DocScanFx can be integrated with Merge PACS for a more streamlined scanning workflow where end users need only click two buttons to scan images in to PACS.  The following instructions show the steps required to complete the integration. 

Merge PACS Requirements

The integration with Merge PACS (MP from this point forward) is performed through the use of MP's "Macro" feature.  Macros are only available in MP version 7+.  These instructions and screenshots were written using a MP version 7.1 server.  You will need administrative rights in your Merge PACS to create the macro and assign it to end uses preferences templates.

Permissions

Merge PACS' macro feature is used to launch DocScanFx and Merge does this by writing a small batch file to the same location as the program being run.  Therefore any end user who needs to run DocScanFx must have at least MODIFY rights to the DocScanFx installation folder so that Merge PACS can write a launch batch file there.

INI Mode Settings

The DocScan.INI file in your DocScanFx installation directory needs to have certain mode settings enabled in order for it to use the integration features.  Below is a sample mode with these settings enabled.  Open your DocScan.INI file located in your installation directory and search for "Documents - Integrated" to ensure you have this in your file.  It's probably already there.  If not, add this information to the end of the file and save it.

[Documents - Integrated]
ModeDescription=Integrated paper document scanning mode
ModeWorkflow=Integrated

ExcludeModeFromList=True
StoreArchive=Archive1
SourceOptionScan=True
SourceOptionImport=True
SourceOptionScreenCapture=True

Creating the Macro

Run Merge PACS with an account that has administrative rights and go to Settings - Templates.  "Edit" a Preference template for end users who will use the DocScanFx integration (or if you are just testing this for yourself, make these changes in your own account's settings).  Click on "Macro Manager" and click Add:

Click the "Add New OS Action" shown below and a new "OS Action Editor" window will appear:

Fill in the Name field as shown and in the "Command(s)" section copy and paste the following text:

C:\progra~2\DocScanFx\dstrigger.exe "{$0008,0020}" "{$0008,0030}" "{$0008,0050}" "{$0008,0060}" "{$0010,0040}" "{$0008,0090}" "{$0008,1030}" "{$0010,0010}" "{$0010,0020}" "{$0010,0030}" "Documents - Integrated" "{$0020,000d}" "" "{$0032,1030}" "{$0020,0010}"

(Note the final argument in the command line above, "($0020,0010)" is not shown in the screenshot due to the image being from an earlier release of DocScanFx.  This DICOM tag for StudyID is necessary for Merge PACS stand alone sites (not EA integrated) where studies will become jailed if DocScanFx doesn't use the same Study ID as the modality.)

The yellow highlighted path is to DocScanFx's "dstrigger.exe" file which is used for integrations with PACS or RIS/HIS systems.  It takes information provided as command line arguments, converts them to a temporary XML file and passes this to DocScanFx for processing.  The old-school 8.3 folder path, e.g., "progra~2" is due to a bug in Merge PACS 7 macros where it can't process program paths with spaces in it even if the path is surrounded with quotes or a variety of other workaround attempts.  Therefore, depending on if you changed the install path for DocScanFx, or if you are using a 32 bit OS versus 64 bit, or a variety of other reasons, your 8.3 naming path may vary.  The green highlighted text in the command above needs to exactly match the name of the mode in your DocScan.INI file that you want the integration to use.  There are INI options to allow the end user to select a mode, too, if you want them to choose.  The rest of the text scattered in the command shown are references to DICOM tags that will send patient and exam information to DocScanFx.  At the time the macro is run those curly bracketed values will be replaced with real demographic/exam data for DocScanFx to use.

Be sure to click the checkbox for "Publish" to ensure other users are able to see this macro, too.  One final note to remember is Merge PACS only allows the user who created a macro to modify it in the future. You might want to consider using a shared admin account (like the DICOM account) to create the macro so other admins aren't locked out of making future changes. 

Launching the Macro from PACS

The final step is to link the macro to a button in MP that the user can click on to start DocScanFx.  The Study Toolbar is a good place to add a button for DocScanFx so click on "Study Toolbar", then in the search box type "Macro:" to narrow the list of available actions.  Select your newly created macro, and click the Edit button.

Change the first three lines of text if needed. Then either leave the "Any" modality checkbox checked or select the modalities that you want the macro to be available for.  Note that you could use these modality check boxes to make separate macros launch to select different DocScanFx modes (assuming you have a need for different modes between modalities, like enabling different sets of electronic forms, etc.).  Finally, pick an icon for the button to use (remember you can import custom icons through MP Management Pages), and then click the OK button:

You'll return to the Study Toolbar Add Action screen where you can click "Add Action" to move the macro to the active toolbar options.  Use the controls to move it to the correct location and then click "Save".  Log on as a user who uses the Preferences template you just modified and try out the new toolbar button.  If all is working correctly, you'll see DocScanFx launch and skip past the mode selection screen, skip the search screen, and go straight to the scanning window.  If you add "AutoStartScan=True" to your DocScan.ini mode for this integration, then the scanner will immediately start scanning any paper documents.  The workflow for your end users then becomes for them to load up their documents in the scanner, click the scan button on the toolbar, DocScanFx will run, scan the documents automatically, and the user/tech can then just click the submit button to send them to PACS.

If you have questions about configuring this integrated setup, submit a support ticket to get some help!