Version 4.8 introduces a robust, highly granular way to assign access rights to each user of the program, called Detailed Security Assign. Use this feature to control exactlly which program functions each user is permitted to view, change, and delete. You can also allow certain users to perform higher-level activities which previously could only be performed by the Master User. Let's see how this works:

First, we need to activate Detailed Security Assign:

1. Press System\Security and enter the Master Password.

2. Press Options\Detailed Assign.

3. Check Use Detailed Assign. (If you change your mind later, you can always go back to the older method of Assign by unchecking this).

4. Decide how you want the program to behave if a user doesn't have access to a particular function, i.e. Item does not appear or Item appears grayed out. (You will probably prefer the former so that extraneous choices don't appear on the screen which might confuse some users by their presence).

5. If you have previously assigned access rights using the older method of Assign, it is strongly recommended that you now press Convert Original Assign to Detailed Assign. This maps all of the settings you have used in the past to the new format, thus saving you a lot of time. Of course, if you have never used the Original Assign feature before, there is no need to press this button. You can also decide to press it later, but if you do, any settings you make manually in Detailed Assign will be wiped out and replaced with the converted settings instead.

Now, let's assign some access rights:

1. Press System\Security and enter the Master Password.

2. Press Assign.

3. Select the name of the user whose access rights you wish to assign (e.g. Beverly McFadden).

4. If you have not previously assigned a password to this user, assign one now in the Password field.

5. Start with the General page, then move to each subsequent tabbed page (Algorithm, Allergy, etc.) until you have marked settings for this user on each page.

6. Note that there are All boxes you can check in various places. Checking the red All box on the upper left checks every box on the current page. Checking a box on that same line above a column heading (e.g. above Read) checks every box in that column on that page. Checking an All box at the right end of a line checks all of the boxes on that line. Conversely, unchecking a checked All box unchecks all of the corresponding boxes. Pressing the All button at the bottom of the entire screen checks every box on every page and thus should be used with caution, although you probably will want to use this for the Master User.

7. Note that some functions are displayed in red, such as Delete, Merge appointments, Batch Print by Provider, etc. These functions should be granted with great care to users, since they provide them with the power to erase or change large amounts of data. You will probably only want one or a few users to have these rights.

8. By unchecking the Read column for a feature, you basically exclude a user from using that feature, or even seeing it as a choice on the menus. This helps you create a more simplified, customized version of the program that is limited to just the features that a particular user needs to interact with. This makes the program easier to learn, and helps to prevent users from inadvertently wandering into other parts of the program and viewing or changing data where they have no valid role.

Notice that the pages after the General page have a different format. These pages allow you to assign different permissions based on the patients' Providers. For example, you might have a nurse who works primarily with the internists in the group, but not with the surgeons. You can give her the ability to Read the Allergy information for all patients, but only to record that information for the internists' patients.

1. Click on the Allergy tab.

2. Check the Read box on the first line.

3. Click on the Providers box on the first line (it starts out saying ALL).

4. Check the names of the surgeons among the list of Providers in the practice and press Ok.

5. Check the All box on the second line, permitting all functions for allergies.

6. Click on the Providers box on the second line.

7. Choose the names of the internists in the practice and press Ok.

Note that a user must have Read access on the General page for a function, or these specific function settings are ignored.

Remember to use System\Security\Roles. Once you set up the settings for a particular user, you can make that user a Role Model for a particular Role, and then copy the settings over to all other users with the same Role. This saves lots of time when you have many users to manage.

We are hard at work on version 4.9. We already have dozens of new features implemented, including the ability to analyze your practice for Quality Measures. Please let us know if there are new features you would like to see included.

If you have tips, shortcuts, questions, or suggestions for future newsletter topics, please send them to us at:

Welford Medical Computing, Inc.    or      MEDCOM Information Systems

3779 Hermitage Trail                                 2117 Stonington Avenue

Rockford, IL 61114                                    Hoffman Estates, IL 60195