Karyn - cards

[Guest guest]

Here are my brainstorming inputs based on how you concisely

summarized my random thoughts:

I do not have any specialy knowledge about cards that are

currently out there that people use for other diseases / disorders

(like the one Chrissy (?) mentioned for example) so I would think

that using an existing one as a template would be helpful....

but........

what has been knocking around in my mind is to develop some

kind of algorithym / flow chart based on a typical presentation of

chronic pancreatitis that we as a group have as opposed to

those that are listed and evaluated in the typical ER flowchart.

You know the ones that I am talking about? Those that start with

symptoms then list differential diagnoses then list H & P findings

then workup and go on to direct you to action based on Yes / No

answers. It is my understanding that this is where most of us

run into trouble...that the typical flowchart in the ER only

addresses the presentation of Acute Pancreatitis so it has the

typical findings of that involved in the Yes / No flow. I am thinking

that if we could find a medical doctor who has special

knowledge in our type of situation with CP who could come up

with an alternative flow chart with different sets of Yes / No

questions and directions with different sets of H & P criteria /

expectations and list more appropriate workups, interpretations

and treatment.

If you would like, next week, I can make up a mock one using

made up information just to illustrate what I am thinking. But I

think there are emergency medicine websites that actually has

examples of what I am talking about.....I just haven't run across

any of them lately. But this is the most common approach that

almost every speciality in medicine uses now.....to summarize

actions and make diagnosing and treating more efficient.

FlowChart medicine is basically the language that ER docs

know the best and are the most comfortable with.

Off hand...this is the type of thing that popped into my head when

this subject came up. I will be gone until Tuesday so if it seems

that I am not willing to clarify my thoughts it is just that I am not

near a computer.......I will try to get my thoughts together better

over the weekend if you think we are on the right track here.

laurie