Windoware/WINDOWARE_1_6.iso/miscprog/conslt/consult.txt

Text File | 1991-11-26 | 13.3 KB | 307 lines

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                    Medical Consultant for Windows

                         and

                      Cardiovascular Risk Analyst

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1.    Introduction
2.    Installation / Running the program
3.    Creating a Personal Medical History
4.    Health Care Treatment Directive (Living Will)
5.    Durable Power of Attorney
6.    Cardiovascular Risk Analyst
7.    For help...
Appendix A










Copyright 1991, Doggone Software Ltd., 310 Snapfinger Dr., Athens, GA  30605
______________________________________________________________



1. INTRODUCTION

With Medical Consultant for Windows, you can generate a personal medical
history; write a living will; and create a durable power of attorney.  Medical
histories can be saved for future reference, updated as necessary, and printed in
either pocket or full-size format.

For details about the use of a mouse, and the use of Windows software please
see the Windows 3.0 manual.  The minimum system requirements for Windows
3.0 and Medical Consultant are: 2 Mb RAM, an 80286 CPU and a hard disk drive.
A VGA monitor is strongly recommended.

Legal stuff:

The program was written by Mark Ebell MD, a board-certified family physician.
Neither Dr. Ebell nor Doggone Software Ltd. are responsible for the results
(good or bad) based on histories taken using this software.  It is in no way
guaranteed to be complete or accurate, and should of course be supplemented by
a careful oral history.

Similarly, the Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney created using this
document should be reviewed by an attorney to ensure that they meet
specific requirements for your jurisdiction. They are not guaranteed to be legal
in all 50 states or in every jurisdiction.


WHY YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY REGISTER THIS PROGRAM:

Registered users get the latest version of the program on diskette, a clear
conscience, and the knowledge that they are supporting the development of
more great medical software.  Plus, the registered version doesn't have those
annoying nag screens, and prints reports without the "Unregistered..." label at the
top.

As if that isn't enough, registered users also get a free bonus program, the
Cardiovascular Risk Analyst for Windows.  This program calculates your risk of
developing heart disease and/ or stroke in the next five to ten years and prints a
detailed textual risk factor analysis. It is available only to registered users of
Doggone Software products.

To print an order form, select Help - Register from within the Medical Consultant
program.  Alternately, you can just send $20 to Doggone Software Ltd., 310 Snapfinger
Drive, Athens, GA  30605.   If you just want to clear your conscience, and don't
care about the registered version of the program, nag screens or bonuses, just send
me whatever you think the software is worth, and enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________

2. INSTALLATION / RUNNING THE PROGRAM

To install the Medical Consultant program:

Just copy the CONSULT.EXE file to any directory on your hard drive.  The
program consists of the single file, and can be run from a floppy diskette.

Since the program was written with the VisualBasic programming language,
the VBRUN100.DLL file must be present in your path.  It is recommended that
it reside in the \WINDOWS directory.  The file can be downloaded from the
MSBASIC forum library on CompuServe, as well as from numerous bulletin
board services.  It is included for your convenience on the Medical  Consultant
distribution diskette.


To run the program:

Run the CONSULT.EXE file from the Program Manager or File Manager.  The
program takes 5-10 seconds to load because the large VBRUN100.DLL file
must also be loaded into your computer's memory.

The program essentially consists of a series of forms asking you for
information, which the program organizes into documents and reports.  To
move around within a form, use the Tab key to move forward from box to box.
To move backward, just hold the Shift key while pressing Tab.

Help is usually just the press of a button away, and you can always quit what
you are doing by pressing the Cancel button.


_____________________________________________________________

3. PERSONAL MEDICAL HISTORY

A detailed personal medical history can be very useful for most people.  In today's
mobile society, it is the rare patient who sees one physician their entire life.  More
likely than not, you will move several times in your life, meet many physicians, and
at times seek aid in emergency rooms and urgent care centers.

At such times, it is important that your treating physician have a detailed medical
history.  A detail which may seem unimportant or irrelevant to you can help the
physician make their diagnosis, and prevent unnecessary, expensive and
potentially dangerous testing.


To begin a new history:

Select File - New history (i.e., open the File menu, then select New history...).
You will be asked if you would like to create a new history... press the Yes
button.  Next, a form will appear, and you will be asked to enter your name,
age and gender.

A complete medical history consists of a series of sub-histories, such as a
history of medications, a history of allergies, and so on.  To complete your
personal medical history, select the sub-histories from the History menu one at
a time, and fill them out.  Take your time, and answer the questions as
accurately and completely as possible.  After you have answered all of the
questions in a sub-history which you care to answer, press the Done button.
A check will appear next to the name of the sub-history in the main menu,
indicating that it has been changed or updated during this session.  Then, go
on to a sub-history which hasn t been filled out yet.

When you have answered all of the questions in all of the sub-histories, select
Save as... from the File menu.  You will be given the opportunity to name your
history.  Choose a name in the format:  xxxxxxxx.HST.  Examples would
include MARK.HST or CLARA2.HST.


To edit a previous history:

Select File - Open history.  Then, just select the appropriate *.HST file from the
hard drive or a floppy, and it will be loaded.  Finally, select the appropriate sub-
history from the History menu, and update the information.


