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As a pediatrician we have some issues with the weight boxes! We commonly go back and forth between lbs and kgs and if you open a forwarded chart in another measurement it actually changes the measurement from kgs to lbs or vice versa effectively doubling or halving the true weight. Needless to say this really messes us up.
Along the same line the lbs box always rounds up to one digit , not too useful when we measure newborns who may only gain an ounce a day! Could it may be rounded to the second digit. We already had to correct our nurses that 8.13 is not 8lbs 13 ounces but since we are having all the trouble with the kg to lbs issue were all afraid to be clicking back and forth and the nurses are hand dividing the ounces by 16 but when it rounds up that really makes a difference.

Thanks
Ron

Ron,

Good luck! I have been working on this one for four years. As an FYI, our scale measures in both pounds (decimals) and kgs. We have a chart for them which converts the pounds and ounces in decimals to pounds and ounces to tell the parents. Of course, we have to end the pounds and ounces back in decimal in AC. My wish would be to have three columns, with each of the above.

The other issue is when you save them. You get a column that consists of kg, kg, lbs, kgs, lbs, lbs. Hardly anything which is useful.

So, have three colummns. Put in any format, and the other two populate automatically.

Remember, pediatric patients are just little adults!

I brought this up again to Jon at the Branson meeting.

I asked him to fix the vitals entry gizmo (the box that pops open when you double-click on the words Physical Exam) so that it worked for adults and give it a keypad entry feature, so that vitals could be populated by tablet by pressing keypad icons, or by the actual keyboard keypad, using {tab} to advance to the next field. This would greatly speed up vitals entry.

I think that weight entry should be like so (if pounds are used):

Entering 8.5 pounds should be rendered automatically as 8 pounds 5 ounces by AC.
Enterering 8.5.5 pounds should be rendered automatically as 8 pounds 5.5 ounces by AC.

Brian,

One problem.

8.5 pounds is NOT 8 lbs 5 oz. It is 8 lbs 8 oz.

8.5.5 pounds is not 8 lbs 5.5 oz. It is 8 lbs 8.8 oz.

The only way, IMHO, that the weight is ever going to work well, given that we live in America and America is always right, is to have three columns:

10.5 lbs 10 lbs 8 oz and 4.77 kg

Entering any amount in any column would automatically populate the others. This is because some people use scales that measure in decimals and some in pounds and ounces and it is a hassle to convert these in your head or by a written chart. Certainly, a scale which states 10 lbs 9.5 ounces will be difficult to convert to a decimal. And, the same for when you get 10.2 lbs, you don't want to figure the second column. And, 4.77 kgs would be a mind teaser to convert off the top of your head to the other. It is also nice to sit at the computer and tell the parent(s) that their baby weighs 10 lbs 8 oz since they live in America.

The final reason is you want three columns populated each time so you can see three columns of data each time no matter which was entered. There is nothing worse when you have a FTT baby then to print off the VS, and see:

kg
lbs
lbs
kgs
lbs
kgs

**Any reference to living in America was simply to refer to we are just about the only ones who do not use the metric system.

Okay, I take your point. (no pun intended, tee-hee).

What I was looking for was a wildcard character that amazing charts could automatically convert into pounds and ounces.

You are right and I take my comment back -- 8.5 pounds should not convert into 8 pounds, 5 ounces.

However, I am not crazy about the three columns, as it seems to take an inordinate amount of screen real estate.

So, here is my alternate proposal -- let entering "8#5.5" be automatically rendered as 8 pounds 5 ounces, and let "8.5" be rendered as 8#whatever ounces, as you said.

Can't really compromise on the three columns. We need all the data. I suppose we could do some compromises and some preferences. You have a preference of one of the three, and that is basically hard coded. In other words, it shows up on your screen each time as the default as one of the three. So, say you choose decimal (which we use because our scale reads out in decimals or kiligrams). So, you enter 16.4. You would have to enter a decimal even if it were 16.0. It then automatically converts to the other two so you can switch among them much like the height is set up. THE KEY IS: whatever one you choose, no matter how you click on it to show the other two, it SAVES in your preference so THAT all the weights are in one format.

And, please get rid of the m and make it cm.

Let the three columns be a practice defined preference. That way you only spend the real estate if you wish to.

Nice idea. Need more preferences. Of course, one thing I have learned in creating software with Special Ed, preferences can be difficult to code.

This is all good discussion about a problem that has vexed me for years. It is really most relevant in the care of young infants. I have taken to typing in the top of my physical exam 8#13 to mean 8 lb 13 oz. because it is faster than converting pounds and ounces to an accurate 0-9 decimal.

That doesn't help with getting an accurate growth chart down the line, but really, those first few weeks don't mean much to the growth chart months and years later.

Jay

I agree with JayZ. I just put the pounds and ounces at the top of my physical exam so I know exactly how many ounces have been gained or lost by the newborn between visits.
Our scale reads out in pounds and ounces (which the parents like). The nurses just have to convert the ounces to the appropriate decimal eqivalent in pounds.

It is only a problem in Liberia, Myanmar and the United States.

The way we solve this problem is to have a conversion chart at the scale for oz to decimal pounds. Thus if the patient weighs 8#8oz the MA would convert to 8.5#. In my other office the scale has the option of doing pounds and ounces or pounds and decimal pounds. We use decimal pounds for consistancy.

How about just making the metric weight more accurate than .1 kg for starters?
That shouldn't be too hard. Important for my newborns and poor weight gain babies.

No Bert, you are wrong. Adults are just big children.

I'm wrong? Yikes, that's a first.

I need ounces!! I have been struggling with this poor design feature. The truth is, I can convert ounces to decimal pounds in my head, and my medical assistant has a table. But the digits aren't there in the AC chart. So when the parents ask me how many ounces the baby lost or gained, it's really hard to know exactly. It would be good enough to convert to kg if there were 3 decimal places (to record weights down to 1g). But if there were 3 decimal places, I wouldn't need ounces and could use decimal pounds.

I saw a baby last week who was a newborn of 4 pounds 4 ounces. I have had to keep a paper chart taped to my wall to keep track of his weight, since I'm weighing him every couple of days. Keeping a paper record because my computer record isn't precise enough is truly ironic and absurd.