Finally! Help for the Medical Legal Consultant!
Written: Jun 22 '00 (Updated Jul 31 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Ease of use; Features; Produces great-looking medical timelines
Cons: Medical chronology software still required; Price
The Bottom Line: Overall, I would have give CaseSoft, Inc. ANOTHER A+ for TimeMap 2 and enthusiastically recommend it because of its' ease of use, features, and the great-looking visuals it creates.
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| bobstein's Full Review: TimeMap |
I reviewed the first release of TimeMap in June 2000. This updated review will focus on the improvements made in the latest 2.0 release. I will leave much of the original text intact for those who want more basic information about TimeMap.
TimeMap (http://www.epinions.com/cmsw-TimeMap) is a product by CaseSoft, Inc. that assists legal nurse consultants and other medical-legal experts in producing a visual timeline of medical chronologies. A full-functioning 30-day demo version of TimeMap 1.5 is currently available for download from their web site at: http://www.casesoft.com/timemap.htm. TimeMap 2 will be available soon.
As a legal nurse consultant, I have spent four or more hours tinkering with various software programs attempting to create a medical timeline for my attorney-clients. You can only imagine my amazement when I found that the download, installation, learning curve, and timeline creation using TimeMap took less than two hours combined! I was able to create my second medical timeline literally in minutes!
Download & Installation
The download time was minimal, installation was intuitive, and the operation of the software smooth and glitch-free. I even tried to bog it down by opening several other RAM-hungry programs in the background and was unable to create a hard drive crash or freeze. The system requirements are minimal requiring 166 MHz or greater Pentium processor, 32 MB or more of RAM (64 MB or more recommended), 30 MB or more of available disk space, Super VGA or higher screen resolution, and Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0 Workstation operating system.
User's Guide
There is a User's Guide for TimeMap available, but in the male tradition I tried just running the program on intuition. After all, User's Guides are something you refer to only after intuition has failed you, right? The screen design is quite familiar looking to anyone who has run any other Windows application before. TimeMap truly requires no instruction to understand how it works. Someday I may read the manual just to see what it has to say!
Auto-Arrange / Spell Check
TimeMap's features make creating a medical timeline a breeze. In particular, I enjoy the "Auto-Arrange" that shuffles all the boxes for me as I add new entries. The spell-check function is a required feature for me. The ability to color-code your entries makes for some pretty slick visuals, too.
Copy Metafile to Clipboard
I love the "Copy Metafile to Clipboard" function. Most of the time I will want to paste the timeline into my reports. The Metafile copy & paste function makes this quite easy! I also note the availability to convert and export as a jpg file. This option would be terrific for anyone using computer-generated presentations. TimeMap also gives you the ability to spread a medical timeline across several pages adding some eye appeal and functionality to the timeline. "Align-guides" assist in lining up multiple pages for taping.
Chart Width
The maximum number of pages of a timeline has been increased to 20 in TimeMap 2. Additionally, you can increase or decrease the scale width of your timeline giving you more control of visual you are creating. TimeMap 2 still allows for printing on individual pages with overlaps to accommodate taping the sheets together, or if your printer will permit it, the timeline can be printed on a banner sheet.
Time Scale Breaks
One of the difficulties with previous versions of TimeMap was the inability to break the timeline. At times the date range of a timeline will be large, but will contain periods of time where there are no entries. This resulted in a visual that appeared as if it had "holes" in the chronology. TimeMap 2 has provided us a solution to this problem by allowing the timeline to be broken. If you have large periods of time without activity, those date ranges can be clipped out of the timeline altogether. The remaining timeline shows the break using a variety of styles (personally, I prefer the zigzag style) to clearly indicate the break.
Rich Text
Font styles and colors can be changed in each fact box. An especially cool tool is the ability to set font/color of individual words within a fact box. This can be quite helpful in highlighting the activities of a particular player in your case. In preparing for depos, you can create copies of your timeline for each witness and then highlight their name wherever it appears to create a custom looking timeline.
Multiple Fact Entry
TimeMap 2 now includes a pop-up table where multiple facts can be entered at one time. While this might sound like a useless "gadget" type feature, believe me that you will appreciate having it with your first timeline. It is a real time saver.
Pick Up & Apply Format
The pick up & apply feature is helpful if you are cutting and pasting info in from multiple documents. Often other documents will be in a different font, size, or color. The pick up & apply feature allows you to quickly change the font, size, and/or color of multiple fact boxes with a single click.
Arrows Instead of Connecting Lines
For those times when you want to add a fact box that covers a date range instead of a single point on a timeline, TimeMap 2 can now accommodate you. Instead of lines connecting to the timeline, you can add a fact box with arrows pointing to the beginning and end of a date range.
Web Update
Updates to TimeMap 2 can now be downloaded using their new Web Update feature. While I have grown accustomed to web updates from Microsoft and various anti-virus programs, it is a feature I don't often see from other manufacturers. I applaud CaseSoft for climbing onboard and making the updating process a bit simpler.
Disadvantages
In reviewing any product, I feel a duty to find SOMETHING that I don't like about it or that I can recommend as an improvement for future releases. TimeMap 2 has me stumped this time. It remains very intuitive to use, creates great looking visuals, and saves hours of time by simplifying timeline creation.
There are, of course, limitations of the software. A poorly constructed medical timeline will still appear crowded and cluttered even with TimeMap. The software is not a remedy for sloppy work. TimeMap was not designed to (and does not assist with) the creation of a medical chronology. A timeline is an accessory to a chronology and not a replacement for it. Having a well-constructed TimeMap timeline, however, will make highlighting your medical chronology much easier and more effective.
Overall, I would have give CaseSoft, Inc. ANOTHER A+ for TimeMap 2 and enthusiastically recommend it to legal nurse consultants, medical experts, and anyone involved in the medical-legal review process.
Robert W. Stein, III, BSN, MSHA, RN, CEN, CHE
bobstein@lenurse.com
http://www.lenurse.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bobstein
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Member: Robert Stein
Location: St. Cloud, Florida
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Bob is president of LeNurse, Inc. located in Saint Cloud, Florida
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