copyright 2003, Welford Medical Computing, Inc. All rights reserved

LAB BOOK FLEXIBLE RESULTS AND UNITS (User's Manual, pgs. 777-781)

Numeric tests can be graphed, using View\Lab Book\Utility\Previous\Graph, View\Lab Book\Add or Edit\Previous\Graph, or View\Lab Book\Utility\Graph. Again, there is no way to create a graph of non-numeric test results.

Finally, Numeric tests can be compared to numeric values inside Rule Reminders, Algorithm Logical Nodes, and the Generic Report Generator. For example, you could write "if last creatinine > 1.5" in any of these places, since CREATININE is a numeric test. However, it is illogical to write "if last EKG > 1.5".

The program ordinarily enforces that a Numeric test can only have a numeric value its Result field in the View\Lab Book\Add or Edit field. If you try to type in a textual result here, the program refuses to accept the keystrokes.

However, some outside laboratories report results for numeric tests that are not numeric. For example, the lab might report "not enough serum", "specimen invalid", "less than 0.3", or some other text string. If you import results like these, the program would generally reject them, as it can't record these values numerically. You could optionally record them as having a Result of 0 and then enter the text in the Comment field. Or, you could create a new Lab Book Vocabulary Test Name to hold these irregular results (e.g. "CHOLESTEROL TEXT" instead of "CHOLESTEROL") and place the results there.

Some users, however, have asked to be able to store these textual results for numeric tests. We therefore created the Lab Book Flexible Results and Units Option. To activate this Option, simply check System\Lab Book Options\Flexible Results and Units Mode. However, remember that THIS STEP IS IRREVOCABLE. Once you convert the program to this mode, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TURN IT BACK OFF. You should therefore consider CAREFULLY whether you really want to activate this feature.

Once you activate it, any numeric tests that have textual results cannot have these textual results displayed on a graph. Also, the Units are now allowed to vary from test to test, so you have to pay careful attention to the Units column when examining the test results; results may not be comparable from line to line because the units differ. Any Rule Reminders, Generic Reports, and Algorithms that rely on a numeric comparison may yield unexpected results if the value they are comparing to is textual. You also cannot transfer Batch Exported and Attache files created from a program using Flexible Results and Units into a copy of the program that doesn't (if any of the results are non-numeric results of numeric tests or have atypical units attached to them).

RECORDING WHY YOU PRINTED VISITS (User's Manual, pgs. 786-787)

To record this additional information:

1. Make sure you have pressed System\Security\Options and set Program Log Level to Detailed.

2. Press the Comment button inside View\Visiter\View (before pressing Print), Print\By Patient, or <Alt-P>rint\Comment inside the Writer.

3. Fill in the information you want to record about why you are printing this visit and press Ok.

To view this information inside the Program Log:

1. Press System\Security\Log.

2. Set the Begin Date to the earliest date you want to see, and the End Date for the latest date. For example, if the patient wants to see all releases in the past year, set the Begin Date to 1 year ago and End Date to today's date.

3. Set the Function to the one that applies, such as Print Notes. However, if you want to see many kinds of releases, you can leave this set to ANY.

4. Set the Patient to the patient who wants to see his releases.

5. Leave User set to ANY.

6. If you decided to leave Function set to ANY, then set Detail to "Recipient". (Don't type in the quotation marks). Each Comment must have a Recipient, so the program will search for any Program Log entries that contain this word.

7. Press Display to see a list of these releases, or Print to print the list for the patient.