Home Forums Discussions Problems Trying to delete imported items

I'm trying to delete some imported items (preliminary labs that I have the finals on, etc). I right click on the imported item and choose to delete the item, which successfully rids it from the patient's imported items list. However, when I go to the "ImportItems" folder on my hard drive, finding the patient by chart ID#, I see that the items that I just deleted are still there... and I have to manually delete them again.

Anyone know if there is any reason for this? Why can't it delete the actual PDF file when you "delete imported item"? It seems to me this just clogs up the folder, making it filled with unnecessary files and taking up space that someday will be needed. Thanks

Interesting. When I delete an imported item I get a pop-up message that tells me that AC can't find that item. I just ignore the pop-up (presuming I really did intend to delete it, nice "insurance").

Will watch to see other's experience & advice.

Bruce.

Bruce,
I get that message if I've first deleted the file from the "ImportItems" folder on the hard drive and then click on that corresponding item in the patient's chart... AC can't find it because I've already deleted it. I can't even delete that from their chart unless it can first find a file with that name... so I when this happens I end up inserting a PDF into the folder, rename it to whatever name it's looking for... THEN delete it from their chart... THEN go delete that inserted temporary file from the ImportItem folder.

This happened because I picked the wrong item to delete from the folder when trying to "clean it up". When importing via AC, the files are named a number (tho the item description is seen on the imported items list). It's a little easier when the item is imported via UpDox because the actual file is named that same descriptive term, with date added as part of the file name).

Maybe it has something to do with UpDox; I don't use it. I did learn to only delete items via the import menu.

I agree the numbering convention seems somewhat odd but I can usually find the item I'm looking for by the approx. date the file was created, i.e. shortly after the test was performed and reported.

Sorry but I don't think I have much to offer.

Bruce.

Chris,

I can see your point. And, physicians being anal-retentive and OCD, probably more than others love to keep the folders nice and tidy.

I, though, would look at the "bug" as a huge plus. Given that one can buy a Terabyte hard drive nowadays for under $200, I think it's a good thing that it leaves it behind. Now, you don't have a file you don't need cluttering up your actual Imported Items window, but you have the peace of mind that six months from now you can always go back and find that file that you wish you hadn't deleted.

Thanks Bert. I'll work on the OCD

Interestingly, working on another issue in another post I've inadvertently come across the answer to the problem:

choosing to delete the imported item doesn't remove the actual actual file from the patient's imported items folder IF that item is being "previewed" in the imported items page, but if another (or no) item is previewed, it does delete it.

I may take your advice and just let it be though, or at least not actively change the preview to properly delete the item ALL the time, but accepting it as a safeguard.

Thanks

It happens because the file you are trying to delete is opened in AC. You can't delete a file while it is being accessed by the viever program.
Another words, if you click on your PDF imported item to see it first, and then try to detele, it won't be deleted from the harddrive. You would need to delete it w/o previewing them, or you can preview them, then click on another PDF file (so another file would be opened in window to the right), then delete the previous file. This would delete the file completely. The applies to TIFF files and all other files. You can't delete files from harddrive while viewing them.

Import Items under AC, when deleting will not delete the item from the folder on the hard drive. It is simply deleting the association between AC and that file name on your hard drive.

For example look at the opposite situation: manually insert a file into the folder on your hard drive for patient #3702. Then open that patient's chart in AC, go to Import Items tab, and you will NOT see that file there. That's b/c the AC database is keeping track of what has been imported through the AC Importer.

On the same token, deleting the file from within AC deletes the ASSOCIATION between AC and the file, but not the file itself.

I agree w/ Bert, it's best to leave that file on the hard drive b/c you might need it and we all have OCD. It's a great therapeutic way to overcome the symptoms.

Deleting the file from within AC DOES delete the file itself if the file is not being "previewed" on the imported items screen.

Now I really only care about this for items that I think best to not have remnants of in a patient's imported items folder (items that have been imported in error). Otherwise, I might not be sure that if a patient gets a copy of their "file" it doesn't include a copy of a different patient's medical info.

Chris,

Thanks for clearing that up. As noted everywhere on here, I don't use Imported Items much, so I may say something inaccurate or stupid from time to time.

I tried every possibility and you are correct. It's basically a little weird.

If you try to delete the actual file from the folder while the file is displayed, Windows correctly tells you that you can't since the file is in use. When the file is open, and you delete the icon on the left it will delete the icon but not the file. And, as you stated correctly, deleting the icon on the left while the file is not being displayed, deletes it.

I find that all to be very misleading and dangerous. It would seem safer and more accurate for the icons on the left to behave much like shortcuts do. So, if you have a file in a folder on the hard drive in Windows and make a shortcut to your desktop, deleting the shortcut does not delete the file. And, in fact, you can delete the shortcut even if the file is open.

While having to browse to the actual file to delete it after you have deleted the shortcut, may be a bit of a pain; it seems far better than having someone accidentally delete a shortcut or icon or whatever you would name it and also delete the file.

I stand corrected, thank you Bert and Chris

Don't thank me. I stood incorrectly before Chris allowed me to stand correctly.