I have patients that have lab tests monthly with return dates based on last
results. I have a database and can input data each month through a form but
I need to just add to the data for each patient, not replace what is already
there so I can go back and see months worth of results. Have no idea how to
set this up. New to Access obviously.
The first thing to realize is that you don't put data into forms. You put data
into Tables, *using a Form as a user interface*. So the fundamental structure
of your database needs to be built using Tables, first; Forms come later.
What are the Tables in your database? How are they related (use the
Relationships window)?
It sounds like your structure *should* have at least three tables, resembling
Patients
PatientID
LastName
FirstName
<other biographical data>
Tests
TestID
TestName
<information about the test itself>
TestResults
TestID <link to Tests, what test was performed>
PatientID <link to Patients, who was it performed on>
TestDate <when was it performed>
Results <perhaps more than one result field if you need units, some tests
may have numeric results and others text or yes/no results, etc.>
Note also that patient biographical and medical data will be covered by the
very stringent HIPAA patient privacy regulations. Read up on these before you
get too deep into this database, unless you've got a few hundred thousand
bucks handy to pay fines.
