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 Posted: Thu, 18th Sep 2008 21:00 Post subject: Need programming help for good cause |
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Well, i work in a hospital pharmacy where we adjust IV doses for children with cancer.
Problem is, we don't have a system to print labels for the solutions, so we have to write every label by hand, which is extremely tedious and time consuming.
And as the IT department is lazy as hell, i've decided to take on the task myself.
I tried to do it using Microsoft Access, but i can't get it to work as i want.
What i'm aiming for is a form like this (i translated it from Arabic so you get the picture),
I Also want to be able to print 6 different labels per page similar to this,
First problem is, i want to be able to select the 'patient name' from the drop down menu and have the corresponding 'hospital number' appear (both in the same table) and vice versa.
Second problem is that i can't control the number of labels being printed. The number of copies seems to be related to the number of entries in 'table 1'. I want to be able to print 6 different labels to one page.
I'm using Access because it's the only program i'm familiar with (haven't used it in eight years though).
Is what i'm trying to achieve even doable in Access?
So, can somebody please help me?
Here's a copy of the database,
http://rapidshare.com/files/146390987/Label_maker.accdb.html
Edit: Just to add, we already bought a professional solution from Cerner, but it will take at least a year to get it up and running.
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:00 Post subject: |
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Maybe you should tell us how the software should work.
f.e.: Select the kids name and all the other informations are auto-completed from some db information.
OR select the kids name from db, some informations are auto-completed from the db and others (like date etc.) are left blank, to be filled out by the user.
note: is the hospital number a unique identifier for each child?
and wrong section http://www.nfohump.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=12
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:30 Post subject: |
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Ugh, I hate Access. It has such an ugly and unintuitive interface... I'd suggest hiring someone that can quickly fire up either C# or VB.NET (what you prefer) and just do it there.
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:31 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | Maybe you should tell us how the software should work.
f.e.: Select the kids name and all the other informations are auto-completed from some db information.
OR select the kids name from db, some informations are auto-completed from the db and others (like date etc.) are left blank, to be filled out by the user.
note: is the hospital number a unique identifier for each child?
and wrong section http://www.nfohump.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=12 |
The name, floor, solution and drug are auto-completed from the database. The hospital number is unique for each patient and should be displayed when the patient name is selected or it should display the patient name if it is selected.
The doses and date are filled in manually on the computer, and signature is left blank.
I want to be able to print a set number of labels for a certain patient then move on to another patient, with the program printing 6 labels to a page.
I don't know if this is feasible or not.
I know it's the wrong section, but i don't think many people check out the Programmers Corner  |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:33 Post subject: |
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BTW, a small DB design suggestion, if the hospital number is unique for each patient, that should be your key in the table, not the name of the patient.
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:37 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | | Ugh, I hate Access. It has such an ugly and unintuitive interface... I'd suggest hiring someone that can quickly fire up either C# or VB.NET (what you prefer) and just do it there. |
We have an entire IT department, but they are busy installing the new system. I'm just looking for a fast temporary solution. |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:40 Post subject: |
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That's why I said, hire an outsider for a quick job. It's really a 2hrs tops job, and that's with all the testing, code prettying and educating staff on how to use the app. If you're willing to read some online tutorials, you could even do it yourself.
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:41 Post subject: |
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ok, so you select 1 person (either by name or hospital id) and enter the required information. after pressing the print button, the program should print the same form 6 times on the same page?
edit:
floor, name, hosp id, solution and drug are from the db? *the dose too?*
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:53 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | | That's why I said, hire an outsider for a quick job. It's really a 2hrs tops job, and that's with all the testing, code prettying and educating staff on how to use the app. If you're willing to read some online tutorials, you could even do it yourself. |
Problem is, i don't have the authority to hire anyone. I'll try to convince my boss, but he'll pretty much tell me to wait till the new system gets installed.
I either do it myself or wait a year for the professional system. |
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 01:58 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | | ok, so you select 1 person (either by name or hospital id) and enter the required information. after pressing the print button, the program should print the same form 6 times on the same page? |
Not 6 times, but any specified number. Say i need 3 labels for one patient and 3 for another, i want to print all 6 labels on one sheet (we have A4 sheets with 6 labels).
| TesterWS wrote: | edit:
floor, name, hosp id, solution and drug are from the db? *the dose too?* |
Name and hospital number are in one database, floor, solution and drug are each in a separate database. The doses are just blank spaces to be filled in manually. |
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 02:01 Post subject: |
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But floor and drugs and solution are bound to one child, right?
Do the drugs, floor and solution need to be dropdown fields?
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 02:06 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | But floor and drugs and solution are bound to one child, right?
Do the drugs, floor and solution need to be dropdown fields? |
They are not bound to the child (as we don't have digital records of prescribed drugs and patients regularly change floors). They are just manually selected.
