Confused over new db

[Rach]

I am in the process of creating a db for a project, I have been given several
forms (paper forms that folks will be using to ask patients questions) that
need to be created which is whats confusing me. I know how to create access
forms, but I'm confused on how I should build my tables.

I know I will have a patient name, #, address, etc. - this is the easy part.

Then looking at the forms (about 5 forms) these all ask different questions,
here's an example:

Discharge Disposition (check one of the options below)
Home
Rehab
Skilled Nursing

Ok this one I get, just create a combo box and have the choices in a drop
down but, then there's:

Medical Conditions (check all that apply - there's about 20 diff choices)
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Heart
• etc.
• Other: ______________________

How can I set up a form that will let me choose more than one option? And
how do I set it up that users can choose Diabetes, Heart, and Other then type
in something?

Do I have to create a table with every question on it to be able to use an
access form???

All of my forms are ones with questions for our patients similar to the
examples provided.

I have not worked on access in a long time and I'm a little unsure of how to
set these up. I know I've seen it done before but I'm lost right now. Also
I'm using MS Access 2002 (if it matters)

 

[Jeanette Cunningham]

The starting point is to know what the database is expected to do.
What happens after the questions have been answered?
For example: is it a survey database and it will print out a report showing
the answers to the questions.

Once we know what the database is expected to do, we can advise you on
creating the tables needed for the database.

Once you have the tables setout and the database structure normalized, we
can advise on creating forms with dropdowns etc.


Jeanette Cunningham MS Access MVP -- Melbourne Victoria Australia

 

[John W. Vinson]

I am in the process of creating a db for a project, I have been given several
forms (paper forms that folks will be using to ask patients questions) that
need to be created which is whats confusing me. I know how to create access
forms, but I'm confused on how I should build my tables.

I know I will have a patient name, #, address, etc. - this is the easy part.

Then looking at the forms (about 5 forms) these all ask different questions,
here's an example:

Discharge Disposition (check one of the options below)
Home
Rehab
Skilled Nursing

Ok this one I get, just create a combo box and have the choices in a drop
down but, then there's:

Medical Conditions (check all that apply - there's about 20 diff choices)
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Heart
• etc.
• Other: ______________________

How can I set up a form that will let me choose more than one option? And
how do I set it up that users can choose Diabetes, Heart, and Other then type
in something?

Do I have to create a table with every question on it to be able to use an
access form???

All of my forms are ones with questions for our patients similar to the
examples provided.

I have not worked on access in a long time and I'm a little unsure of how to
set these up. I know I've seen it done before but I'm lost right now. Also
I'm using MS Access 2002 (if it matters)

One thing to consider: the logical structure of a paper form is *very
different* from the logical structure of a relational database! As such it's
not a good guide to the design.

You need a table for each kind of Entity - Patients; DischargeDispositions;
MedicalConditions. Then you will have additional tables to store the "many to
many" relationships; each Patient may have several Conditions, and each
Condition may affect many Patients. To model this you need an addtional table
- PatientConditions; this would have fields for the PatientID, the ConditionID
(the primary key of each table), and probably other fields to indicate such
things as date of onset, severity, doctors' comments etc.

You may want to check some of the tutorials and other resources here:
Jeff Conrad's resources page:
http://www.accessmvp.com/JConrad/accessjunkie/resources.html

The Access Web resources page:
http://www.mvps.org/access/resources/index.html

Roger Carlson's tutorials, samples and tips:
http://www.rogersaccesslibrary.com/

A free tutorial written by Crystal:
http://allenbrowne.com/casu-22.html

A video how-to series by Crystal:
http://www.YouTube.com/user/LearnAccessByCrystal

MVP Allen Browne's tutorials:
http://allenbrowne.com/links.html#Tutorials


Since this database contains patient personal data and medical information, it
will be covered by the very stringent HIPAA patient-privacy laws. Be sure you
understand these and are in accord with them, unless you have a few hundred
thousand dollars sitting around to pay fines.