by Robert S. Gillespie, MD, MPH
On the blank sheet you will some messages in the “Comments” column. This is because the computer thinks all of the lab values are 0. Don’t worry, these will correct themselves as you enter the lab data.
Enter the patients name and the lab results in the yellow boxes in the column labeled “Your Results.” Notice that as you enter values, a message will appear in the “Comments” column.
Important: Don’t forget to choose the correct items on the three drop-down boxes for Vitamin D, Epo and Iron therapy in the upper right-hand corner. These are essential in order for the computer to select the appropriate messages.
You can easily customize key parts of the page:
· You can edit the descriptions in the “Test/Items” column (far left column) if you like. Just type in the text you would like.
· You can change the “Desired Ranges.” For example, the default range for phosphorus is 4 to 6, but you could change it to 3.5 to 5.5 if you wished. Just change the numeric values. When you do this, the software will automatically adjust its high/normal/low determination to comply with the new values.
· You could add some text at the bottom of the page (rows 18 and 19), such as the name and phone number of the dietician. Just type the information in the space.
Advanced Customizing
I do not recommend changing the message text that appears in the “Comments” column unless you are an advanced Excel user. It’s not as easy as it looks. Some of the messages use complex if/then algorithms which incorporate multiple cells. If you change these, do so very carefully and at your own risk. Look at the cell contents at the top of the screen (the fx display), not what is displayed in the actual cell – they may be different! Be sure to test your changes using various high, low and normal values to be sure it works correctly. Notice that the Iron/Epo/Vitamin D status interacts with many of the messages, so test different combinations of these as well.
Your questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome.