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Rule Edit |
Use this form enter or modify information about the Rule of logic. The screen form can be reached from the Rule List form.
The list of items between IF and THEN keywords is essentially a logical formula, which expresses the logical condition for this rule. It is assumed that this will be triggered while making the automated diagnostics whenever the logical condition evaluates to TRUE based on the patient's Medical Records. Each item in the list represents the atomic part of the expression. Each item (except the first one) is preceded by a logical operator AND or OR, which connects it with the previous item. This operator can be chosen by the clicking on the appropriate radio button when editing or entering the item. It is not important which operator (AND or OR) will be chosen for the first item in the list.
Click on the item in the item list if you wish to edit it. This will display the controls relevant to the selected item on the right panel. The controls displayed will depend on whether this item is about Diagnosis present, Parameter value or Investigation completed. They will also depend (when applicable) on which parameter type is selected (either numeric, boolean or option). For numeric parameters please make sure you are entering only numeric data as a comparison value. Don't enter the measurement unit (it should be part of a parameter name instead). Fractional numbers are allowed as values. When you've finished editing press Save. If you move in the item list without pressing of the Save button all your changes (if there were any) will be lost.
If you wish to enter a new item you have a choice between pressing of Add After or Add Before button. They would insert a new item after or before the currently selected item respectively (if you list is empty use Add After button). Obviously the order of the items in the list is very important as they constitute the logical formula. When you've finished with entering press Save button. Press Cancel button (located on the right panel) to cancel entering of a new item.
Press Delete button to delete the current item from the list.
When entering the logical formula use --> and <-- buttons to open and close brackets in your complex logical expression. All items immediately following the item X, which shifted to the right relatively to item X, are considered to be in the same bracket with the item X. Bellow are examples which illustrate this.
WBC > 11.5
__ or Temperature(F) > 99
and Headache
__ or Sore throat
would read as
(WBC > 11.5 or Temperature(F) > 99) and (Headache or Sore throat)
Temperature(F) > 100
and Headache
and Anxiety
__ or Chest pain
__ or Breath shortness
__ or Skin pale
would read as
Temperature(F) > 100 and Headache and (Anxiety or Chest pain or Breath shortness or Skin pale)
When there are no brackets the AND operator takes precedence over the OR operator. This rule is common for the logic algebra.
You can have up to 10 levels of brackets in this version of the system. Actually, this facility allows you to enter as complicated logical expression as you want.
To avoid confusion and keep the logical formula well structured 2 rules should be followed:
1. The first item in the list should always have level 0. Or in other words it should not be shifted to the right.
2. Each following item should not be shifted more than 1 level to the right from the previous item. At the same time it is allowed to have items shifted more than 1 level to the left from the previous items.
If rules above are not kept the system would not allow you to save that rule into the database.
Add After, Add Before and Delete buttons are only enabled if some item is selected. There is one exception - the Add After button is also enabled when the list is empty. This allows you to enter the very first item.
At the bottom of the form you can choose the type of conclusion for your rule (either Diagnosis, Investigation or Symptom) by clicking on the appropriate radio button. The conclusion is something, which immediately follows THEN keyword. The corresponding drop down box will be displayed after you've specified the conclusion type. Note, choosing Symptom as a conclusion means that this rule will request to ask the patient about this symptom. But it does not mean that this symptom will be put automatically into the patient's Medical Records. If your conclusion is to make Diagnosis you should enter the diagnosis probability as well. This should be numeric value between 1 and 100.
When you've finished with the Rule Edit form press OK. This will save all your changes into the database. Or press the Cancel button to leave the form without saving of your changes. Both OK and Cancel button will finally bring you back to the Rule List form.
Important note: If you leave the Rule Edit form otherwise than by pressing the OK button (for example by navigating to a different page in your web browser) all your changes will be lost. Pressing of the Save button on the right panel only saves the item within the screen temporarily, it does not write anything into the database.