User Views & Homepages
User views, sometimes known as homepages, are how users and pharmacies can view and interact with the live prescription data flowing through PTS and are the primary viewpoint into your system data. Whether it be the pharmacy homepages, the ward views, outpatient collection status screen or the mobile app; all are customised user views.
User views are created and configured by system administrators. Multiple user views can be assigned to roles and/or individual users. They are highly configurable and allow for a nearly unlimited number of ways to filter, sort and group prescription data.
They are also the primary way a user would progress and interact with prescriptions on-screen.
For instructions on setting up a user view, see the Setting Up User Views page.
Be advised that the terms "user view" and "home page" can be used interchangeably.
Accessing user views
The user's default view will open automatically when they log in to PTS 5. Their other user views are accessible from the left-hand side bar.
Hover over the sidebar with the mouse cursor and the side bar will expand. Select Home to reveal a drop-down list of the various user views that are assigned to your user profile and/or role.
Next to the name of each user view, in a blue square, is the number of prescriptions that are presently listed inside that user view.
To choose a different user view click on its name in the list to be taken to the user view.
User view components
Perhaps unsurprisingly, user views are primarily comprised of a curated list of prescriptions. How the list is filtered, sorted and grouped is discussed later.
Prescription groups
User views typically have some sort of grouping applied, such as prescription type or ward.
If the user view doesn't have any grouping configured the header will read "Prescriptions" and will contain all prescriptions in the user view, functioning in the same way as a single group.
Group header
The dynamic description of a prescription group, based on how the user view is grouped. In this example the user view is grouped by prescription type, and the screenshot is of the Inpatient group.
Prescription count
The number of prescriptions in the group.
Expand/collapse group
Click on the chevron icon to expand or collapse the group.
Select/deselect all prescriptions
Click to quickly select or deselect all of the prescriptions in the group. Selecting prescriptions allows you to interact with them using the actions menu, which will appear automatically.
Prescriptions
- Prescription ID
The automatically generated unique ID given to each prescription. The prescription ID is the best way to identify a prescription internally as the number never resets, unlike the ticket number. - Ticket number
The ticket number for a prescription. If the prescription type is configured to generate a ticket (e.g. Outpatients), the ticket number will be displayed here. This is how a patient will identify their prescription on the display screens. The ticket number resets periodically so patients don't have to remember the ever-growing prescription ID, but as such they are not unique outside of their reset period and are not an ideal way to refer to the prescription internally. - Patient name
The name of the patient entered during the booking in process. - Patient ID
The patient ID (NHS number, Hospital Number) entered during the booking in process. - Progress bar
By default the progress bar fills up from left to right as the prescription approaches its target time according to the prescription type. The bar starts green and turns amber as it approaches the target and finally turns red if the prescription misses its target. This behaviour can be changed in the user view setup; for instance the colour can be denoted by the colour chosen to represent the current activity. - Prescription timer
Displays the hours and minutes since the prescription was started. - Note icons
Shows the icons for any notes recorded against the prescription. You should configure your notes so that important notes have a distinct icon and can be spotted easily. - Select/deselect prescription
Click to quickly select or deselect the prescription. Selecting prescriptions allows you to interact with them using the actions menu, which will appear automatically. - Item/ward summary
Displays number of items, the prescription type and the ward that were selected during the booking in process. - Started/required by summary
Displays the date and time the prescription was started and the calculated time the prescription is required by based on the prescription type target time. - Last activity summary
Displays the last activity recorded on the prescription, when it was recorded and by whom.
There are two types of action that can be performed from home pages / user views: actions for selected prescriptions and actions for the logged on user.
The actions menu can be accessed using the actions menu button at the top right of the screen 
. If prescriptions are selected the menu slides out automatically.
The ability to select/deselect all prescriptions requires the ENDOFDAY permission. Without this permission, you won't see the group tick boxes.
If no prescriptions are selected, only the user actions are available. It's also worth noting that these menus and available actions are highly informed by the user's current permissions.
