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KnowledgeBase (KB) Archived MedARKS Topic
** THE FOLLOWING KB TOPIC SHOULD BE TREATED AS LEGACY INFORMATION **
** THESE TOPICS ARE NOT ACTIVELY UPDATED BY ISIS **
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Transfer of medical history records to another institution:
There are numerous reasons to send a copy of medical records to another institution. Usually it is simply because the animal is being sent to that institution and the medical records represent part of the paperwork to complete the transaction. However, SSP medical advisors have sometimes requested copies of all medical records for an entire species so that the information can be reviewed with the goal of producing a summary of the medical problems encountered in that species. Finally, you may simply wish to share some medical experience with colleagues.
Historically, transfer of medical records to another institution has required substantial expenditure of time at the copy machine and perhaps some effort to place the records in chronological order. As you might expect, MedARKS greatly simplifies the transfer of medical records to another facility. The program offers several medical record transfer options, but in the ultimate simplification of the process, all the medical information can be reduced to a single file that can be sent by e-mail. Once received by the other institution, this file can be expanded back to the original form and all the information accessed using their copy of the MedARKS program.
Low-technology record transfer (paper copies): MedARKS will print a complete medical history, inserting records from all modules into the correct chronological order during the production of the report. If the receiving institution does not have MedARKS, this is the only means to send them your medical records. From the main menu, choose option #7 (Inventory and Medical History Menu) and then option #3 (Medical History - Specimen Report). Specify the accession number(s) for the report, indicate that complete medical records should be included in the report and start the printing process. You can now go work on some other project while the medical history report is produced. While this is not a giant leap forward over the traditional paper records, it does have the following advantages.
- All records are typed and legible
- Records are in chronological order without expenditure of your time
- You can be productive while a complete copy of the medical records is produced (as opposed to standing at the copy machine waiting to feed in the next page)
High-technology record transfer (electronic copies): When the receiving institution is also using MedARKS, it clearly would be beneficial if they could transfer your medical records directly into their MedARKS system with little or no typing. As you might expect, MedARKS has this capability. Records for an individual or an entire species (in the case of SSP record requests) can be copied to a floppy diskette and the diskette mailed to the receiving institution. The receiving institution can then merge the contents of the diskette directly into their existing MedARKS records. To complete the integration process, the MedARKS program requires only the accession number that has been assigned to the animal at the receiving institution. The data transfer routine (both transfer to and transfer from the diskette) is also located on the Inventory and Medical History Menu as option #4 (Medical History - Data Transfer). There are 3 options for copying records to the floppy diskette.
Individual specimen(s): Designed for moving records on one or more animals that are being shipped to another institution.
By taxonomic group: Designed to allow you to quickly respond to requests from SSP medical advisors. This will transfer medical records for an entire genus, species, or subspecies to the floppy diskette.
By date: Designed mainly for transfer of records within an institution that is running MedARKS on 2 computers that are not connected by a network (see Helpful Hint #36 for details).
Enhanced high-technology record transfer (version 5.30L and higher): Starting with MedARKS version 5.30L, the medical history data transfer routine was enhanced to allow even faster transfer of records between institutions. After you have copied all the records to the floppy diskette, you are offered the option to compress all the data files on the floppy diskette into a single file that is suitable for attaching to an e-mail message. The receiving institution then copies that file (received by e-mail) to a blank floppy diskette and the MedARKS medical history data transfer routine will automatically decompress the file to produce a diskette with the original data files that can then be merged into their MedARKS system. This enhancement allows institutions that are thousands of miles apart to transfer medical records in just a matter of minutes with very little effort.
written by J. Andrew Teare, DVM
Last update: 13.Sep.1998
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