Report Timing

The data entry work required by SYSTOC pays off when the reports are printed.

If data entry has been timely, the reports warn you when critical dates expire, show progress on cases, help keep track of appointments and phone calls to make, and give valuable cross-checking information for billing data entry. The timing of report printing is critical. Many of the reports have a user-entered range of dates. It is possible that data may fail to appear on a report if you are not meticulous.

For example, if you print the Company Drug Screen Results at noon on 10/25 and specify 10/25 as the End Test Date, the report will include all data entered before noon. If some lab results come in later and are entered that afternoon, they will not appear in the printout. You could incorporate them in the next report on the following day by specifying 10/25 as the Begin Test Date, but that might give you some duplicates. However, it would be even worse if you specified 10/26 as the Begin Test Date, because the 10/25 afternoon entries would never appear on any report! Therefore, clinics should establish firm rules for timing report printouts.