STD*MIS - FAQ - Data Entry Issues

Initiating/Investigating Agency

Q1: Why doesn't STD*MIS allow me to enter the proper initiating and investigating aency information when entering Field Records?

STD*MIS is designed to do automatic checks on the agency information during entry of Field Records (on screen 2 of 3) when generating Field Record events. STD*MIS performs a behind-the-scene check as to whether a particular agency is considered local or not local. Depending on how you began entering the Field Record event, STD*MIS expects certain locality indications for the initiating agency and investigating agency.

For instance, if you receive a Field Record that was initiated by an outside project area and you are entering it into your local STD*MIS system to start the investigation, then this Field Record should have an initiating agency that is not local (the other project area) and an investigating agency that is local (your project area). This, of course, means that the Field Record should have been started as an incoming OOJ/ICCR.

Whether a particular agency is assigned as being local or not local can be viewed in the "AGENCY" reference file (go to System Utilities - Update reference files - Agencies). Only the Agency name is seen while performing data entry. The underlying locality assignment can only be seen by viewing the AGENCY reference file.

In order to determine how a Field Record should be designated when beginning data entry of the Field Record event, the following table may act as a helpful guide (this should only be used as a guide, and circumstances such as the use of OOJ Log events may effect how a Field Record is started):

Field and Interview Records

Q1: Sometimes the lab and treatment information is missing from my field record or interview record but I know I put them in STD*MIS. Why does this happen?

The reason the lab test and treatment are not printing out on the FR or IR is because they were not "linked" to the record. When you enter an event from the main events in the patient record screen, STD*MIS does not associate that event with any other in the system automatically.

In order to link the lab and treatment with the investigation, you must open the Field Record from the main events first. Then once inside the field record you may choose "events" from the top menu in the field record. You will see lab and treatment as choices on this event menu. Add the treatment and lab test here to link the field record to the associated information. The same for the interview record, if the field record is linked to the interview record, then the lab and treatment will appear in the IR because they have been linked to the field record. However, if the Interview Record is not linked to a field record then any of the information linked to the field record will not display or print out on the interview record.

There are situations where an interview record is not spawned from a field investigation. In that case you must open the interview record from the main events and add the corresponding lab and treatment information on to the IR from the events menu inside the open interview.

Q2: Sometimes the disease disappears from the interview record and I cannot modify or close it. What do I do?

When the disease disappears from the interview, a system glitch occurred which unlinked the interview record from the case number on the associated field record. Sometimes this can occur because a data entry person tried to change the case number already in the system. It is best to NOT change or alter the case number in any way. To fix this problem your STD*MIS Support Person will need to repair the linkage through a database utility program. DO NOT attempt to delete the case or any of the associated information, as that will only compound the problem.

Congenital Syphilis Entry

Q1: I want to enter a congenital syphilis case on a baby, but the system is not allowing me to do so. What am I doing wrong?

To enter a congenital syphilis case on an infant, you must first begin with the event of congenital, and then "Find" the mother. If the mother is not in the system, you must create a patient record on the mother. The system then prompts you to search for a patient record on the infant, and to create a patient record for the infant if one does not exist. Then you begin entry of the congenital event from the mother's patient record. This is to insure that the congenital 126 case record is linked both to the mother and to the infant. Although this may seem somewhat awkward the first time, it is quite logical, as the beginning information on the 126 form pertains to the mother and her medical history.

Q2: When I enter a congenital record, morbidity is automatically created for the baby, but I don't have access to the "imported" field. When the baby is born out of the state or county I would like to have the morbidity assigned to the outside jurisdiction.

This is a field that we will allow access to in STD*MIS Version 4, but in the meantime, the only way this can be changed is by requesting that your data manager use the FDBU data utility to change this code "behind the scenes" of STD*MIS.

Q3: I have a congenital case on an adopted baby, but I don't have any information on the mother. What should I do?

In this instance the only thing you can do is to enter a patient record for the mother with the last name of unknown, and the first name of unknown, and "9's" for unknown for the other pertinent maternal information.