After a data file is loaded (see Importing patient data files), the list of patients in the file is displayed in the Patient List Window (Fig 4., to the right). The name of the file is shown in the top line in the window, along with an indication of whether all patients or a sublist of patients in the file is displayed (see below). All patients in the file are displayed initially, unless the data import format for this file is set to ignore patients with fewer than a specified number of events. The list shows the patient name to the left, followed by the test code or test abbreviation (see below), the number of events for this patient (corresponds to the number specimen results), and the date of the most recent event. There is a checkbox in front of each patient name that is used to mark patients for printing or archiving. The list can be sorted on any of the columns by clicking that column title. Alternatively, multiple patients can be marked by clicking to highlight them in the list and choosing Mark Selected from the List Menu. Other commands for unmarking or marking patients are available in the List Menu. Double-clicking a patient name displays the demographics, test results and a graph for that patient. Displays and reports will not show the list of rules related to data pattern detection until after the patient list has been scanned (see below).
Fig 4. Patient List Window (anonymized) If a rules file containing rules for a particular test is loaded (see Rule Management), its name will be shown under the data file name at the top of the window. These rules specify an abbreviation for the test which is shown in the Event column (the second text column). If a data file contains tests that are not specified in the loaded rules file, the data will be collected and the patient will be shown, but the patient cannot be scanned for data patterns using rule information. In this case the test code from the data file will be displayed in the Event column. The patient data can be inspected, archived and printed, but is not used in scanning or statistical calculations.
The patient list can be searched for patients with specific characteristics to include or exclude by choosing Find... from the List Menu. The Find Patients Window (Fig 5., to the right) allows searching for patients by characteristics such as name, physician name, age ranges, test, sample date ranges, testing frequency ranges and result ranges using the popup menu and text entry box(es). Text entered within LabScanner using the "Add Text" button in the Patient Display window can also be searched for words or phrases to find the associated patient(s). After scanning with rules, patients can be searched for words or phrases in the names of rules. The resulting sublist can be re-searched for different characteristics so that a final sublist may be progressively focused using sequential include/exclude searches. Date ranges should be entered with four-digit years and times should be entered in a format matching that specified in the current import format. Once a sublist is created, Revert in the List Menu will restore the previous list or sublist after a search. Revert does not remove checkmarks from patients or rules flagged during scanning. Show Original in the List Menu will return the list of all patients to its original form, with any checkmarks or rule flags removed.
Fig 5. Find Patients Window A patient list can be scanned to determine which patients have data patterns matching those defined in the currently-loaded scanning rules (see Rule management). A rules file must be loaded before patients can be scanned. The second line at the top of the Patient List Window (Fig. 4, above) shows the name of the currently-loaded rules file. Typically, a list of patients is scanned by choosing Full Scan from the Scan Menu. This analyses all specimens from each displayed patient against all active rules and displays a sublist of patients who have data patterns matching at least one rule. After a scan, individual patient displays or printed reports will contain a list of rules that are flagged ("true") for that patient. Alternatively, choosing Scan Most Recent from the Scan menu will display a sublist of patients whose most recent specimen satisfies a rule pattern. This approach ignores patients whose earlier time courses match rules but who currently do not (this is useful for generating reports on patients for immediate follow-up as opposed to historical studies).
As above, selecting Revert from the List Menu after a scan resets the patient list to the immediately previous list (but retains the flagged rules identified for each patient during the scan). Clear Scan from the Scan menu removes all flagged rules for all patients (cancelling the scan results, but not changing the patient list display). Find... can be used after scanning to find sublists of scanned patients who have particular characteristics without removing the rules flags. If a previously-scanned patient list is re-scanned, all rules flags are removed before the re-scan. Show Original displays all patients and removes all flagged rules.
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