AIMS forms format revisions
AIMS Information Management System (AIMS)
Effective April 2015


To receive this publication in an accessible format, please phone 03 9096 8595 using the National Relay Service 13 36 77 if required, or email
Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.
© State of Victoria, 2015
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au). It is a condition of this licence that you credit the State of Victoria as author.
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Contents

Introduction

Summary of key changes

Standard form features

Form Layout

Form buttons

Form navigation

AIMS Data Entry Instructions

AIMS log in

Data Entry Guide

Helpful Hints and Tips

Assistance

Introduction

TheAgency Information Management System (AIMS)is an online entry system and reporting facility primarily used to collect summary level statistical and financial information from health services. Health services submit data to the department in accordance with the Victorian health policy and funding guidelines.

The AIMS online entry system is hosted on theHealthCollectPortal.

In April 2015 AIMS forms have undergone visual designand user interface enhancements. These improvements have resulted in formsthat are contemporary, simple and standardised to support most common web browsers.This document provides a summary of key changes and standard form features and instructions for entering data on AIMS forms.

Summary of key changes

  • All AIMS forms, apart from the S10 and S11 forms, have been revised.
  • The ‘Close’ button has been removed. This button has been replaced with the standard windows icon ‘Close’ button at top of web browser.
  • The ‘Print’ button is now available on the top right hand side of the form. The standard windows icon ‘Print’ button on the web browser can also be used. Forms are printed directly from the browser and may require the page orientation to beadjusted.
  • The ‘Recalculate’ button has been removed. This has been replaced by an automated sum function that will calculate sub-totals and totals on data entry.
  • The ‘Submit’ button has been removed. The ‘Completed’ tick box submits data to the department.
  • Input cells are blank and are no longer pre-populated with zeros.
  • Mandatory data items are identified with a red asterisk (*) located at the end of data labels.
  • Forms are displayed on one page regardless of length, and are grouped into sections and subsections. Separate pages are no longer used for large forms.
  • Validations such as value ranges and data format occur on each data entry field.
  • Financial year selected when opening Annual Return forms and Mental Health Establishment (MHE) forms has been changed to match the year of data being collected. That is, the Year 2013-14 is now selected on the form selector page to open Annual Return forms and MHE forms for the financial year ending 30 June 2014.
  • Forms prior to 2014-15 will not be available; however previous financial year data can be viewed by using the year-to-date reports.

Standard form features

Form Layout

The form is laid out in two sections: the form header andthe form body.

Form Header

  • Form name
  • Brief formdescription
  • Agency
  • Reporting period
  • Validate and Save form buttons, and a Completed form checkbox

Form Body

  • Section and subsection headers
  • Measures
  • Columnlabels
  • Row labels (Field Names)
  • Sub Total and Total calculations
  • Data Entry boxes
Image 1 Sample AIMS form

Form buttons

Validate button

The validate button checks whether the entereddata meets the form business rules.

The message “All data valid” is displayed when all the entered data meets the form business rules.

Validation messages appear in red immediately below the buttons and related data entry boxes. Derived cells show a red outline.

The validate button does not save data. The button is only active when the ‘Completed’ check box is not ticked.

Image 2 Sample Validation message

Save Button

The save button saves both valid and invalid data. It does not apply form level validations.

The message “Submission saved successfully” displays when the data is saved.

This button is only active when the ‘Completed’ check box is not ticked.

Completed Checkbox

The completed checkbox activates form level validations, saves and submits data to the department.

The message “Submission transmitted to the department successfully” is displayed when the form business rules have been met, the data has been saved, and the data has been submitted to the department.

If the form business rules have not been met, the validation messages are displayed on the form, and the data is not saved or submitted.

When the completed checkbox is ticked, the validate and save buttons are disabled, and the form is not able to be edited. When the completed tick box is unticked, the form is unlocked and amendments and/or corrections can be made to the form. The validate and save buttons are enabled.

Print icon

A Print icon on the right-hand side of the form enables the print pop-up window.

Ensure that the ‘Print’ function is set up to suit the form layout e.g. landscape/portrait or shrink to size.

Close function

To close the form, use the browser close button located inthe top right corner.

Calculations and derived fields

Calculations and derived fields are highlighted with aqua coloured backgrounds. These fields updateas the data is entered.

Form navigation

To move between data entry boxes, use the tab key or click on next data entry box.

The Enter key activates the active button. During data entry, the validate button is the default active button.

AIMS Data Entry Instructions

AIMS log in

  • Log in to HealthCollect portal (at using your HealthCollect login details.
  • Select AIMS context
  • Click on the ‘AIMS Selector’
Image 3 AIMS Form Selector
  • Select the ‘Year’ (Default is current financial year)
  • Select the ‘Health Service’/campus site from the drop down list.
  • Select the ‘Collection’ to be reported.
  • Select the ‘Period’.
  • Click on ‘Get Collection’ button.

Data Entry Guide

  1. Enter the data into the data entry boxes.
  2. To check whether the data meets the form business rules, click on the ‘Validate’ button.
  3. To save the data, click on the ‘Save’ button.
  4. When the data entry is complete, tick the ‘Completed’ checkbox. If further amendments are required, untick the checkbox.
  5. Close the form by clicking the ‘Close’ button on your browser.

Helpful Hints and Tips

  • For Internet Explorer Version 8 users, there may be a delay after ticking the ‘Completed’ checkbox, before the display of the following message: “Submission transmitted to the department successfully”’.
  • For some forms, e.g. A3 Public Hospital Beds, the periods (months) must be submitted sequentially. That is, January must be submitted after December. If a prior period needs to be amended, the completed checkbox needs to be unticked in all subsequent periods first. For example, if November needs to be amended and all months to January have been completed, then first open January and untick the completed checkbox, followed by December, and then November.
  • To navigate between the data entry boxes, users can now use either the ‘Tab’ or ‘Enter’ buttons depending on the Browser e.g. Internet Explorer (IE), Safari.
  • Forms can be amended to size to bring data entry fields closer to the field names.
  • Print preview should be used to adjust form size for desired printing options eg. fit to one page or landscape.

Assistance

For any queries regarding the AIMS forms, email or contact (03)9096 8595.

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