To print the currently loaded file:

Select File - Print...  You will be given the option of printing a full-size or pocket
size history.  Select your preference, then press the OK button when asked
whether or not you would like to print.  A laser printer is recommended for the
pocket-size history because of the size of the type face used.


_____________________________________________________________

4. HEALTH CARE TREATMENT DIRECTIVE (LIVING WILL)

The Living Will is a document which allows you to state your preferences
regarding the kind of medical care you prefer when you can no longer participate
in decisions about your care.  It is a very useful document, and widely recognized,
but less flexible than the Durable Power of Attorney because it forces one to
anticipate every eventuality, rather than just appointing a decision-maker who can
make the decisions for you.

Creating the Living Will is simple.  Just select Directives - Living Will, and follow the
instructions.  The witnesses should be unrelated, and not be health care
professionals or beneficiaries of your estate.  It is recommended that the
document be notarized, although this is not a requirement in some jurisdictions.

When you have answered all of the questions, the Living Will will be printed.  If at
any time you would like to quit, just press Cancel.  If you start over by reselecting
Directives - Living Will, your original data will still be present.  However, when you
exit the program the data is erased.

Just as a computerized diagnosis program is no substitute for a physician, this
program is no substitute for a lawyer.  While most jurisdictions will recognize the
Living Will created by Medical Consultant, it is still recommended that you have a
legal professional examine and approve the document.  Additionally, it is strongly
recommended that you discuss your Living Will with your friends, family and
physician in order that they are aware of it's existence and your wishes.  Give
your family a copy, as well as your physician(s).


___________________________________________________________

5.  DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

The Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions is a very powerful
document.  It enables you to designate an "agent" who will make medical
decisions for you when you are no longer able to.  This document supplements a
Living Will, and extends your surrogate decision-making power to situations which
you could not have anticipated.

To create a Durable Power of Attorney, just select Directives - Durable Power of
Attorney.  Then, follow the instructions.  Enter your name and address, as well as
that of your witnesses.  The witnesses should not be members of your family,
health care professionals or beneficiaries of your estate.  The document should
be notarized, although this may not be a requirement in your jurisdiction.

To stop at any time, select Cancel.  When you restart by selecting Directives -
Durable Power of Attorney, your original data will be displayed.  Once you exit the
program, it is erased.  When you have answered all of the questions, the Durable
Power of Attorney will be printed.

Just as a computerized diagnosis program is no substitute for a physician, this
program is no substitute for a lawyer.  While most jurisdictions will recognize the
Living Will created by Medical Consultant, it is still recommended that you have a
legal professional examine and approve the document.  Additionally, it is strongly
recommended that you discuss your Living Will with your friends, family and
physician in order that they are aware of it's existence and your wishes.  Give
your family a copy, as well as your physician(s).


____________________________________________________________

6.  CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ANALYST

This program is a special bonus program, available only to registered users of the
Medical Consultant program.  For details about registering this software, see
section 2 of this documentation.

The Cardiovascular Risk Analyst (CRA) is based on the extensive data collected
by the Framingham study.  It enables you to determine your risk of developing
heart disease or having a stroke, based on a few easily measured attributes.

To load the program, just place it in any directory on your hard drive, and make
sure that the VBRUN100.DLL file is in your \WINDOWS directory (or somewhere
on your path).  To run the program, select File-Run from the Program Manager
and type CV-RISK, or select the CV-RISK.EXE file from the File Manager.

After an introductory screen, select Analyze.  You will be given a choice of Heart
Disease or Stroke.  Choose one.  Next, a form will be shown asking for some
information about your personal risk factors.  For details about a term or definition,
press the Help button.  To start over, press the Clear data button.  To select a
different analysis or quit, press the Cancel button.  Once you have entered all of
 your data, press the Calculate button, and your risk analysis will be displayed.

You are given the option of having a detailed report printed, which will tell you in
real English what your current risk is, how you can change it, and what happens
when you do change it.


____________________________________________________________

7.  FOR HELP...

Please don't hesitate to contact me here at Doggone Software Ltd. for help with
the Medical Consultant program  (registered users only, please).  I can be
reached at any of the following:

    Mail:    Mark Ebell MD
        Doggone Software Ltd.
        310 Snapfinger Drive
        Athens GA  30605

    CompuServe: 74040.3157

I will be happy to answer all inquiries via CompuServe, or by mail.  At this
registration fee, I cannot afford to return phone calls.  You are welcome to
leave messages or questions at 404/543-2072, and I will answer them via card
or CompuServe.

Thanks for registering your software!  I hope to provide more useful medical
software for patients and medical professionals, and appreciate your support.


_____________________________________________________________

APPENDIX...

Windows is a complex environment, and conflicts are inevitable.  Kind of like a
family... the more brothers and sisters you have, the less likely you are to get
along with all of them.  Enough philosophy though...

1. If you have difficulty printing, make sure that you have one of the following
fonts loaded:  Helv, Helvetica, Ariel or Modern.  If necessary, use the Windows
Control Panel and select Fonts - Add to load one of these fonts.

2. If the program doesn t run at all, make sure:
    -- that the VBRUN100.DLL file is in your path somewhere (usually in the
    \WINDOWS directory)
    -- that you have enough memory to hold about 400k of program (close
    unnecessary programs if possible)