Access Anaesthetics is a dynamic system. The Medicare items schedule is updated two or more time per year. The health fund schedules may be update anywhere between twice yearly to monthly. The program file may be updated 2 to 5 times per year. As the program file is updated, it may make modifications to the structure of your data file. It is important that you understand how to obtain and install the various updates so that you can get the most out of your system.
For greatest efficiency, we provide all the required updates on our website for clients to download. For registered users, we also send an email message to notify you when updates are posted on the site. We can also send updates by mail on floppy disks, although this is not our preferred option. Also, we will not always provide minor updates by this method.
Which files need to be updated?
| • | the program file |
| • | the Medicare items file (also includes RVG and postcodes) |
| • | the health fund tables |
Instructions for downloading updates from the HealthBase website are provided on the website at http://www.healthbase.com.au. Most update files are provided as self-extracting zip files. These are compressed files which can be uncompressed by double clicking on them. The zip file may contain one or more files depending on what is included in the update.
Most updates require the same general installation process as follows:
| 1. | Download the file to a convenient location on your hard drive. The My Documents folder or Desktop are suitable. |
| 2. | Ensure Access Anaesthetics is not running, and close it if it is. |
| 3. | Open My Computer or Windows Explorer and locate the downloaded file. |
| 4. | Double click on the file to begin the unzipping process. After a short message identifying the contents of the file, the window shown below will appear. |
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| 6. | Click the Unzip button. |
| 7. | You should receive a message saying that 'x files were unzipped'. Click OK, then click Close to dismiss the Winzip box. |
With some updates, a help file will open automatically providing information on the changes in the new version of the program. Read this at your leisure and close it. If this help file appears, you usually won't need to close the Winzip box.
After completing the installation, open Access Anaesthetics as usual and verify that the system has been updated by checking which version of the various files are now installed. Once you are happy that the download and installation process was successful, you can delete the file you downloaded. The easiest way to do this is to right click on the file in Windows Explorer and select Delete from the shortcut menu.
Additional steps required for item file updates
Once downloaded and unzipped, program and health fund files are fully installed and will operate normally. However, the Medicare items file requires an additional step and the DVA and ASA RVG rates need to be updated manually. This allows you to choose exactly when to use a particular items file, and to switch to a previous one if you ever need to. After completing the steps above, proceed as follows:
| 1. | Start Access Anaesthetics and go to the File Management Menu. |
| 2. | Click the Select an items file button. |
| 3. | Click on the name of the most recent file and click the Use the selected Items file button. When this step is completed, the new items data will be available for use. |
| 4. | Return to the Main Menu and click Edit system Options. |
| 5. | On the Unit and time values page, click the Check current rates button to review and/or insert the DVA and RVG rates. |
Updating multi-user systems
The update process for multi-user systems is the same as for single user systems. However, if the data files are located on a network, some of the update files must be updated to the network location, not to the location on the local drive. In particular, the Medicare items and health fund files need to be updated once to the network location, while the program file updates must be done on each local drive.
During installation, a specific folder should have been created to hold all the data files. We recommend calling this folder AADataFiles. The following files should be moved to this file from the local drive.
\\Server\AADataFiles\DoctorName.aau (all .aau files should be stored here)
\\Server\AADataFiles\AAItems2003_May.mdb (and any other items files)
\\Server\AADataFiles\AAFundsWithRVG.mdb
\\Server\AADataFiles\AASite.mdb
The program file should be updated to the local drive. All other program related files should also be in this folder. Note that it is essential to update the program file on each individual PC which will access the network files.
C:\Access Anaesthetics\AA97.mde (or AA2000.mde)
Because the zip files provided may occasionally contain both program and items or health fund files, it may be necessary to move these from the local drive to the network location manually after unzipping. If this is done, it only needs be done once, not once from each PC.