CARLOS Configuration Quickstart

These instructions will guide end users on the initial administrative steps needed after installing CARLOS either by DEB or by Podman to a production server in a small clinic. Extended details to make the most of CARLOS are beyond the scope of this introduction.  Best to consult a CARLOS  service provider or an experienced OSCAR clinic which will be familiar with the workflows.

The OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS for CARLOS are on Github at CARLOS EMR

Document Version History

• v1.0 – Initial instructions – Aug 29, 2026

Documentation Copyright © 2026 by Peter Hutten-Czapski MD under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

CARLOS is Installed – now what?

1. Set up users
2. Update data
3. Set up schedules
4. Set up user preferences
5. Set up patients

Set up users

 Set up new users and test their login. Lets start with adding a joint admin/doctor lead for the clinic.

Navigate to Admin > User Management > Add a provider record

TIP for future management make a convention for user numbers

• 100, 101 etc doctors
• 200 series locums
• 300 series secretaries
• 400 series nursing
• 500 series allied health

Now we will set up Demo Doctor to be both Admin and doctor. 

TIP to prevent conflicting permissions give every user the “doctor” type and then restrict in a later step

Now add a login record for this new user entering a password for the selected provider and a 4 digit pin.

If its your login, no need to force the password reset, but otherwise its a good idea so that only the end user knows their password.

Now assign roles to the user.  Here we will add Site Manager and doctor roles to Demo doctor.  Remember to also give them the administrator role.  If the primary is not doctor then scroll down to the bottom and reassign the primary role of doctor to that user.  

Now logout of the initial user and login to your new user and ensure that you can open the admin pages.

If you have missed the official instructions which advises to retire the published username as soon as possible, do it now.  Search/Edit Provider Records > edit the initial user

Click the link (999998) and change the status to inactive and save.

Delete the security record for the initial user because we are paranoid.

Update data

There is data seeded in both the billing database and drugref for testing, however both need to be updated to current before use in production.

For Drugref open the Admin tab and go to Integration > Update Drugref  and click the Update Drugref button

It advises that it takes an hour, but you don’t have to wait, you can safely navigate away from this screen.

For Ontario billing open the Admin tab and go to Billing > Upload Schedule of Benefits and follow the instructions

TIP You need to download the pdf format of the billing schedule to look up the following values to know what to update them to.

“Assistant Unit Fee ………………………………………………………. $12.91”

“Anaesthesiologist Unit fee ………………………………………….. $15.96”

 

When done you will get confirmation

Set up schedules

Life is easier with a schedule template, lets set one up.  Its built up in the following layers

1. The codes for the time slots
2. The pattern of time slots for a given day type
3. The pattern of day types for a given week (or alternate week)

So we start with defining the time slots for appointments

Admin > Schedule Management > Appointment type list

Add in appointments types and give them one digit codes for names.  Duration is in minutes.  A sample setup is as below.

Now Schedule setting, set up one or more patterns of timeslots for days for your user by selecting the user name and then clicking on Template Setting

This will open a popup window that you can populate Day Templates for your chosen provider with the codes you just set.

You only need one  of these (illustrated) if every clinic day is the same.  If not set up multiple Day Templates.  Now you can use the Day Template to set up the weekly schedule.  Back to Schedule Template setting and pick the user from the first drop down and the following will appear.  

First set a desired date range for the schedule.  Then click on the desired day template(s) and use the << to populate the available days with the day templates from the selection box to the right.  Ensure that the active days (when the provider is available to book) have check marks.  Click Next and you are done

Set up user preferences

The preferences link (the person icon and the user name) allows for many settings at the far top right of the main screen.  Here we will mention a few that every user will want.

A. The first is the signature stamp.  Its used in Prescriptions, Consultation Requests and eForms.  Lets either import or draw a signature to serve as a stamp.

Click on the user name > Signature Stamp

TIPs

• If you are drawing a signature its more natural to do it on a tablet or a phone than by mouse.

• You can scan or photograph a signature drawn with a Sharpie. Then use an image processing program such as Gimp, to add a transparent background and to resize to or smaller than the suggested dimensions.

 

B. Then there are macros for dealing with laboratory reports and documents in your inbox.  For now lets just add the acknowledgement comment “normal” as this is what you will use the most. Go to Lab Prevention and Messaging and click the Macro button

So lets click the </> Lab Macros button, and set up a macro named “normal”  that simply adds the comment “Essentially normal” to acknowledge the lab with. Leave the automatic Tickler settings alone for this particular macro.  Click Save

C. The final setting that I am highlighting is how you want CARLOS to present.  Click Display and UI.  There are three options for Schedule Navigation

• Popups.  Everything opens in windows.  This is the traditional OSCAR  style.
• Tabs.  All main windows will open in a separate tab.  Helper windows (eg add an appt) will open as windows.  This is the style introduced in OSCAR 19
• Same tab with schedule menu.  This keeps the number of open tabs/windows to a minimum.  Here all the main windows open beneath the main schedule screen menu. Helper windows (eg add an appt) will open as windows.

Set up patients

I advise setting up a dummy patient for each billing provider.  Its useful to serve as a location for work that is not patient linked such as charging billing bonus codes.  In any case we can use it as an illustration.

Use the quick search box on the main

Then click the + Add New Patient link.  You will at a minimum want to have the name, gender, age, postal code and MRP listed. 

Next Steps – Clinical Workflow

Now you can actually use CARLOS.  View the Quickstart for Clinical Workflow