The TFM database is composed of many different types of data organized internally in tables. Some examples of data are patients, ICD9 codes, and coverages. Within these internal tables, the number of entries that are stored can vary from a few items to thousands of entries. Often it is necessary to make a selection from all, or a set of the entries in a specific database. TFM Search Tables are used for this purpose. The tables are created in one of two ways. The first method is by entering search criteria to build the table. This method is available for listing patients and guarantors and is accessed through the TFM Tool Bar. The second method of generating a table does not allow entry of search criteria, but rather lists all the entries in the database. Tables are generated in this fashion directly from the TFM Configuration Menu.
Regardless of which method was used to generate a table, once created, the tables operate in an identical manner. The figure below illustrates a table listing a set of patients.
The screen displayed for TFM Search Tables contains three sections. The first is the table area itself. This is where the items are listed, one per row. If the number of items to list is larger than the area can display, a vertical scroll bar is provided. The second section contains a search criteria box and the third section, at the bottom of the screen, contains the work buttons.
Once the entries are listed in the table, there are two methods to make a selection. The first is to use the mouse and do a double-click on a row in the table. The second method is to select a row in the table with the mouse and a single-click and then choose the Select button. Note that the selected row is always highlighted.
After the items in the table have been listed, quite often the list is very long and it is useful to find a specific item quickly. This search criteria box allows the user to type in any partial string that they wish to locate in the table. When the Find button is selected, the typed string is searched against all the items in the list and the first one that contains the string is displayed at the top of the table. The table is scrolled appropriately. Additional selections of the Find button continue down through the table, finding and selecting successive matches. The "case" of the typed string and the item in the table must match exactly. A message is displayed when no more matches are found and the table will reset to the first item.
There are five buttons along the bottom of the screen. These buttons perform the following:
New
Delete
Re-Do
Close
Select
There are search tables available in TFM to display the following kinds of data: