@bcmd wow, your way ahead of me. It hadn't occurred to me that if I searched in Jan of 2009 then the text 2009 shouldn't appear much. Problem is if I don't search on time, it will start to clutter up the list with every little thing I charted that refers to the date, 2009.
@rainy, your welcome, I am pleased you like the idea.
I started out thinking of a way to track the colonoscopy.
But what I am more excited about is the chance to pull fragile patients out of the path of the bus, anytime I think I should.
For example: I see an elderly female, frail, with COPD who quit smoking two years ago. (150 pack-years). I think, "Gosh, if she gets the flu next year she will die for sure!" So I type in the problem list "High Flu Risk".
In September or October our vaccine arrives. We pull the lists, "age >64" and "Dx= COPD or Asthma or DM" Call everybody up, get all the shots done.
Then in Jan. or Feb. we start to see a lot of flu cases. People all sick, ER is full, no beds available in the Hospital. Now I pull the list "High Flu Risk", and I expect I will have 15-20 patients on the list. I call each one and check on them, remind them of the signs and symptoms and when to call me for help. And we review universal precautions. And I say, "If you are sitting in church and the neighbor next to you is sneezing and coughing, you get up and go home!! I am serious! For the next two months you stay away from anyone who is sick!"
I bet I can reduce by half the number of pulmonary patients of mine who wind up on a ventilator for weeks and weeks. The exciting thing is that I think I have figured out how to get managed care to pay for this!
