Medication Database: How to set up?

[Clueless in Seattle]

I'd be grateful for some pointers on how to set up a database to keep
track of all the meds I'm taking (and have taken in the past).

I've got Access 97 but I've never used it. Maybe using Access would
be overkill, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Here are some of the things I'd like to be able to do:

1. Keep a record of every med I take, showing the date I start, the
name of the prescribing doctor(s), dosage changes, and when I
discontinue it.

2. A field for general notes and comments and a field dedicated to
side-effects.

3. Be able to print out a list of the meds I'm currently taking,
showing dosage, date started, name of prescribing doctor.

4. Be able to print out a history for a particular drug, showing the
dates I started or stopped it, and dates of dosage changes.

Many ears ago I created a small, simple Access database at work (when
I was still able to work) so I have a little bit of experience with
Access.

What I'm hoping to get from this group is some guidance in how to
properly structure the database so I don't end up putting in a lot of
time and effort to produce something that is badly designed and works
poorly.

I suppose my first question should be to ask you to recommend an easy
to understand online introductory tutorial so I can get a grasp of the
fundamentals of Access database design.

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

P.S. For those of you who are wondering why anyone would want to go
to the trouble of setting up such a database, here's a bit of
explanation:

I'm disabled by multiple chronic illnesses, so I see a lot of
different doctors, and am always being referred to new doctors. All
of these doctors are constantly prescribing new medications or
modifying the dosages of current medications.

One of the first things that a doctor will ask me is "What medications
are you currently taking." My memory is not very good these days, so
I try to keep a list of what I'm taking, but it is quite a chore to
keep the list up to date.

And doctors often will ask me if I've ever taken a certain
medication. Well, my memory is so bad, that I can barely remember
what I took this morning, much less what I was taking a year or more
ago.

So I thought I might be able to press my old hand-me-down computer
into service to keep track of my meds for me.

 

[Margaret Bartley]

I'd be grateful for some pointers on how to set up a database to keep
track of all the meds I'm taking (and have taken in the past).

I've got Access 97 but I've never used it. Maybe using Access would
be overkill, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Here are some of the things I'd like to be able to do:

1. Keep a record of every med I take, showing the date I start, the
name of the prescribing doctor(s), dosage changes, and when I
discontinue it.

2. A field for general notes and comments and a field dedicated to
side-effects.

3. Be able to print out a list of the meds I'm currently taking,
showing dosage, date started, name of prescribing doctor.

4. Be able to print out a history for a particular drug, showing the
dates I started or stopped it, and dates of dosage changes.

Many ears ago I created a small, simple Access database at work (when
I was still able to work) so I have a little bit of experience with
Access.

What I'm hoping to get from this group is some guidance in how to
properly structure the database so I don't end up putting in a lot of
time and effort to produce something that is badly designed and works
poorly.

I suppose my first question should be to ask you to recommend an easy
to understand online introductory tutorial so I can get a grasp of the
fundamentals of Access database design.

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

P.S. For those of you who are wondering why anyone would want to go
to the trouble of setting up such a database, here's a bit of
explanation:

I'm disabled by multiple chronic illnesses, so I see a lot of
different doctors, and am always being referred to new doctors. All
of these doctors are constantly prescribing new medications or
modifying the dosages of current medications.

One of the first things that a doctor will ask me is "What medications
are you currently taking." My memory is not very good these days, so
I try to keep a list of what I'm taking, but it is quite a chore to
keep the list up to date.

And doctors often will ask me if I've ever taken a certain
medication. Well, my memory is so bad, that I can barely remember
what I took this morning, much less what I was taking a year or more
ago.

So I thought I might be able to press my old hand-me-down computer
into service to keep track of my meds for me.

I don't see that there is much of a need for a relational database here.
You might be better off just doing an Excel worksheet or a Word table.

The advantage of those is that they are much more WYSWYG - you can type in
the information as you want to see it.

Excel would make it easier to sort either by date or by med type or by med
name, but I personally find it more difficult to do report formatting. It
can be done, but it takes a lot more time.

I think Access would be overkill in this case.

 

[Evi]

I'm sorry to hear that you are so unwell.
I can well see why you want a relational database for this. Bad memory (Oh
how I understand that!) is not the same as being 'Clueless'
You may just find that you need extra help with some logic steps but I
believe that you will find creating this db both useful and stimulating.

As you correctly perceived, if you can get your structure right before you
even think about the finished product, you will save yourself a lot of
wasted time.

Here is a possible structure (omit those lookup fields and tables which are
unnecessary to you). Hopefully others will have further suggestions and
corrections especially about the daily doses

TblMedication lists the different forms of medication
MedID (autonumber primary key)
Medication (eg asprin)
SideEffects
Ban (a yes/no field for any medication which it has been decided does not
agree with you or which you have been told to stop taking for now
Warn (an extra field to show that you must never take this medication again)

TblDoctor
DocID
DocFirstName
DocSurName
LocID (if you visit doctors in different locations eg local doc, hospital,
you could link this field to TblLocation

TblPrescription
PresID
DocID (linked from TblDoctor)
MedID (linked from TblMedication)
AskDate (date you asked for the prescription
PresDate (date you collected the prescription
Numb (number of tablets (or tsps) in packet)
DateStopped

DayDose (number Single format with decimal places)(number of tablets per day
(1 a week would be 1/7)
From these and the following table you can work out in queries how long the
medication would last and a suggested renewal date (x days before it runs
out!) so you wouldn't store this data in your tables.
So these are fields about this particular prescription for this medication
thus it needs to contain nothing about taking

TblDoseTimes
DoseID
PresID
DoseTime (record the time (s) of day when you need to take the prescription
even if less than one a day)

TblTakeMeds
TakeID
PresID
DoseID
TakeDate (default Value is Date())
TakeTime (you may not be virtuous enough to take it exactly when you ought
to have)

Don't use lookup fields in your table for any of this - use combo boxes in
forms. Eventually we want a to automate a form which will pop up whenever
you start your database to tell you when your next dose of meds is
due/overdue or when you need to renew a prescription (not exactly easy to do
in Excel).
An open form could even be left running on your PC with a timer event
regularly checks your tables and pops up a message box when something is
due.

Another useful automation would be a popup box if you try to add a medicine
with a Warn marker to the your Prescription table - doctors aren't perfect.

Evi