Actions for selected prescriptions
- Complete
Updates the status of the selected prescriptions to complete. - Complete and Collect
Updates the status of the selected prescriptions to complete and collected. Dependent upon the setup of the prescription types there may be an automatic note linked to these stages and if this is the case, you will have the opportunity to record the appropriate note details. - Complete, Collect and Deliver
Updates the status of the selected prescriptions to complete, collected and delivered. Dependent upon the setup of the prescription types there may be an automatic note linked to these stages and if this is the case, you will have the opportunity to record the appropriate note details. - Cancel
Offers all applicable notes that are associated with cancellation; select the appropriate note from the popup and the note will be recorded and the prescriptions will be cancelled. Some notes may prompt for additional information. - Suspend
Offers all applicable notes that are associated with suspension; select the appropriate note from the popup and the note will be recorded and the prescriptions will be suspended. Some notes may prompt for additional information. - Record Error
Offers all applicable notes that are associated with error recording; select the appropriate note from the popup and the error will be recorded against the prescriptions. Some notes may prompt for additional information. - Record Note
Offers all available notes; select the appropriate note from the popup and the note will be recorded against the prescriptions. Some notes may prompt for additional information.
User Actions
- Book-in Prescription
Opens the Booking In screen to book in a prescription and begin tracking it. - Record Activity
You can record any prescription unrelated activity using this option. - CD Register
For users of the CD Register module. Opens the CD Register for the specified ward or dispensary. - Create Nurse Witness
For users of the CD Register module. Creates a new user with witness permissions. - CD Key Handover / Balance Check
For users of the CD Register module. Opens the CD Key Handover and Balance Check screen. - Print CD Balance Sheet
For users of the CD Register module. Prints a balance sheet detailing the current CD Stock balance for the specified ward or dispensary. - Edit User View
Allows you to modify the current user view for the current user. - Delete User View
Deletes the current user view for the current user. - New User View
The starting point to creating your own personal user view. User views can also be created from the Users and Roles setup screens. - Reset Password
Opens the reset password dialog. - Log off
Logs the user out.
Home page stats
If there is enough room, the far right hand side of a standard user view will contain ancillary data related to the current user view.
Prescription completed panel
This is a simple count of the number of prescriptions that have been completed today in each dispensary.
If there are more than one dispensary the panel will switch between the other dispensaries over time or you can scroll through the other dispensaries by clicking the left or right arrows.
The panel also informs you if the dispensary is open or closed, which is dependent upon the dispensary opening hours times specified in the Dispensaries setup page.
Responsible pharmacist panel
The responsible pharmacist panel and the responsible pharmacist module in general is discussed in detail in its own dedicated user guide.
Average wait panels
As prescriptions are dispensed PTS calculates the average time it has taken to complete them and displays the averages in a few different graphs.
- Average wait bar chart
Displays the calculated average wait duration for each prescription type in each dispensary as determined by the user view. The colour of the clock icon and other elements is dependent upon the time taken in relation to the target time for the prescription type; green if well within the target time, amber when approaching the target time and red if the target time is exceeded. The time at which the colours turn amber is configured in the Prescription Types setup page. - Average wait line graph
The average wait line graph plots the changes to the average wait times over the course of a day, providing an indication of the busier times of day. If you hover the mouse cursor over the line a tooltip will detail the average wait time for the highlighted time. - Activities radar graph
This graph shows the number of prescriptions at each stage of the dispensing process. The stages are presented at individual points around the outside of the radar, and the number of prescriptions at that stage are represented by a line forming from the centre. The length of the line represents the amount of prescriptions at that stage relative to the other stages. The lines are joined and colour coded for each prescription type giving you a clear picture of how bottlenecks are forming not only for the dispensary as a whole but for individual prescription types. Hovering the cursor over any point of the chart will give you a tooltip detailing the actual number and type of prescriptions at that stage.
Prescription details popup
Click on a prescription to load the prescription details popup.
Timeline tab
The timeline tab opens automatically. Here you will see a record of everything that has occurred with the prescription since it was created, in sequential order. This includes activities and notes alongside the date and time they were recorded, and by whom.
Details tab
The details tab describes the prescription based on the information that was entered during booking in, along with any changes or updates that have been added manually or calculated automatically based on what has happened with the prescription since its creation.
Actions for individual prescriptions
These buttons appear at the bottom of the popup and are contextual based on the current status of the prescription. You can hover over a button to see a tooltip describing its function. Simply click on the appropriate button to perform its function.
Most of these functions mirror actions that are traditionally done with a barcode scanner.