BestNotes User Guide

Table of Contents

Getting Started on BestNotes …. 3

Create/Deactivate User Account …. 3

Load BestNotes Software …. 3

Login to BestNotes …. 3

Change Password …. 3

BestNotes Training …. 3

Calendar …. 3

Q-Log …. 3-4

Tasks …. 4

Data Forms …. 4

QuickList Labels …. 4

Tags …. 4

Creating Client and Individual Contacts …. 5

Clients …. 5

Individuals (Service Recipients) …. 5

Contact Manager …. 5

ACT and PRIDE Protocol …. 6

BAYC Protocol …. 7

BRAUN Protocol …. 8

CEYD Protocol …. 8

KINSHIP Protocol …. 10

MAC Protocol …. 11

TBS and FASST Protocol …. 12

Client Information and Documents …. 13

Find Clients and Documents …. 13

Create Client Documents …. 13

Upload Documents …. 13-14

Re-Admits and Transfers …. 15

Electronic Signature …. 16

Append …. 17

East Bay Protocol …. 17

North Bay Protocol …. 18

Intake and Exit Forms …. 19

Ledgering …. 20-21

Reports …. 22-23

(The BestNotes User Guide can be found in BestNotes Documents: Home / BestNotes / BestNotes User Guide)

GETTING STARTED ON BESTNOTES

BestNotes is Sunny Hills’ client management system. It is the repository for all of our mental health progress notes, assessments, treatment plans, billing information, etc. Every billable (and some non-billable as well as other mental health) service that staff provide to clients will be documented in BestNotes.

To Create or Deactivate a User Account

To create a BestNotes user account or deactivate a user account, the supervisor should make a request to the Director of Clinical Quality Assurance (CQA). To create a new user account, submit staff’s first and last name, discipline, title, and email address. Also designate which program(s) staff will need access to as well as any special permission needed, such as ledgering or creating contacts. To deactivate a user account, provide staff’s name and date of deactivation. Once a user account has been created, the Director of CQA will forward the username and a temporary password to the new user.

To Load BestNotes Software

BestNotes is a web-based program that can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. Most, if not all, agency computers already have the BestNotes icon/interface loaded. If you are working from home, you will need to download the interface by going to their website (www.bestnotes.com) and selecting “BestNotes CRM/EHR” on the left hand side of the page. Once you are on the CRM screen, click on “Support and Training” in the upper right hand corner of the page. You will see a header called “downloads.” Select the version appropriate for your computer and download the software. This download will create a BestNotes icon on your desktop.

To Login to BestNotes

Select the BestNotes icon on your desktop. When the software opens, you will see a box with 2 fields. If the “Server Name/IP” field is blank, type in “crm.bestnotes.com.” The site ID is “sunnyhills1937.” Press <connect>. A Login page will come up which prompts you to enter username and password. Your username is first initial and last name (e.g., mdenton). Your initial password will be provided to you separately. Once those are typed in press <enter> and you will be in.

To Change Your Password

To change your password, select “Settings” at the bottom left of any BestNotes screen. At the top left of your screen, select “Users” below the “Actions” column. Enter and verify a new password and then save. For problems with your password, contact the Director of CQA.

Training on BestNotes

With the support of this manual, you will be able to get started on BestNotes and begin to navigate through the different screens. You can learn as you go or schedule further training from your supervisor, another co-worker, the Director of CQA, or BestNotes staff. To schedule a session with one of the BestNotes’ trainers please email . These trainings are conducted over the phone at your own computer. These training sessions do not cost the agency any money, so don’t feel shy about using this resource. To schedule training with the Director of CQA, call (415) 457-3200 Ext. 135 or email America Grajeda at .

Calendar

BestNotes calendar system allows you to create and view appointments on BestNotes. To enter, select the Calendar bar in the lower left hand corner of your screen. Your calendar appointments for the day will appear on the right of your screen. View calendar by day, week, or month by selecting from the choices at the top of the page. Choices are located to the right of the home icon represented by the little house. Use the green arrows on the same line to move forward and backwards in the calendar. At the top of the screen and to the right, view other user’s calendars by selecting overlay and using the drop down to select another user.

To create an appointment, click your curser directly on the calendar. Use the appointment screen to select appointment details such as date and time. Invite users to the appointment by using the drop down and selecting additional users. Add Contact and Template information if needed. Create a reoccurring appoint by selecting the Recurrence tab at the top right of the appointment screen. Add additions details

Q-log

BestNotes has a communication system called “Q-log.” It can be accessed by clicking on the “Calendar” bar in the lower left hand corner of your screen. The Q-log system is entirely secure within the encrypted BestNotes environment, so there is no need to encode or otherwise disguise client information while using this tool. If you have any messages on the Q-log they will show up next to the Calendar icon. You will also receive an email on your SHS email address stating that you were sent a message on the Q-log. To disable email notifications, select the “Settings” bar at the bottom left of your screen and select Preferences for notifications.

Select the “Q-Log” tab in the middle of the page to see your messages in the “Inbox”. Click on the message to view the entire message below. The create a new message, select “New Message” and click down on Participants and send the message to multiple persons, as needed. Participants highlights green are currently on BestNotes. You can also reply and add a chain to the message with each update. The system gives you the option of sending a notification e-mail to the recipient as well so that they know to check their Q-log for an incoming message.

Archive old messages that you no longer need. To view archived messages, scroll down the Inbox to Archived.

