Re: Help finding natural keys

From: Alan Gutierrez <ajglist_at_izzy.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 20:33:02 GMT
Message-ID: <2MZV9.300$I55.18392@news2.east.cox.net>

Ray Cassick (Work) wrote:

>
> "Alan Gutierrez" <ajglist_at_izzy.net> wrote

>>
>> The organizations are small, and even in our large organizations the
>> charting is done by small facilities. This is charting, not billing.
>> Patientnumbers are not in use here. A good thing. I'd say that a doctor
>> that referred to me as Q123.456 has got to work on her bed-side mannor.

>
> From a patient perspective I can agree here, but from a developer
> perspecitve This is very limiting.
>
> People have to uderstand that thier data is stored in computers, and to
> computers, numbers are easy.
>
> Just because the patient has a number is no reason for a small company to
> not interact with them via thier name anyway.

Of course. I am making the point that there is no existing patient number for most of my customers since, so far, none of them have electronic charting. Therefore, there is no existing numeric key. So I made one up.

I am asking the group if there is some natural key for patient that can be used as a primary key. One that I might have missed. People asked how patients are indentified currenlty, as a source of clues. I am noting that there is no existing numeric indentifier that is brandied about by the nurses as they care for their patients. (Er, maybe room numbers)

Alan Gutierrez - ajglist_at_izzy.net Received on Fri Jan 17 2003 - 14:33:02 CST