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Re: Drug lists



Elizabeth Barham wrote:

Elizabeth Barham <soggytrousers@yahoo.com> writes:

If we provided a schema or DTD along with the tools to insert/export
the data into the (non-XML) DB, then I believe end-users would be
more easily able to adapt it to their needs.


What about this:

A product that reads in an XML file along with it's matching
schema. From the schema it generates all the necessary header files
and sets up the database (berkeley) and then inserts the data
automatically.

I am sure this is a good idea for the side effects monitoring service of a drug regulatory authority when only drug names (and possibly manufacturers) are of interest. If it is going to be used for inventory control in a pharmacy it will need a number of additional details. For a prescriber less will be needed. For a simple prescriber - and even a university hospital department - a long and bloated list containing thousands of items will be counterproductive and lead to frustration and non-use: hand-written prescriptions may be simpler and quicker. So there should be available a simple means of weeding out unnecessary items from long lists. At this stage - just to show the principle - it might be an idea to make a very short list and test it in the field just for feasibility in the different user groups.

I would go for the general medical practitioner in the beginning. A few drugs: Valium, Ketorax, Viagra, Lasix - just to make it simple enough and besides introduce some of the problems of variable doses and narcotics controls.

Gaut Gadeholt


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