I would like to implement a database solution where the user selects a department from a dropdown list; the result will be a page containing a description of the dept and a list of physicians in that dept. I would like for the physicians list to be the result of a search hard-coded in the link, and the physicians' names will be links to their database records, nicely outputted, of course.

This is our current site: http://www.evms.edu/services/phyrefdr.html

Can someone give me some guidance on how to set this up with DBMan?

Thanks,

Kim Lewandowski

Hi, Eliot. Thanks for your detailed reply. I was thinking that there should be a way to put it all in one database but I couldn't quite put it together.

You seem to have a lot of experience with this, so here's another question: I would like to provide certain people with author permission to add, modify, and delete records, but only those records in a given dept. I think I can figure out how to do this; my question is, how secure is this system as a whole? We run our own web server and will be moving the cgi-bin directory to another location shortly; all the DBMAN files that should be private will be located there. Are there any tips to keep in mind to make it as secure as possible?

Thanks again,

Kim Lewandowski

Kim,

You could actually put all the data into the DBMAN program (which will allow more interactivity for users). I would recommend setting up your default.cfg file with the following "fields":

1) Department
2) Description of Department
3) First Name
4) Last Name
5) Type of Practice
6) Clinical Interests
7) School
8) Resident Training
9) Fellowship Training
10) Personal Information
11) Practice Office
12) Location
13) Phone Number
14) Fax Number
15) Email
16) Academic Office
17) Location
18) Phone Number
19) After Hours Phone Number
20) Picture (*)

A couple hints on setting up these fields:

* Make sure that you make each "field" distinct and unique.

* Use _ characters (underscore) for multiple words.

* Make sure that you properly set up the values for the fields (null fields, maxlength, etc.).

* For longer fields, you could set the maxlength to 10000 or more.

* You can create drop-down (select) menus any STANDARD or FIXED variables (such as departments). There is a "build_fancy_select" mod located in this Forum that will clean up characters such as underscores and slashes. Search for "fancy" in the search form in this Forum (DBMAN Discussion).

NOTE: While the initial data transfer from static web pages into this dynamic database system will be a bit tiresome and tedious, in the long run, you and your web visitors will appreciate having a more dynamic and interactive system. Interactive in the sense that people can search multiple fields of information to narrow their search.

Then use the following modification scripts (mods) for your database:

(These are ALL located in the Resource Center of this web site.)

1) User-Friendly Html
2) Upload Mod (*) for photographs (You could also just point the "photo" field to your image directories and file where your images are located.)
3) Short/Long Formats

If you are looking for "Installers" to assist you with customizing and installing DBMAN to fit your needs, check out the DBMAN Installers in the Resource Center.

Hope this helps.



Regards,

------------------
Eliot Lee
Founder and Editor
Anthro TECH, L.L.C
http://www.anthrotech.com/
info@anthrotech.com
==========================
Coconino Community College
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/
Web Technology
Coordinator
elee@coco.cc.az.us

[This message has been edited by Eliot (edited July 27, 1999).]

The program is VERY secure in the sense that passwords are encrypted. Yes, you can allow users to add, modify, and delete their own records. This is done in the default.cfg file. (There are many threads that address this. Your best bet is to search for keywords, such as "permissions", in this forum.)

One hint on making your files MORE secure is to place your sensitive files (.db, .pass) in a password protected directory (either through .htaccess on UNIX or using a third party software through O'Reilly on NT) that only the web administrator will have access to. The program will access these files through the program, but having them in a physically secured directory will enhance the security of your database program.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

------------------
Eliot Lee
Founder and Editor
Anthro TECH, L.L.C
http://www.anthrotech.com/
info@anthrotech.com
==========================
Coconino Community College
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/
Web Technology
Coordinator
elee@coco.cc.az.us

I just realized that some of the departments have divisions, or practices, within the department, and the physicians will need to be associated with one or more practices. For example, in Family and Community Medicine, some doctors are with one family practice office, some with another; some are with Geriatrics *and* a practice office.

Will I need more than one database to manage this? e.g., one for doctors, one for a list of practices? If so, some more guidance would be appreciated :-)

Thanks,
Kim Lewandowski

I don't think so. What you could do is create another field,"Practices" or "Divisions", which can be visualized as a "sub-category" of Departments. Then you can use the build_checkbox_field option to use checkboxes for these practices and divisions. Using checkboxes will allow you to choose multiple practices and divisions. In the admin forms (add, modify, delete), you could use the checkbox option, then in the search form, you could use the drop-down menu by copying the values you set-up in the build_checkbox_field to the build_select_field option. I have done this with our Employee Directory. The Data Manager is able to choose multiple categories for employees and then the search form has drop-down menus.

You could also add additional fields for "Description of Division/Practice" if there are separate descriptions than Departments.

When you are creating your database, think of each "record" in terms of indiviudal physicians that are associated with Departments, Divisions, and/or Practices.
I assume that your main goal is to provide a seamless employee directory. This can be done.

There are some problems with setting up separate database files. Some of them are:

1)You have to create separate default.cfg and html.pl files.

2)DBMAN at this time is not set-up for a true relational databases (like in Access queries that you can search data from multiple databases that may have different data).

3) You would have to create a static web page outside of DBMAN for the forms if you have multiple databases. Then you would have to create radio buttons to designate which databases users can search for. And the best way this works is ONLY with keyword searches or using similar fields in both databases (e.g., Name of Physicians).

Regards,

------------------
Eliot Lee
Founder and Editor
Anthro TECH, L.L.C
http://www.anthrotech.com/
info@anthrotech.com
==========================
Coconino Community College
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/
Web Technology
Coordinator
elee@coco.cc.az.us

[This message has been edited by Eliot (edited July 28, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Eliot (edited July 28, 1999).]

Cool, that's just what I wanted to hear :-) Thanks again.

Kim Lewandowski

No problem.

Good luck.

Regards,

------------------
Eliot Lee
Founder and Editor
Anthro TECH, L.L.C
http://www.anthrotech.com/
info@anthrotech.com
==========================
Coconino Community College
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/
Web Technology
Coordinator
elee@coco.cc.az.us