How Do I Use WikiHealthCare?

1. Register to use the site.

You must register to access most features on WikiHealthCare pages. Read the Registration and User Agreement to get a better understanding of why registration is required. You should also read the Policies and Guidelines to become familiar with the rules governing participation. Briefly, users are responsible for their actions and are expected to play nice with fellow users. Keep it civil and keep it collaborative.

2. Get comfortable with navigation.

The Left Hand Menu Bar

This menu is always visible, and it contains links to the Policies, Guidelines and FAQ. It also includes a link to the Sandbox (a web dedicated to letting you practice using the site), and a link to contact WikiHealthCare (use this when you have a question or want to report a problem on the site). Just below these links, you'll see additional webs that you have access to. All registered users have access to the Quality Improvement and Standards Development & Research webs, so you'll see those listed in the left hand menu bar. If you have permission to view certain local projects or secure webs, these will also appear.

The Header

The header includes the WikiHealthCare^TM logo (click on it to return to the main page), a title graphic to help users identify which section of the site they are in, and a search box. Below the search box, you will find your user name (or the words Login and Register if you have not yet registered and signed in).

If you click on your user name , you will navigate to your own user page. You can edit your own personal page (but not the pages of others). Feel free to add contact information or additional information that may help other users get to know you. Share only what you are comfortable with, as all users can view your user page.

The Icons

At the top of the white section on each page, you will find a number of different icons (Note: non-registered users will only see a print icon).

• Click the pencil icon to edit a page. If you can't see the pencil, you don't have permission to edit that particular page. Note: Some topics must be edited within the page. This will become apparent when you click the and are taken to a form that you cannot edit. Click your browser's back button and look for the " Edit" at the end of the section you want to edit. Clicking on this icon will allow you to edit the section. Refer to the FAQ topic on How do I edit a page? for additional details.
• Click on the paper clip icon to attach a document to a page. Other users can then download that attachment.
• Click on the printer icon to view the page in a printer friendly format (the menu bars will disappear).
• Click on the text bubble icon to start or join a discussion about the page with other users (without immediately editing page content). Every page has a discussion pages that sits in the background. Access the discussion page to have a dialogue with other users about the content on a page (what they would like to change, what the page needs to be more useful, etc.). Discussion pages are most useful when there is disagreement about how to best modify the content on a page. Users should work out their disagreements on the discussion pages, rather than engaging in "edit wars" on the main page.
• Click on the purple book icon to view the history of a page. Every time a page is modified, the previous version is stored in a history file. You can return to previous versions to see what was changed (and who changed it) at various intervals.
• Click on the letter icon to be notified by e-mail each time a topic is changed (and click the circle icon to un-subscribe to the e-mail notification). If you are interested in a particular page, you can instruct WikiHealthCare to notify you when the content of a page is modified. You can then return to the site to inspect the revision.