date fields??:making them unique

[anita hamis]

Hi all,

I would like to add some different records(with different data items) to an existing database.

I dont want to create a separate file and i've been having doubts if this will work out perfectly.

eg.

Have 5 types of medication given to patients, these medications are divided into doses,1st,2nd and 3rd. date given and date of next appointment are crucial and need to be entered.

what i've been wondering is should i make unigue dates fields for each medication?

eg med A_date given

med B_date given

med A_next date

med B_next date

Or i should just have two date fields(date given and date of next appointment) that would apply to every medication given?

anita

[andygaunt]

From what you have said, you will need seperate date fields for each medication.

Although a seperate related database would be easier because then you would only need one set of date fields and one field for medication type

[Fitch]

"...two date fields(date given and date of next appointment) that would apply to every medication given?"

That's a question only you can answer. If you always give all the meds at the same time, then it sounds reasonable to do it that way. However, I can also imagine somebody wanting to go back later and examine the dates for each appointment. So I think you might want a date for each of the 3 appointments. Also, perhaps instead of separate med fields, you could get away with one field for each appt., and use checkboxes to click off which meds were given. Of course, that won't work if you need to track other stuff, like doses. As Andy said, a related file would give you maximum flexibility in tracking and reporting. I usually start with the question, "what reports will I need?" and work backwards from there. If this database is just for scheduling, then it doesn't have to be real complicated .