Re: [Gnumed-devel] Lab import (data) matching

[James Busser]

On 4-Feb-08, at 2:57 PM, Karsten Hilbert wrote:

> IF the lab is known to make such mistakes I wouldn't trust their data
> to be auto-matched later on eiter. If a particular use case really
> calls for keeping around the lab's idea of what name a patient should
> bear I'd store it as an external ID of type, say, "lab specific  
> name" including the responsible lab as issuer.

The main situation that we can expect is when a patient is registered  
in one system using their first name, but in another (e.g. lab)  
system uses their second or warrior name. It is not necessarily to be  
considered a "mistake" of the lab.

Both are valid names of the patient, and so maybe we agree the  
solution is to keep the patient's known (multiple) given names in the  
first names field, and to allow smart matching to any of these given  
names, when appropriate. This would obviate the need to create extra  
identities which, when they would share the same last name, I agree,  
would be redundant.

The commonest use case for *appropriate* creation of a new identity  
is when the patient would change their name first outside of GNUmed,  
for example if they got married or otherwise changed their name  
legally, and a new message (lab result) came into the praxis before  
the patient came in to the praxis and got the new identity added, and  
made into their default, in GNUmed. Think "standing order" for any  
tests, or the patient getting care somewhere else with a copy sent to  
their family doctor.