You can also send a Q-Log with client note/document information. When you are in a client’s activity log, select a client document, highlighted in blue. Highlight content that you wish to send by left clicking and holding curser over the content. Select the icon of a paper with an arrow at the top right corner (send to). Select the Q-Log tab, participants, and then save and your message will be sent to the Q-Log.

Use the clipboard with a green plus sign to create a Task from a Q-Log message (see Tasks for further detail).

Tasks

BestNotes has a system that allows you to create tasks for yourself and other users. After logging into BestNotes, you can view Tasks due for 7 days at the top of the page. To enter the Task Manager, select the Tasks bar at the bottom left of the page. To create a task, select New Task (clipboard with a green plus sign icon) at the top of the page. Enter task detail, due date, assign to yourself or another user, and save. The task will appear on the task list. To see another user’s task list, use the drop down at the top of the page and select the user. To update a task’s status, select the task and select a new status and then save. You can view all tasks, pending and completed, by selecting “Show Completed” at the top of the page.

Data Forms

Data forms allow us to collect information about many aspects of our services. To see an example of a form, go to page 17 Intake and Exit Forms. Forms can be designed to collect data about clients (demographics), services, programs and can be sorted by client, fields, programs, county, start/end dates, etc. To create a Form, contact Director of CQA.

QuickList Labels

The QuickList is located in the upper left hand corner of the screen beneath the contacts Search Results box. These quicklists can be assigned different names to assist in organizing contacts. To assign names to these quick lists, go intoSettingsand clickQuickListLabels and type the name to display in the blank box provided next to each label number.

My List- BestNotes gives the option of adding contacts to a personal quick list, calledMyList, which is located on the left-hand panel underneath the search results. Contacts added to this list are always displayed and available for quick access.

To add/remove a contact from theMyList:

a.  Search for the contact using the search box at the top-left of BestNotes.

b.  Click the contact name in the search results below the search box to open the contact.

c.  Check or un-check theMyListbox to the right the contact's name in the main contact area.

Tags

Every Contact (Client/Individual) on BestNotes is affixed with one or more Tags. Tags are assigned by the Contact Manager and are located at the top right of a Contact’s page. There are two types of Tags in BestNotes.

1.Access Tags (Green): These tags are used for limiting a user's access to specific contact’s information. Examples of access tags are ACT, TBS, and BAYC. Only users assigned to a specific group will have access to clients/individuals with the affixed tag. Contact the Director of CQA to request access to a group.

2.Category Tags (Yellow): These tags are used to describe or categorize contacts. These tags can be used to assist in creating reports. An example of how to use these tags is, when a client is discharged from services and is assigned a Past tag. A report can then be created to view each participant in this group with this tag. Examples of category tags are Past, Current, Marin (County), Alameda (County) and program subgroups.

CREATING CLIENT AND INDIVIDUAL CONTACTS

It is Sunny Hills Services’ policy to capture all persons served across all programs in BestNotes. Contacts should be created only by staff members with proper authorization. Authorized staff members will have their user profiles configured to allow certain related tasks to be performed.

At the end of each fiscal year we attempt to ascertain how many people were touched by our services in the course of that fiscal year. It is important that we are able to accurately quantify the impact of our services for a number of reasons: Funders and private donors are invariably interested in the size of our service population; our Board of Directors clearly has a vested interest in the breadth and depth of our impact; and we as staff members take pride in the degree to which we positively impact the communities we serve. Through BestNotes, we capture two types of contacts (client and individual).

Client

A client is the primary agency person that we are serving in one of our programs. A client may be a middle-school student enrolled at MAC, a 4 year-old receiving service through TBS, or a 20 year old living at RAFA.

Individual (Service Recipient)

In years past, we have been forced to estimate the number of persons served. You may have noticed that the word “client” is not used. That is because our services tend to reach beyond those individuals formally designated as clients, and the number we generate always includes both formal clients and members of our clients’ families or natural support systems. Through BestNotes, we will calculate rather than estimate that number. In support of this initiative, we have developed the term “service recipient” as defined below:

A service recipient is a person who has, on at least one occasion, received professional services delivered by Sunny Hills Services staff in connection with an existing agency client. A service recipient is not currently an agency client, nor is a service recipient a paid or volunteer professional associated with an agency client. Rather, a service recipient is part of a client's family or natural support system and has participated in a service delivery contact in that context. A service recipient has generally participated in a given service with the expectation that such involvement may provide benefit to the client and/or the service recipient. Examples of potential service recipients include: Parents/guardians, siblings, and extended family members; fictive kin; romantic partners; and friends.

To state the obvious, we cannot count the number of service recipients in any given year without first identifying them. In many cases, service recipients are already entered into BestNotes as related contacts. In other instances, we have not yet identified any service recipients associated with a current or former client.

In accordance with this task, all providers of service should identify any individual who qualifies as a service recipient based on the definition above. In the ACT program, this individual may be a girlfriend who attended a few family team meetings. At BAYC, the child of a parenting teen would qualify. In our Kinship program, the grandchildren of a relative caregiver would receive this designation. Direct service staff should provide your direct supervisor with a list of these individuals and the clients with whom they are associated on a regular basis. Full names are preferred, but full names are not essential. You need only provide the information you do have (e.g. first name only, last name only, nickname, etc.) to begin the process. Each program has a designated Contact Managers who enters all identified individuals into BestNotes and assigns a “service recipient” tag. Of course, we are also requiring that service recipients be identified and uploaded to BestNotes on an ongoing basis.