Glossary of Terms

access level

Ability to perform various record actions.

See also record.

action chains

A group of actions that must be completed in a sequential order.

See also actions.

actions

Activities that can be assigned to individuals as part of a preventive plan to mitigate future occurrences of incidents.

active

Codes that function or are involved in historical searches and new records.

See also code and record and search.

active delegation

A delegation record that is currently in place.

administrator

A person responsible for configuration and maintenance of the application, and has full access to it.

approval status

Status used to approve or accept a record into the workflow and determine the current status.

See also record and workflow.

audit trail

An electronic, historical sequence of record activity which highlights modifications in data from the time of initial entry.

See also record.

bar chart

A graphical report in which numerical values are represented by the height or length of lines or rectangles of equal width.

See also report.

CFSMS

NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service, now NHS Protect.

child field

In a parent-child hierarchy, this is the field that is filtered dependent on the value selected in the parent field.

See also combo link and parent field.

CLAIM1

The initial data entry form that is used to log a new claim in the Claims module.

See also form and module.

CLAIM2

The review form that is used to move a claim through the workflow in the Claims module.

See also form and module and workflow.

code

A six character, alpha-numeric digit assigned to each value in the application.

coded field

A drop-down field with a single coded value.

See also multi-coded field.

column

A vertical list of search criteria designated on a graphical report.

See also column and search.

combo link

Ability to limit the available options in a child field based on the value selected in the parent field.

See also child field and parent field and field.

complaint chain

A workflow with various stages that is used to assign the current status of complaint.

See also workflow.

COM1

The initial data entry form that is used to log a new complaint record in the Complaints module.

See also form and module.

COM2

The review form that is used to log a new complaint record in the Complaints module.

See also form and module and workflow.

CQC

The Care Quality Commission.

crosstab report

A report that shows data in rows and columns with information summarized at the intersection points.

See also rows and column and report.

CSS

Common Classification System.

See also Datix common classification system

custom report

Built and run from the Report Designer page for each of the available application modules.

dashboard

A set of reports to provide a user with an overview of records stored throughout the application.

See also record and report and user.

Datix common classification system

The DATIX Common Classification System is a pre-defined taxonomy for adverse events in healthcare. It covers clinical patient safety incidents and non-clinical incidents which affect the health and safety of staff or visitors as well as patients, such as fire, abuse or violence. An alternative to Datix CSS is to use a custom incident classification system based on incident type, category, and sub category.

default form

The form users will see when opening the application.

See also form and user.

default value

Value that is automatically displayed when a user opens a new form.

See also form and user.

delegated to user

The person who is being delegated to.

delegated from user

The person who is being delegated from

delegation

Ability to provide one user with access to the application as another user, including viewing records and receiving email notifications.

delegation not yet active

A delegation record that is pending activation because the date is in the future.

delegation transfer

Ability for a delegated to user to move the delegation record onto another user.

DIF1

The initial data entry form that is used to log a new incident record in the Incidents module.

See also form and module.

DIF2

The review form that is used to move an incident record through the workflow in the Incidents module.

See also form and module and workflow.

drill down

To investigate a particular field value or analyse a different view of the data.

extra field

Data entry field created by an administrator to capture and store additional information in the application.

See also field and format and field label.

field

A particular area on the form where information is recorded.

See also form.

field label

The name of a particular field on the form.

See also field and form.

form

An organised outline that contains the section and fields necessary to input or review anticipated data within a record.

See also field label and record and Glossary of Terms.

format

Format used to record data in a field or an extra field on a form.

See also extra field and field.

gauge report

Basic outcome measurement tool that can be used to gauge organisation performance by specific criteria.

globals

Parameters that allow you to enable or disable certain functions within the application, or to fine-tune the application to perform in a certain way.

handler

A person responsible for dealing with a specific record.

See also record .

help text

Icon used to display an automatic text box that provides additional information for completing a field that may require further assistance.

See also field.

hide section

The ability to remove the visibility of a particular section from a form.

See also form and Glossary of Terms.

hotspot

An area indicating where a potential incident may occur.

inactive delegation

A delegation record that has expired because the date is in the past.

introductory text

Text that appears at the top of the form below the title. This text may include form explanations, reminders of certain tasks, information on where to obtain assistance for completing the form and so on.

See also form.

investigator

A person included in a specific record to complete a formal inquiry or further review.

See also record.

LDAP

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

line graph

A graphical report in which lines are made by connected data points which represent sequential changes in the value of a variable quantity.

See also report.

listing page

A list of records meeting a specific search criterion as defined by a user.

