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NeoOffice :: View topic - Possible to construct Patient Data Base?
Possible to construct Patient Data Base?
 
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drbones666
Blue Pill


Joined: Nov 28, 2006
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 4:27 am    Post subject: Possible to construct Patient Data Base?

I'm a chiropractor and the wife has decided to computerize the office. I've looked at the programs for scheduling, managing patients, etc and they are rediculous in their price and I have no need to do anything with insurance with is usually the big feature.

I was wondering if it was possible to construct a database that could do the following:

Hold patient details: Name, address, phone, etc.
Hold patient notes: multiple entrys by date & write details.
Generate letters using info in patient details database
Generate list of birthdays coming up next month
Contains pictures: patient face, xrays, mri scan, etc.

More of course but before I go wading through all the help file, learning how to do all this, I want to ask you knowledgeable people if this is possible. If so I'll start reading and learning how, if not I won't waste my and your time.

Thank you.
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:52 am    Post subject:

I know for certain you can do the first three things you asked about.

I am reasonably certain you can generate the list of upcoming birthdays.

I think it is possible to include images, but I don't know what field type you need, or what the limitations are.

You should know that most of our forum regulars don't use Base much. More often than not, we have to refer questions to the OpenOffice.org Base forum.

I am working on learning more about Base, and have started a tutorial series in our Wiki, but I'm not very far in the process. The NeoBase page in the wiki also has links to other tutorials, reference guides, and articles on using Base available on the net.

I can tell you that you will want one table for patient info (names, addresses, birthdays, etc.) and one table for patient notes. You might want a third for images, test results, etc., although those could also be entered as dated patient notes. If you want to handle billing through the database, that will involve one or more other tables as well, I would think.

Lorinda
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sardisson
Town Crier
Town Crier


Joined: Feb 01, 2004
Posts: 4588

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 10:18 am    Post subject:

Lorinda wrote:
I think it is possible to include images, but I don't know what field type you need, or what the limitations are.

The type is LONGBINARY (or something like that); there is a post somewhere here on trinity talking about inserting images into Base databases.

Smokey

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"[...] whether the duck drinks hot chocolate or coffee is irrelevant." -- ovvldc and sardisson in the NeoWiki
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:01 am    Post subject:

I couldn't find the trinity thread, but I did some other searching, and you are right, it is LONGVARBINARY. Some OOo threads of interest:

http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=56115&highlight=image+field

and

http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?t=53102&highlight=image+field

Edited on 7/22/07: Corrected variable name and second url


Last edited by Lorinda on Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:30 am; edited 1 time in total
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sardisson
Town Crier
Town Crier


Joined: Feb 01, 2004
Posts: 4588

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:03 pm    Post subject:

Maybe it was in Bugzilla, then? Anyway, glad my memory was right about some part of that Wink

Smokey

_________________
"[...] whether the duck drinks hot chocolate or coffee is irrelevant." -- ovvldc and sardisson in the NeoWiki
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mickeyinlalaland
Oracle


Joined: Feb 18, 2007
Posts: 239
Location: LaLaLand

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 4:20 pm    Post subject:

A current trinity link for importing images into a database:
http://trinity.neooffice.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4531&highlight=database+images

Which has a link to this OOo thread:
http://www.oooforum.org/forum/viewtopic.phtml?p=232515
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LemonAid
The Anomaly


Joined: Nov 21, 2005
Posts: 1285
Location: Witless Protection Program

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 7:45 pm    Post subject:

drbones666,

Creating a complex and business critical database is something that takes some time.
While it an interesting task, can you take that much time from your practice?

I'm not trying to be rude, just warning you based upon my past experience. Rolling Eyes

I can't find the price, but I have seen interesting reports about MacPractice MD/DDS/DC/20.20 over on www.macintouch.com.

I don't know if you have checked them out but ... maybe.

Philip ( Warning: proper database design requires - " Malice of Forethought!" Shocked )
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doctype
Oracle


Joined: Dec 08, 2005
Posts: 291
Location: Berlin, Germany

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:29 am    Post subject:

drbones666,

I'm doing database development (in web environments) professionally, and just my feeling is, that NeoOffice (or OpenOffice.org) Base to use for your task wouldn't be my choice:

1. Like LemonAid said, it takes some time
2. I think some knowledge of the inner workings of Relational Databases and SQL (Structured Query Language) would be necessary (especially when using Base)
3. The project seems to be experimental to me, as Base seems to have still many bugs and limited features

If I would have to produce a system like the one you'd like to have, and there would be no affordable solution available, I would suggest to use (the commercial, and not very cheap, sorry) FileMaker Pro, as I would have the feeling, that I can produce nice interfaces to work with every day. Additionally, I know of some non-professionals, who managed to do such projects with FileMaker by themselves (it has a rather easy graphical interface, good documentation and low entry levels).

If you'd like to further explore the Base option, I would first ask on
http://www.oooforum.org/
about experiences with similar projects.

And, finally, if you do use Base, I would be very interested in your experiences.
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Lorinda
Captain Mifune


Joined: Jun 20, 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Midwest, USA

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:02 pm    Post subject:

Patient addresses, and mail merge letters is a relatively simple process that you could probably tackle relatively easily.

Dated notes and images will require more work, and in all honesty the documentation is scattered and has lots of holes. (See my rant on this very topic if you want more details.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that Neo now has a database component, and I have successfully used it for simple projects. But it is not a terribly user friendly component, especially given the current state of the documentation. (I understand that the OOo authors group is working on a guide to Base, but it's not finished yet.)

Lorinda
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drbones666
Blue Pill


Joined: Nov 28, 2006
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:50 am    Post subject:

Many thanks to all you good people who have given me all this wonderful advice.

I'm now looking into Filemaker which even at $500 or so is WAY cheaper than medical office software.

Thanks.
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