FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GENERAL
For technical support please contact the CoAcS Helpdesk:
Tel: +44 1225 312992 (9.30am to 4.30pm weekdays)
Email: helpdesk@coacs.com
If you find that the Enquiry Manager is unresponsive and generally slow, the first thing to check is 'Letter Templates' in the Admin module:
It is possible that you may have accidentally inserted images into the header or footer that are too big.
For example, there has been a case of one centre with a header that contained an image of 5Mb. This meant that every enquiry using that template was at least 5Mb in size,
with the consequence that the MiDatabank Enquiry Manager was running extremely slowly. When that image was removed, the system was fast and responsive.
Of course, there may be other reasons that the system is running slowly, such as network congestion, poor spec of client PC, or a SQL Server that is over-loaded.
However, before contacting local IT it is worth checking the letter templates for bloated images. Please remember that images should be kept as small as possible and only need to
be of sufficient resolution to display and print properly.
Restrictions have been introduced in Version 3.1.1.1 that prevents the user pasting an image over 1Mb, and strongly advises to keep the images small.
Answer: Regular back-ups of the database and the file attachments should be done by your Trust IT department. Please see the the Documentation section of this web-site.
You should make sure that your Resources master list is kept up-to-date. This is done at the click of a button in the Admin module (please see the FAQs on the Admin module)
Also, you should ensure that you have the latest drug dictionary for your country.
Materials available include:
MICAL
the Quick Start Guide
the Manual
these FAQs
There are a variety of options available. Your hospital switchboard may be able to help or advise if the hospital is able to purchase this type of
equipment under any special local contract/pricing arrangements.
Headsets used by MI Centres:
Headset Report 1 (pdf)- a review of the GN Netcom Wireless GN9 120 flex
Headset Report 2 (pdf)- a review of the Plantronics Supra Monaural Headset
Please email your suggestion to helpdesk@coacs.com
MiDatabank can be installed onto a laptop, in the same way as it is installed on a workstation. However, the laptop should have network access, most likely by a wireless connection.
MiDatabank can be installed onto a laptop, in the same way as it is installed on a workstation. However, the laptop should have network access, most likely by a wireless connection.
No, MI Centres should not need to engage in this activity any longer because journals are indexed so rapidly on Embase and Medline and these databases are freely available to the NHS. Non-Embase journals such as Prescriber are available via Pharm-line. In order to search only journals kept in one MI centre it is recommended that MI staff save a search pattern in Datastar-Dialog limited to the journals that they keep in their own MI centre. This can then be retrieved whenever a local journal search is needed.
For a period of 30 days following the expiry date, it is possible to use MiDatank normally. Once the 30 days grace period has passed, the Enquiry Manager will revert to 'read-only' mode.
If the network becomes unavailable it will not be possible to connect to the enquiries database, or to enter or view enquiry data. You should contact the network administrator at your Trust IT department to resolve the situation.