Node, the Section Details Pane allows you to customize the details of the Section itself. You'll note at the top of the pane, there's a field for the Section Name and a description of the Section. There's also a drop down menu allowing you to select the Pull Preference for this Section, which determines the default behavior when pulling section data forward into newly created patient forms that include this section.

Below that is the Fields Table and two buttons to Duplicate and Add Fields. The Fields Table is where you'll add, re-arrange, and remove the Fields that make up this Section. In the Table columns, you can review the Name of the Field, what Type it is, and whether the Field is Portal Compatible or not.

Selecting a Field in the table will cause the Field and Preview pane to display customization options for that Field assuming that the Field and Preview Pane is on the Field Tab.

You can re-order Fields by dragging and dropping them into the desired order. To delete a Field, simply click on it and then press the Delete key on your keyboard. Alternately, you can select Delete from the Edit Menu.

Field and Preview Pane

The Field and Preview Pane has two purposes, depending on which tab of the pane you're on. The Field Tab allows you to view and customize the details regarding a selected Field in the Section Details Pane. The options available will depend on which field is selected, which we'll go into later. 

The Preview Tab will give you a preview of how this Section will appear on a Template. You'll be able to interact with the Fields as if you were working on a form, but the results aren't saved. You can use this to test a Section to ensure it's working as intended before adding it to a Template.

The Preview Tab is split into two views. The top half previews the Form View of the Section, while the bottom half displays the Narrative View of the Section. Both the Form View and the Narrative View are covered in the EHR Overview article.

Adding Fields to a Section

To add a Field to a Section, you'll click the Add Field drop down in the Section Details Pane. Alternately, if you've already added a field and want to duplicate it, you can click the Duplicate button.

There are ten types of fields you can add to a section, which are listed below.

Text Label

This Field Type is simply used to add a label on the form. You can set the Label Name, and use the Hide From Clipboard checkbox if this isn't intended to be seen on the iPad Clipboard app.

Text Field

Text Fields are used anytime you need someone to enter data into a form. It can be used for freeform text entry, phone numbers, and other such formatted data. It is best used for smaller kinds of entry.

This Field has a few options available:

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require entry into this field before the patient form can be saved.

• Hide From Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• Placeholder: This field allows you to enter an example into the field for the user to guide them on what to enter in that field.

• String Format: This drop down controls what kind of entry is allowed in the field. By default this is set to Freeform which allows anything, but you can toggle this over to Phone, Social Security, Zip Code, or Date.

• Max Length: This allows you to set a maximum length to the field. If no value is set, this will default to the total maximum of 255 characters, and the Max Length can't be set higher than 255.

Text View

This field is used for longer kinds of text entry. It can also be used to set up preset text entry to save you time when filling out this field.

There are a few options in the Field Tab that allow you to customize the behavior of the Text View.

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require entry into this field before the patient form can be saved.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• Text View Title: This functions the same as a Placeholder in a Text Field. This allows you to enter an example into the field for the user to guide them on what to enter in that field.

• List Editability: This drop down allows you to control whether the Text View Items available are Dynamic or Static. Static indicates that new Items cannot be added on the fly, and Dynamic allows new Items to be added on the fly by the user.

• Text View Items: This table allows you to add pre-set Text View Items to this Field. These items can be then selected when the user is filling out the form by tapping or clicking on the Name of the field. A window will appear containing this list of Text View Items to select from.

  To add a Text View Item, simply click the Plus by the name. You can click the Item to preview the contents on the right side as shown in this screenshot below.

  If the List Editability is set to Dynamic, a user can enter an option into the search bar, and if the option typed in is not present, they can then add it in on the fly.

  Dynamic also allows for a user to delete Text View Items by clicking the x on the right of the Item. This will turn into a Delete button, requiring an additional click to confirm you'd like to delete the item.

• Text View Item contents: With a Text View Item selected, this will allow you to customize the pre-set contents of an Item.

Checkbox

The Checkbox Field allows you to add a checkbox to the Section. There are only a few options available to customize in the Field Tab.

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require that this be checked before the patient form can be saved. This only has a narrow use for the Checkbox field, as it's only really helpful if you want an acknowledgement from the person filling out the form before proceeding.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it. 

• Checked by Default: If enabled, the checkbox field will be checked by default when a new patient form is created from a template using this section.

• Checked Narrative: The contents of this text box will be inserted into the section's narrative if the checkbox is checked on a patient form.

• Unchecked Narrative: The contents of this text box will be inserted into the section's narrative if the checkbox is unchecked on a patient form.

Popup

This field allows you to select from a list of items by clicking or tapping on the Popup.

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require entry into this field before the patient form can be saved.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• Popup Title: This field will display the entered text at the top of the search window that appears when tapping the Popup field.

• List Editability: This drop down allows you to control whether the Popup Items available are Dynamic or Static. Static indicates that new Items cannot be added on the fly, and Dynamic allows new Items to be added on the fly by the user.

• Popup Items: This table contains the options that a user can select when clicking or tapping on the Popup. If the List Editability is set to Dynamic, a user can add new choices on the fly as well.

Slider

The Slider Field is used to add a slider element to a Section. This captures a numerical value which can be set by a slider.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• Min Value: The minimum value that the slider can be set to.

• Max Value: The maximum value that the slider can be set to.

• Default Value: The default value that the slider is set to when a form using this section is created.

• Precision: This controls the decimal place which the slider can capture. By default this is set to 1, but can be set to 0.1, 0.01 or 0.001.

Draw View

The Draw View field adds a set of drawing tools to quickly sketch into a small window. You can also use this field to add an image to the form. This can be useful to add a diagram or template that you can then draw on top of.

Draw View fields are not usable on the Portal.

The only additional option available in the Field Tab is the ability to Browse for an image on your computer, or Clear the existing image with the buttons below the Image preview. You can also simply drag and drop an image into the Field Tab to add it.

The Draw View has some basic options when in use. You can use the slider to adjust the size of the drawing tool, and select from Pen, Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse by using the respective buttons. Clicking on color will allow you to swap to that color to draw with.

List Element

The List Element field is very similar to the Popup field in that you use this field to select from a list of items. The advantage of a List Element is that the end user can select multiple items in this field.

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require entry into this field before the patient form can be saved.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• List Element Title: This field will display the entered text at the top of the search window that appears when tapping the List Element field.

• List Editability: This drop down allows you to control whether the Popup Items available are Dynamic or Static. Static indicates that new Items cannot be added on the fly, and Dynamic allows new Items to be added on the fly by the user.

Segmented Control

The Segmented Control field is used to add toggle buttons to a Section. Only one can be selected at a time. This is useful to prompt the end user to select one of 3 or 4 options without needing to open a list as in the Popup or List Element fields.

The buttons will appear like this:

• Required: This checkbox, if enabled, will require entry into this field before the patient form can be saved.

• Hide from Clipboard: This checkbox, if enabled, will hide this field from the Clipboard app, preventing a patient from entering data into it.

• Show Label: This option will print the Segmented Control Name in front of the buttons on the Section. Please note that with this option selected, you can only have up to three buttons.

• Label: The Label fields name the button on the Section.

• Narrative: If this button is selected, this text will be printed to the Section's narrative.

Text Block Element

The Text Block Element field is used to add a block of text to a Section for the end user to review during filling out the form. This is useful to provide detailed instructions or information to a patient.

The Field Tab contains the text editor, which supports HTML formatting. You can use the buttons on the toolbar to customize your text as you would expect.