Upgrading forms

The generation and storage of forms in OSSE is implemented with versioning; any changes or adjustments to a form create a new version to track all changes (e.g., addition or replacement of data elements). The first time data is entered into a form for a particular patient, the version of the form currently available in the registry is loaded. Until now, it was not possible to update forms for a patient (i.e., set them to a newer version), hence, any modified form would not be available for that patient.

In the latest release of OSSE, the so-called "form upgrade" function now allows forms with an outdated version to be upgraded to the current version. The software automatically checks the compatibility of the data entered between the two form versions and users receive a warning if data cannot be transferred.

Using an example form, the procedure for updating a form to a newer version is described below.

Original form: version 1

When entering data for a patient for the first time, the form is available in version 1 (displayed at the top right next to the form name). A user enters the appropriate data and saves the form via Save changes.

Figure 66

Modified form: version 2

The following changes were made on the example form: * Data element "Geburtsdatum" deleted * Data element "Geschlecht" modified (version 1 -> version 2 * Data element "BMI" added

If the form is opened again for the same patient, the user receives a notification that a form upgrade is possible, i.e., that a newer version of this form is available.

Figure 67

After clicking on Upgrade form to latest version (yellow button) at the bottom of the screen, OSSE attempts to transfer the previously saved data to the new form version. In the example, this is possible without any problems for the "Geschlecht" data element (for which only the display format has been changed); the data from unchanged data elementsare also transferred automatically. The data element "Geburtsdatum", which was deleted from the example form, cannot be transferred. For the new data element "BMI" no original data is available, this data can be added manually at this point. The user has the option to save the form in the updated version with the displayed values by clicking Save upgraded form, whereby any non-transferable data is discarded. Alternatively, the form can be reset to the original version by clicking on Cancel.

Figure 68

The successful saving of the upgraded form (version 2) is confirmed by a notification at the top of the screen.

Figure 69

Modified form: version 3

The following further changes were made on the example form. In each case an existing data element was replaced by a new data element, e.g., to extend the list of permitted values or to modify information regarding the data type or unit of measurement.

  • Data element "Geschlecht" replaced (additional permitted values)
  • Data element "Gewicht" replaced (data type integer -> float)

If the form is opened again for the same patient, the user receives a notification that a form upgrade is possible, i.e., that a newer version of this form is available.

Figure 70

After clicking on Upgrade form to latest version (yellow button) at the bottom of the screen, OSSE attempts to transfer the previously saved data to the new form version. In the example, the data from the original data elements for "Geschlecht" and "Gewicht" cannot be automatically transferred to the corresponding new data elements. This data must therefore be entered manually using the original data displayed under Unmapped form fields as a template before the form is saved in its upgraded version as described above.

Figure 71

Figure 72

The successful saving of the upgraded form (version 3) is again confirmed by a notification at the top of the screen.