See also record and form.

listing report

A report that forms a basic list of data based on criterion that has been specified. Listing reports are typically designed by administrators.

See also administrator and report.

maintenance mode

Secure approach used to prevent any users from logging into the application or submitting any records on DIF1 forms. This is used when making changes to the application to prevent having an impact on the work users may currently be completing.

See also DIF1 and form and record and form.

module

Independent units, such as Incidents, Complaints, Claims, PALS, and Contacts that construct the application.

multi-coded field

A drop-down field that allows selecting more than one value.

See also Glossary of Terms and field.

new action

Allowing a section to appear on a form based on a selection in a previous field.

See also field label and Glossary of Terms.

new field action

Allowing a field to appear on a form base on a selection in a previous field.

See also field.

NRLS

National Reporting and Learning System.

order

Sequence in which code descriptions, fields and sections will appear.

See also code and field and Glossary of Terms.

organisational hierarchy

Series of locations that funnel down from the most general to the most specific.

overdue

Records that have not been handled in the time allotted by an organisation.

See also record.

packaged reports

Custom-designed reports containing two main elements: a base report (a report template within which the records/statistics are displayed) and a query (which is used to extract the actual records to appear in the report).

PALS

Patient Advice and Liaison Service.

PALS module

Survey module.

See also module.

PALS1

The initial data entry form used to log a new survey in the PALS module.

See also form and module and PALS.

PALS2

The review form used to move a survey through the workflow in the PALS module.

See also form and module and PALS and workflow.

panel

A section on the form that displays as an entry on the navigation menu on the left-hand side of the form. Selection of the entries allows to navigate to specific area of the form.

See also form and Glossary of Terms.

parent field

In a parent-child hierarchy, this is the field that provides the values used to filter the child field.

See also child field and combo link.

pareto graph

A graphical report in which a circle is divided into sectors that each represent a section of the whole.

See also report.

pie chart

A graphical report in which a circle is divided into sectors that each represent a section of the whole.

See also report.

profile

A collection of user configuration and access settings assigned to a set of user accounts.

See also user account.

PSI

Patient safety incident. Any incident which could have lead to or actually lead to harm for one or more patients.

query

Information gathered from specific search criteria in a predefined format and saved for imminent use.

See also search.

read only

Data that can be viewed but cannot be modified or recorded.

reference number

Incremental number automatically generated and assigned by the system to each new record upon its submission.

registration request

Process for requesting user access privileges to the application.

See also form.

record

All data or information stored in the application for a specific object, such as an incident, contact, complaint and so on; typically this information is added through a dedicated data entry form.

See also form.

report

A document that presents information from a search query in an organised, graphical format.

See also query and search.

report designer tool

Allows you to create and run your own reports, and to create packaged reports for various modules.

report display window

Allows you to preview and share your reports.

report designer tool

Allows you to configure custom reports.

revoked delegation

Allows you to configure custom reports.

rows

A horizontal list of search criteria designated on a graphical report.

See also report and search.

saved query

After running a search, it is possible to save it so it can be used again.

search

Attempt to examine expected records that meet a specific criterion.

See also record.

section

An area on the form that outlines a specific group of fields.

See also field and form.

section label

The name of a section on a form.

See also form.

security group

Precisely determines which records a user can access, the access level a user will have, and whether a notification email will be sent to the user.

See also access level and record and form.

SIRS

Security Incident Reporting System.

snapshot

A view of the original DIF1 submission values in read-only format.

statistical process control (SPC) chart

Uses statistical methods to calculate the mean, standard deviation, and range of a set of process data to ensure operation at a level of maximum potential.

string

A type of field, with up to 128 alphanumeric characters in length.

switch user

Ability for a user to change from their own view of the application to the view of a delegated from user.

system wide codes

Codes that will remain consistent across all modules of the application.

See also code and module.

task generator

Facility to automatically assign an action chain to a record.

See also action chains and record.

temporary access to account

Ability for an administrator or user administrator to view the application from any user’s perspective for the current day (effective immediately until midnight).

text

A type of field used for text entry; typically much longer than a string field.

See also field.

to do list

Module used to display any task that needs to be completed within any module of the application.

See also module.

traffic lights report

basic bar chart that can be run with only a limited number of fields.

See also bar chart.

user

A person who is able to use the application.

user account

A collection of configuration and access settings with an assigned user name and password.

user defined section

New sections that are created and customised by an administrator.

See also administrator and Glossary of Terms.

WHERE clause

A statement that defines the SQL search query. It is used to extract information that meets specific search criteria, and restricts all other data.

See search.

workflow

A sequence of pre-defined states a record passes through from its creation to its completion.

See also module.