On Wednesday 28 April 2004 15:15, Trefor Roscoe wrote:
> I have an archive of over 5 years worth of letters from my practice as
> the secretary has been archiving them monthly.
In 1994 or 5 I wrote a program called "Letters Outward" and since then we have
not made paper file copies. It generates letters, adds details from our
clincial system, arranges the printing of them and then displays them rapidly
in sequence as required.
Hence, with occasional exceptions, emergency referrals in handwriting and the
like, all patient _outgoing_ correspondence is available from that time.
It is stored as text files, Windows Write format files, a few Word version
2.0a and latterly Rich Text Format files in a hierarchy of directories such
that the patient registration number indicates where that patient's letters
are, and with file names derived from the patient ID and the sequence and
nature (only two main natures at present).
It might be best to decide what analysis is to be done, and then run a script
against the files or a copy of the files to do it, returnin the analysis.
From time to time I have examined the problem of writing the companion program
- "Letters Inward" and on each occasion have decided not to do it today.
--
Adrian Midgley (Linux desktop)
GP, Exeter
http://www.defoam.net/
|