Help Database on a LAN question

[Rubber Bullets]

I have just got back from Kenya where I was working on a charity project doing orthopaedic surgery. It is the 3rd time I have been, and the charity has run many of these projects in a few different hospitals, and they are getting busier and more complex. The local system of medical notes is rather chaotic and so the project now uses an Access database to keep track of patients, but this needs to expand in its flexibility. At one point this week we found ourselves a couple of steps down the road to doing the wrong operation on the wrong patient. Fortunately a number of safeguards would have made this very unlikely, but it did give a useful lesson.

The ideal situation would be to have a copy of the database on a server which could be accessed from a few different laptops (or even iPads etc) via a wireless LAN. We also need the ability to add images (x-rays, photos of patient faces and injuries for instance) at the same time. The whole thing needs to be portable, and the range between machines does not need to be huge.

I am assuming that the tech required to achieve this goal is available, but of course this being a very small charity the cost will be very important, it also needs to be easy to set up as there will not necessarily be a great level of tech savvy on every trip.

Can anyone please suggest a way of achieving this aim? You will be doing good works for charity if you do

RB

 

[caLLous]

Will the LAN have internet access? I've just realised this post is pointless because I was going to suggest doing something with Google Docs/Drive but they don't have a database app it seems.

 

[caLLous]

I think it would be fairly simple to setup a database in a shared folder on a network though, but I'm not sure how ones like Access and OpenOffice would cope with concurrent openings from multiple users. I guess they would only open in read-only if it was already open elsewhere?

 

[soze]

Access can be opened on multiple computers. A free trial would be creating an sky drive account and testing access. There is no need for more hardware and it includes a backup.

 

[TdC]

tbh it's likely you will get file locking issues if you do it on a shared drive. I hate access though so it could be me hatin'

 

[soze]

It might be a Database setting. We have several Databases that are accessed by multiple sales members at a time. But I did not write them so I don't know if its a specific setting.

 

[caLLous]

tbh it's likely you will get file locking issues if you do it on a shared drive. I hate access though so it could be me hatin'

Tbh I'm sure all of the Office products lock files locally when you open them. They make hidden temp files next to the original file iirc and then write any changes made to the file when you close/save so even if you could access it from another client it would get corrupted pdq.

 

[soze]

Access locks records not the whole file. So if I click to create a new record which is 15001 and then you click new you will create and lock record 15002. When you save everyone else that has it open will sync the changes.

This should work fine locally but I think with SkyDrive ect caching then syncing it would cause problems. I think a small NAS drive or a shared folder on one machine would be the answer if you all work in the same building. A quick google shows that you can get this Hasted too but this site does not seem very cheap to me.

 

[MYstIC G]

Access locks records not the whole file. So if I click to create a new record which is 15001 and then you click new you will create and lock record 15002. When you save everyone else that has it open will sync the changes.

This should work fine locally but I think with SkyDrive ect caching then syncing it would cause problems. I think a small NAS drive or a shared folder on one machine would be the answer if you all work in the same building. A quick google shows that you can get this Hasted too but this site does not seem very cheap to me.

Dunno about that, I've opened a file in Access before and then gone to run a mailmerge off the same DB in word and it kicked off about opening it Read Only. Better safe than sorry and test it out on something else than your master DB first.

 

[soze]

Dunno about that, I've opened a file in Access before and then gone to run a mailmerge off the same DB in word and it kicked off about opening it Read Only. Better safe than sorry and test it out on something else than your master DB first.

None of our Databases have mail merges so I do not know how that would make it react differently unless it needs write access to every record.

But we have several databases which are accessed by up to ten people at a time and apart from the odd blank record I never hear many complaints. But testing a copy of it is a good idea and can be done using two PC's in a work group.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

That's brilliant, thank you all.

I think that it would be best to assume that there will not be internet access in designing this. In most cases there may well be, but the wifi can be flaky, and the only option then are dongles, but there isn't much 3G in the middle of Kenya!

I know very little about data bases generally, having never used one, and so I will probably be a bit thick during this thread.

I would guess that we will only need about 4 PCs on this LAN, and only one would be accessing any given patients file at any time. Does Access look at the individual patient notes as separate entities, or as the whole database as one?

Would I need a router to set up a wireless LAN?

Thanks for all the help so far, even the bits I don't really understand!

RB

 

[soze]

The way ours work here if you have multiple records in one table. So it is one Access Database which could have the patients records Table filled with xyz records. Now the 4 PC's whether they are wired or wireless can be set up to browse the same database which can be shared from one PC. If you are just referencing one record at a time so patients a or patients b this should not be a problem at all.

With all that being said without someone with Access knowledge out there any problems could be very bad. Have you considered one of the Free apps on line?
http://www.oemr.org/
http://www.open-emr.org/

Here is a review site on the paid for ones which may be worth looking at as a taylor maide solution with support may be best http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/electronic-medical-record-software-comparison/

 

[Aoami]

If you were willing to use SQL express i'd happily get involved. I work as an SQL developer (junior) but know enough to get a DB kickstarted. Hit me up with the requirements and i'll take a look.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

That's really kind Aoami, I'll try and get some info. I don't currently get involved with the database, but will probably be the one taking and putting the images on.

Thanks again,

RB

 

[Aoami]

No problem! It would probably make sense to use a SQL DB and a simple front end GUI. SQL express is free and will allow a db up to 10gb and using a front end the images could be stored outside the db in a image store to reduce the size.

 

[Overdriven]

@Aoami, it might be better to go down the MySQL route than using MSSQL-E. Bit more freedom and close enough syntax to make it work.

Just my 2c... Front end would be built the same etc.

 

[Aoami]

I am teaching myself php but I'm much more experienced in smss and asp (yeah asp, I said it) so it's probably the route id personally go down (not saying it's the best route, but better than access)

 

[TdC]

I dunno about MySQL / MariaDB. Last time I looked it wasn't type safe or something like that. Depends on RB's requirements tbh. Would be a fun exercise to help out with this. Maybe hassle Noseface McDeebsalot to see if you can get a temporary private forum or something?