The Clipboard iPad App is used to assign EHR Forms designed in the EHR Ability to a patient to fill out on the iPad. This article covers the functionality of the Clipboard App and how to best use it.

For information on how to acquire and install the Clipboard iPad Apps or the other apps, please consult the Installing, Updating, and Connecting Your iPad Apps article here.

Clipboard Preferences

There are only a few preferences to cover in the software itself to customize the behavior of the Clipboard App.

These can be located in the MacPractice Menu > Preferences > Clipboard.

Here you can set the PIN to access patient data on the Clipboard App, and you can set the header that users will see when interacting with the Clipboard App.

The header that displays will be shown at the top of the Clipboard App, like so:

There is also an option available to hide the patient's Race and Ethnicity when reviewing their Demographics.

Overview of the Clipboard Interface

When a staff member logs in to Clipboard, a list of the appointments for the day will display. You can switch the day by tapping on the date field.

To refresh the list of appointments, drag down, then release. The patient with the appointment will be listed, with the time and provider for the appointment reading on the right margin.

You can also search for a patient and pull them up even if they don't have a scheduled appointment for the day by clicking the Search Tab at the bottom of the Clipboard App.

Underneath a listed patient, you can see the Appointment Type, their Appointment Status (which can be updated via the Check In App), and any forms that have been created for this patient to fill out (which also lists the user who created the form and the time the form was created. You can also assign forms on the fly by tapping the patient. This'll bring up the Choose Templates window, which we'll cover further down in this article.

When logged in, you'll also see a ? icon in the lower left. Tapping this menu will pop up a menu where you can access a Help article on the HelpDesk, or you can submit a Support ticket to MacPractice Support by tapping Submit Ticket.

Creating or Assigning Forms

Before you can use the Clipboard App to access a patient form, you first must create or assign a EHR Form for the patient to fill out. You can do this in advance of a visit by navigating to the EHR Ability in MacPractice and generating a form for that patient (covered in the EHR Ability documentation).

You can also generate and assign forms on the fly by tapping the patient. This'll bring up the Choose Templates window.

In the Choose Templates Window, you'll confirm which forms are to be assigned to this patient to fill out. By tapping forms, they will check and uncheck, allowing you to toggle which forms you'd like to assign to the patient for completion.

If forms have previously been completed for this specific appointment, the Choose Templates menu will also list those forms as Resume items, which can be selected so the patient can continue filling out their assigned forms.

The forms available by default will be those that have been added as a default for the Appointment Type. If you'd like to change the default templates for an Appointment Type, you can tap the Settings option at the bottom of the Choose Templates window.

You can also add additional Form Templates by tapping the Get More Templates button. Additional Clipboard templates can be obtained within the Form Library.

Once the templates are selected, you can tap the Continue button in the upper right hand of the Choose Templates window. This will start the Patient Clipboard Session. At this point, you'll hand the iPad to the patient so they can follow the appropriate steps to fill out their assigned forms.

Filling out a Form

The Patient Clipboard Session begins with an introductory screen. From any page in the Clipboard, the patient can tap Log Out in the lower right corner to end the session without saving. 

To navigate between pages, the patient can swipe across the page from right to left, or use the Back and Next buttons. When completing the forms, the patient can tap any field to bring up the iPad's keyboard to fill out that field.

Before arriving at your selected forms, there are a few default pages that the patient will be required to fill out. Let's cover these next.

Patient Demographic Page

The first Clipboard page displays the patient's information as has been entered into the MacPractice database for this patient, such as Patient Basic Information, Patient Contact Information, Patient Demographics, and Patient Race. The patient can tap any field to add or edit the data.

The patient can also add a photo by tapping the default patient photo. The iPad's front-facing camera can be used to take a picture, which can then be moved and scaled into position by the patient.

If there is already a patient photo in the patient record, it will be displayed in lieu of the default patient photo.

Once this page is filled out, tapping Next or swiping from right to left will take the patient to the next page.

Patient Insurance Page

The next mandatory page to complete is a Patient Insurance Page. The patient will need to review their Primary Responsible demographic information, and verify that the information entered is correct. If this information is not correct, the patient can edit it as necessary.

There is a required drop down selector, "Insurance Verification", where the patient will be required to confirm that the insurance information is correct or not. The patient cannot edit their own insurance details.

They will need to perform this step for each insurance on file, and when the patient swipes to the next page, they'll be prompted to answer if they have any additional insurance or not. If the patient taps No, the Clipboard App will continue to the next page. If the patient taps Yes, the patient will be prompted to present his or her Insurance card upon returning the iPad, so the office staff can enter the patient's insurance information into MacPractice.

If the patient has a Secondary on their account, the Secondary Responsible Party Information page will display for the patient to add or edit Secondary Information, such as Secondary Basic Information, Secondary Demographics, and Secondary Insurance. The patient can tap any field to access the keyboard and make changes.

HIPAA Release Field Form 

The last mandatory page to complete is the HIPAA Release Form.

If the patient's HIPAA Release field is set to None under the Patient tab  within the Insurance sub-tab in MacPractice, the HIPAA Information and Consent form will display. The patient can electronically sign the HIPAA release form by tapping on the signature line. A signature box will appear for the patient to sign within the square. Click Cancel to remove the signature box, Clear to clear any existing marks, or Done to finish signing.

The patient can also refuse to sign the release by advancing to the next page without signing. On the resulting notification, the patient can select to Sign (to bring up the signature box), Refuse to Sign (to advance to the Review page), or Cancel (return to the form).

If your office has not purchased the Attachments Ability, the Images Ability will be available at no cost. Once the patient submits their HIPAA and Consent Form, the narrative of the submitted form will be available under the Patient Images node. 

Additional Forms

Once you've completed the above mandatory pages, any Clipboard forms that you have added from the Choose Templates window will display for the patient.

Patient Review Page and Submitting Forms

Once the patient has completed all the forms you have assigned in the previous step and continued onward, the final page will summarize all information updated on the previous pages. The patient can review what they've entered and flip back to the appropriate page to update any information if necessary.

When the forms are completed, the patient should tap the Submit button. This will submit the information to the patient's record and lock the Clipboard App.

Once the Patient Clipboard Session is completed, the patient will be reminded to return the iPad to the staff so that the staff member can create the next Patient Clipboard Session. If the patient responded that he or she did have changes to the Insurance information presented, Clipboard will remind the patient to bring the insurance card along with the iPad.

Once the Submit Button is tapped, the Clipboard App will be locked so that only a staff member with the Unlock Pin may access the iPad App. If an incorrect pin is entered three times, the Clipboard App will lock for 30 seconds, after which the correct pin can be entered to unlock the pin. The pin used to unlock the iPad can be referenced or changed in MacPractice Preferences.

The completed forms will be sent to the MacPractice database.

Reviewing Completed Forms

If the practice has the EHR Ability enabled, completed patient forms will display within the EHR Ability. Otherwise, completed patient forms will appear in the Clipboard Ability in MacPractice as a narrative so you can review the contents.

HIPAA Release Forms, Clinical Intake forms, and so on, display within the Clipboard Ability sorted by Incident. If a patient form is not already associated to an Incident, it will appear in the Documents Without Incidents node. To associate the patient form with an incident, click the form and drag it to any Incident node.

To view a snapshot of any narrative, set the Narrative menu to the desired snapshot. Snapshots are created each time a Patient Form is saved.