[Gnumed-devel] more GUI considerations (was Data entry-soap stuff - I tried it all day)

[J Busser]

Maybe what we want/need in the GUI in order to handle key needs 
*within* an encounter, are:

re) what the patient was *expected" to want
- this is just the "reason for encounter" (RFE)?

re) what the patient *actually* wanted
- still just the RFE assuming we can revise, and append to it within 
the encounter

re) what the doctor *planned* to do
- must be able to see (and interact with) the scratch pad; a 
patient-specific to-do list, if it exists (and however it is 
populated)

re) what the doctor *actually* does
- the Plan including reference to education delivered within the 
encounter, instructions including any changes to the medication list, 
and any new actions / work generated including new prescriptions, 
requests, referrals, communications

So is the GUI then determined by:

1. what we need to get patient-specific work done "inside" an 
encounter (the above), balanced against
2. what we still want to be able to see, and maybe interact with, 
that is *not* related to the encounter itself (maybe not even to that 
particular patient) even while we sit working with the patient

I suggest to shift the focus of discussion temporarily to 2, because 
it is potentially briefer, and might have impact on 1, and then come 
back to 1.

Could we agree that at the very *minimum* we must, while inside an 
encounter, preserve screen space to contain and keep in view a few 
things we must " juggle":

- for the active (current) patient, it could be the need to attend to 
things not strictly related to the encounter (maybe the to-do items 
or needs suggested by decision support if these are not fully evident 
inside the "encounter" module)

- and beyond current patient issues:
-- to be aware how we are doing for time, at minimum to easily see 
the current time and at what time we have our next appointment, 
optionally time progress feedback like visit-elapsed vs 
visit-allocated time or thermometer [add to the version 2-3 to-do 
list?]
-- a way for important notifications to not only jump up ("Dr X is on 
on line 2, shall I ask them to hold?") but to keep/assign a place for 
these items, after being acknowledged, to stay in view, even if it is 
only a small space, maybe softly blinking, until fully dismissed?

If the above enough to decide, I can wiki it so we do not lose sight, 
and then we can identify more how to best capture within encounters 
what patients want, and what we do.