QOF Assessor Reports Generation Project

Scheduling report runs

Introduction

When the Apollo QOF software is first installed by the GP practice the initial automatic reporting window is set to 9am to 7pm every Sunday. Depending on run times for reports, if any reports are not run during this window, the outstanding reports will automatically be carried forward to the next day and will be run between 2am and 7am. This process will be repeated until all reports have been run successfully.

When the QOF software is about to run, it initially checks to see if the practice database is off line (ie backing up/running administration tasks etc). If the practice database is unavailable the QOF software will delay running for 1 hour. After 1 hour the QOF software will check again and if the database is still offline the outstanding reports will be carried forward to the next day when the same process is executed. This will continue until a successful run window is found and reports generated.

If the QOF software is running when a practice back up starts, the QOF software will stop and recommence at the next available window.

If the GP practice decides at any time that it would like to permanently change the Sunday reporting window, to avoid backup clashes etc, these instructions will guide the user through resetting the QOF first automatic weekly reporting window to a time chosen by the GP practice.

It should be noted that the clinical server and workstation loaded with the QOF software MUST remain switched on at all times and logged into Windows, including over the weekend, to ensure the QOF reports are able to run automatically. To maintain security on this workstation, a password-protected screensaver can be set up.

The workstation loaded with the QOF software, for housekeeping purposes, should be rebooted on a regular basis.

Scheduling report runs

Once the QOF software has been installed at the practice, an “A3” symbol will be placed into the system tray at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, beside the clock, on the workstation where the software is loaded:

To change the automated run time for the QOF reports right click on this A3 symbol and a menu will be displayed as shown below:

Single left click on “Active SQL periods”.

The following screen will be displayed:

Decide a time and day you would like the QOF auto reporting to run each week. This reporting window should be outside of the backup time for the practice and not during times when the clinical system is in use as there may be some degradation in system speed.

Set the start and end times of the reporting window by clicking on the arrows beside the relevant day. When clicking on the arrows a clock will be displayed as shown below:

To set the chosen time left click on the clock face for the hour and right click for the minutes. If you wish to set the minutes to a multiple of 5 hold down the “Ctrl” key when selecting minutes. Alternatively you may just overtype the times as shown in the “Start” and “End” fields on the screen (note that these times should be entered using the 24 hour clock).

Select “AM” or “PM” by left clicking below the clock as shown above.

When finished left click on “Set”.

As the GP practice automatically communicates with the Apollo server each Saturday, the amended automatic report run times will be applied to the GP practice from the next Saturday and thereafter will run on the new selected day.