The "Form templates" functionality from the "Surgery" menu is used to create templates of forms as described in the "Doctor/Nurse surgery" section. Forms can be defined both by the system administrator as well as by doctors. Forms defined by the administrator for specific clinics are visible for all doctors working in these clinics. Forms defined by the doctor are visible only for himself. Doctor on his own needs can also modify the forms defined by the administrator, but the changes are not entered to the original form defined by the administrator but to its copy visible for the doctor.

After selecting the "Form templates" functionality from the "Surgery" menu there is displayed a list of all templates of forms available for logged user (administrator or doctor). At each template there are buttons to export, edit and remove particular template. Below the list of templates you can see a buttons to import template and create a new template. Buttons of editing and creating a template are linking to a form that allows defining a template or make changes to an existing template. Delete button lets you delete the template (after confirmation).

After pressing a button of editing or creating a new template there is displayed a template’s form (in the first case is empty, in the second case - with the data of template).

For each template there is defined template name, an optional description and language and type of template (template may be a template of interview, template of examination, template of patient’s documentation, template of referral, template of hospital stay, template of recommendations - many kinds at once) and it means that it is a disposable template (it is important only for templates in “patient’s documentation” – a form completed during the visit based on a template which is marked as a disposable, you will not see on other visits of particular patient with a doctor at the clinic, a form completed during the visit based on a template which is not marked as a disposable, you will see on other visits and it will be possible to fill it by another data). The administrator has also the possibility to indicate clinic, in which defined by him template will be visible for doctors. Checking the box "Display automatically in the visit window" will cause that the template will be automatically selected and displayed in the surgery room in the visit window when it is operated (this applies to templates of interviews, examinations and recommendations). If you select the type of information in the "Patient history" field, the copies of all documents created in the office on the basis of the template marked in this way will automatically go to the "History" tab in the patient's card and will be associated with the selected type of information. The principal part of the template definition is its appearance and content. The appearance and content of the template is created using an editor like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Writer, which allows formatting content, create tables, insert fields to fill, links, graphics and multimedia. In places where in the template have to be fields to entering content, relevant tags have to be inserted by placing the cursor at the point where you want the field and select the type of field from "Elements of a meta language" submenu located in the "Insert" menu of editor. There are the following fields:

• checkbox – field of checking „✓”
• field of selecting date – field to entering date
• text field – field to entering single line of text
• long text field – field to entering many lines of text
• select field – list with options to select

After selecting the type of field there are displayed the parameters of the field:

• name – field name
• group – unused (for future use)
• description – description of meaning of the field
• links – unused (for future use)
• format – unused (for future use)
• maximal length – maximal number of signs, which can be entered in the field
• values – list of comma-separated options which appear on the select field
• multiple – option indicating whether in the select field you can select more than one option
• default value – default value that should be displayed or be chosen in a field when displaying the form
• display all select options – option pointing out manner of presentation of select field – markin it leads to display all options at once instead of default behaviour of displaying single option and displaying the rest after unfolding the list
• rows – number of rows of text to be entered within long text field
• columns – number of characters (of average width) to be entered within single row in long text field
• multiplicity – unused (for future use)

After entering the parameters of the field and confirming with "OK" button, tag corresponding to the field is inserted in the content of the template at the cursor position. If field has default value defined then within the tag representing this field there appears entered default value, else there appears field type between doubled exclamation marks (for example: “!!text field!!”).

After entering the data of template and create its content, the information should confirmed by clicking the "Save" button at the bottom of the editor.

Export button allows to save template defined in jHIS™ system to computer disk. By clicking this button browser stores template file to computer disk.

Import button allows to read into jHIS system a template stored on computer disk. By clicking this button there appears form in which one has to specify template file and then click the button of „Import”.

Mechanism for exporting and importing templates enables easy and comfortable carrying once defined templates between different instances of jHIS™ system.