MULTI-SELECT OPTIONS; A BRIEF OVERVIEW
By Linda Balduf
Sunrise Clinical Manager version 5.0 continues to improve the versatility of orders and tasks
with the addition of the ability to configure multiple selection options from user defined data
dictionaries. Users are presented with the standard dropdown list of selections, or tables that
present dictionary choices in a variety of configurable layouts. Both restricted and suggested
dictionaries are supported.
A new control, the multi-option control, has been added to the form configuration to manage
changes. These control properties are accessed through the “More Properties” button on the “Edit
Form Field” page. From here, a variety of options controlling the appearance of the data can be
configured. Dictionary data can be presented in standard dropdown form, flow layouts, or table
format. Radio buttons are used for single selection configuration, and checkboxes appear when
multiple selections are allowed. Table layout style can be across or down, and the number of
columns is configurable.
Additional properties can be modified when the multi-select option is chosen. A minimum and
maximum number of selections can be chosen for restricted dictionaries; however, selecting a
minimum greater than zero does not make a selection mandatory, this is still controlled by the
“Mandatory when ordering” checkbox. The number of lines for the layout, and the number of text
lines can also be configured. When multiple selections are allowed, the selection sequence can
also be maintained. Selections are numbered as they are selected. If a selection is deleted or
changed before submission, the system automatically will renumber selections. Selection sequences
options including sequence prefix style, selection prefix separator, and sequence prefix ordinal
values. These configurations are not mandatory, system defaults will apply if no changes are made.
No changes are required to any existing configuration during an upgrade to clinical Manager
5.0. All properties of existing user defined data dictionaries will be maintained through the
upgrade process. The new properties will be added, and their field set to perform as they did
before the upgrade. Some properties may be set to default values, but may not be used until the
multi-select option checkbox is checked.
Other factors to keep in mind when configuring these options include the use of multi-select
values to Called MLMs and the transmission of multi-select data in an HL7 transmission to a
downstream system. In addition, as with user defined dictionaries in previous versions, changes or
modifications to data dictionaries should be done with care.
This new multi-select configuration option provides an enhancement that will provide increased
flexibility when building forms, and the ability to present the clinicians with a wider variety of
choices. Dictionary display is improved with table and flow layouts, and the ability to select
multiple options will quickly find acceptance with end users.
If you need more information or have any questions please contact us at 610- 444- 1233 or
email us at vcs@getvitalized.com