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A program bug (fault),
Operator misunderstanding,
Hardware fault,
Environmental problem, or a Virus.
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a virus, or
Windows fault
To track down cause of problems
This requires assistance of the operators, since they are the ones on the spot and able to see what happens.
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Incident log
Keep a piece of paper under the keyboard, noting the following points whenever the problem occurs;
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Characteristics of the task (external repeat, deleting a Revlon item from an order, Printing a report of 16 pages in A5)
Any unusual operator actions ('edited the last item half way through dispensing this item', 'entered it wrong and had to back up to fix the sig' etc)
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If appropriate, any printed output that shows a fault.
Frequently Frequently, once there are four or five incidents, it is obvious what the common factor is... the problem only occurs when Freddy is dispensing (so watch what he does), or only occurs when an external repeat is edited part way though (so try one for a test patient and identify the exact keystrokes that let it be demonstrated on demand).
Even if you cannot see a common factor, we might... so fax email the incident log to us and we'll put a team onto it.
Once you have found the keystrokes that will demonstrate a problem, the problem is 90% solved, so fax email it to us. If the problem involves repeating an existing script, or some action where the existing data is likely to be significant, make a backup before reproducing it and noting the keystrokes, and send this with the keystrokes. This way we can test on your data in the same state as when you were able to reproduce the problem.
Examples of typical incidents from the past, and their resolution
Duplicating script numbers
The script numbers were resetting to zero every week or so, resulting in the same numbers being used over again.
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Problem solved; By telling the staff member not to reset the script number to zero.
Modem sometimes not connecting to wholesaler
Incident log showed that this occurred once a week, usually on Tuesdays.
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Problem solved. Computer was reset after bank connection.
Lost 'real cost' values after update
Some stock had its 'Real cost' figures reset to zero after the monthly update. Tests on the monthly update showed that this did not happen when it was tried again.
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Problem solved The site was reverted by phone to the previous version, which immediately solved the problem, and the bug passed to the programmers for urgent correction.
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Wrong C&A label
Incident log showed that this happened if the wrong drug was selected, then changed to the correct drug.
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Problem solved The program was modified to prevent the C&A label carrying over, and the fix was sent to all users.
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Scripts not being recorded
Some scripts were not being recorded.
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Problem solved Operators told that 'abandon' did not record.
Script Owings not being claimed when unticked.
Incident log revealed no obvious pattern, so the user set up a test;
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