The problem is only in the patient name and hospital number fields. |
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SycoShaman
VIP Master Jedi
Posts: 24468
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 03:37 Post subject: |
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IAdmirable goal dude. Sorry I cant help you. Stuff like this is good. If more ppl did stuff like this, we'd have a better world.
So big ups for helping those in need my friend. 
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 13:30 Post subject: |
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You said that the floors and medication change often. Do these changes happen in the database you've posted?
Could you use an application that manages all the data itself, without writing it into the access db format?
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Rinze
Site Admin
Posts: 2343
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 15:52 Post subject: |
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Access is a good tool for this job.
The multiple forms printed is indeed because the form is based on a table, and it will attempt to print one copy of the detail part of the form for each record. To prevent this set a filter on the form and enable it.
Printing a report instead of a form gives you more control over the layout.
I don't know exactly how you designed your database, but a lookup button shouldn't be a problem. You might want to have an outer form with hospitals and a subform with patients. the outer form only needs two lookup dropdowns, one for the right hospital and one for the patient. You should be able to make that using the wizards in access when you put a combobox on the form.
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Sep 2008 21:46 Post subject: |
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Is it possible to modify table1? Or shouldn't there be any changes to this database?
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 01:15 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | You said that the floors and medication change often. Do these changes happen in the database you've posted?
Could you use an application that manages all the data itself, without writing it into the access db format? |
The changes don't happen in the database. I want to be able to select any medication or floor i want for any patient and simply print it.
I have separate tables with all the floors and different medications. |
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 01:16 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | | Is it possible to modify table1? Or shouldn't there be any changes to this database? |
There shouldn't be any changes. It's just to quickly retrieve patient names and numbers not modify them. |
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 01:20 Post subject: |
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| Rinze wrote: | Access is a good tool for this job.
The multiple forms printed is indeed because the form is based on a table, and it will attempt to print one copy of the detail part of the form for each record. To prevent this set a filter on the form and enable it. |
How do i do that?
| Rinze wrote: | | Printing a report instead of a form gives you more control over the layout. |
Can you modify data in a report?
I need to be able to select the different medications and manually enter doses for each patient before printing the label.
| Rinze wrote: | | I don't know exactly how you designed your database, but a lookup button shouldn't be a problem. You might want to have an outer form with hospitals and a subform with patients. the outer form only needs two lookup dropdowns, one for the right hospital and one for the patient. You should be able to make that using the wizards in access when you put a combobox on the form. |
Don't know what a lookup button does, but i will give it a try. |
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 07:33 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | http://homepages.fh-giessen.de/~hg12869/art/label_maker.rar
ok get it. a modified version of your table is included. the app and the accdb file have to be in the same folder.
it's full of bugs,bad coded, slow and it lacks the printing, but if you like this one, then I'll finish it for you.
*don't try to use this program with another db, it may work... not *
note: and maybe you need to have access2007 in order to run it... or some other nasty shit. it works here, hopefully it will work on your computer too.
some screenshots:
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That's pretty much what i'm looking for.
If you can get the printing to work, then it would be perfect 
Edit: Just one question, will the fields (ie. patient name, number) change automatically when i translate them into Arabic in the database, or do you have to do it?
All the fields and data are in Arabic (not the program itself, only the data fields). |
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 17:24 Post subject: |
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| TesterWS wrote: | Hm, it should crash if you change the table and field names ))
http://homepages.fh-giessen.de/~hg12869/art/arabicdatabase.rar
Use this clean database. Import some of your patients, drugs, solutions and floors and upload it for me, so that I can improve this app.
Note: I can only see "?" instead of arabic letters. Do they look right on your computer?
And don't forget: If you add a new patient, fill the blank floorlink, solutionlink and druglink fields with "1" |
Well, i imported all the patient info into the database. Check your PM.
As for Arabic, you need to download the Arabic language pack from windows update. |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 17:35 Post subject: |
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| compubrain3000 wrote: | | As for Arabic, you need to download the Arabic language pack from windows update. |
No, that will make his entire system in Arabic (hence called Multilingual User Interface).
In Regional and Language Options, you need to change the system locale to Arabic (Egypt) for the text to appear in Arabic. I'm guessing this is needed because the strings are not Unicode. |
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 17:43 Post subject: |
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| LeoNatan wrote: | No, that will make his entire system in Arabic (hence called Multilingual User Interface).
In Regional and Language Options, you need to change the system locale to Arabic (Egypt) for the text to appear in Arabic. I'm guessing this is needed because the strings are not Unicode. |
I think you need to install the entire language pack in order to read Arabic in Vista, but i may be mistaken. |
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Sep 2008 17:45 Post subject: |
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Nope. In XP, you needed to install "complex" ( ) right to left languages support (i.e. Hebrew, Arabic, etc...), but in Vista support is there from the start.
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| Posted: Sun, 21st Sep 2008 00:49 Post subject: |
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I installed it. What do I need to do next? It still seems as if all the symbols are "?".
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LeoNatan
☢ NFOHump Despot ☢
Posts: 73196
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel 🇮🇱
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