Pulmonology software: a chest clinic visit, from spirometry to the action plan
Pulmonology software has to hold a visit made of machine numbers and stethoscope findings: spirometry, peak flow, saturation, crackles over one base. This guide lists what a chest clinic's record needs, walks through one visit in OPALEVI from the nurse's observations to the printed action plan, and says plainly which values are typed and which are calculated.
Key takeaways
- Keep lung function as numbers in their own fields, so this year's FEV1 sits next to last year's.
- OPALEVI calculates the FEV1/FVC ratio from the two volumes you type. Predicted values and percentages are typed as the spirometer or laboratory reports them, and nothing is graded.
- Auscultation belongs in a grid by zone and side, where an empty cell means not examined rather than normal.
- The asthma or COPD action plan is written in the visit and printed for the patient, with peak-flow bands the clinician sets.
Signs a chest clinic has outgrown paper and printouts
Spirometer printouts, sleep-study reports, a handwritten plan for the fridge door: a folder per patient copes until the follow-up years arrive. Then questions go unanswered:
- The FEV1 lives on a printout. Comparing three reviews means finding three sheets.
- “Crackles at the base” has no side. Was it the right base last spring, or both?
- The ratio is worked out by hand. A calculator slip lands in the letter to the family doctor.
- The action plan went home with the patient. Nobody recalls which peak-flow numbers it gave.
Lung disease is followed over years, so a chest record is only as useful as its next comparison.
What a pulmonology record should hold
Agree on what one visit must capture before you compare programs. The list works on paper too:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| FEV1, FVC and PEF, with units | The core of follow-up; kept as numbers, they can be charted. |
| The FEV1/FVC ratio | It comes from two volumes, so nobody should type it a third time. |
| Predicted values and percent of predicted | Copied as the device reports them, with its reference equation named. |
| Test condition | Before or after a bronchodilator: the same FEV1 reads differently. |
| Breath and added sounds by zone and side | A finding over one base disappears when written as “crackles present”. |
| Walk test and sleep results | Distance with the lowest saturation; the apnoea-hypopnoea index from the sleep study. |
| Smoking status and pack-years | Asked at every visit, because both change. |
| The written action plan | What the patient was told to do at home, kept with its visit. |
Recorded, not interpreted
Software should keep what was measured and stay silent on what it means. Whether a ratio suggests obstruction is the clinician's judgement.
One chest clinic visit in OPALEVI, step by step
A follow-up in the Pulmonology department of OPALEVI for clinics: a patient breathless on exertion, back for spirometry. Bold words are what the screen calls things.
Booking the review
The desk schedules it through Add appointment, where the box Email the patient a reminder the day before is worth ticking. The new visit opens empty; Previous visits beside it lists the earlier ones.
Observations first
The nurse enters saturation, pulse, respiratory rate and, if measured, glucose under Vital signs, then presses Mark ready for the doctor.
Spirometry
Type FEV1, FVC and PEF under Spirometry, pick the Test condition, and copy the predicted values from the device's sheet. The ratio fills itself in.
Examination by zone
Under Auscultation and percussion by zone, fill in the zones you listened to; anything worth a picture goes on the Lung map.
History, treatment, plan
The Doctor's report takes complaints, examination, diagnosis and advice, with saved phrases such as inhaler technique ready to insert. Update Pack-years, fill in the Prescription and, for asthma or COPD, the action plan.
Finishing
The header carries Print prescription, Spirometry report, the action plan and the full report; Invoice this visit and Book a follow-up appointment wait under Next steps.
A plain limit: OPALEVI has no connection to spirometers, oximeters or sleep-study equipment. Values are typed from the device's report, which can go under Visit documents as a PDF.
Pulmonology software tools: spirometry, zones, the lung map and trends
Spirometry: one value calculated, the rest typed
FEV1/FVC (Tiffeneau index) is the one figure OPALEVI works out, dividing your FEV1 by your FVC as you type. A result above 100 % brings a warning that FEV1 is larger than FVC, usually two swapped boxes.
Predicted values and percent of predicted are typed: they depend on the reference equation your spirometer or laboratory uses, and OPALEVI picks none. No pattern is named, no percentage called low. Note the equation and the quality of the effort under Technique and comments.
Auscultation and percussion by zone
Six zones, anterior and posterior, upper to lower, in examining order. Breath sounds takes one answer per zone and side: vesicular, reduced, absent or bronchial. Added sounds gives fine crackles, coarse crackles, wheeze and pleural rub a column each, and every cell says right, left, bilateral or none, so a wheeze and coarse crackles over one base both fit. Percussion covers three levels per side. An empty cell does not mean normal, and the form says so.
The lung map
The Lung map is a photograph of the lungs and trachea from the front, with lobes, apices, hila, bases, lingula and carina as regions; the patient's right lung is on the left of the figure. Each numbered mark carries a finding in words.
Walk, sleep and smoking
The Six-minute walk test keeps the distance and the lowest saturation reached. The Apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) is typed from the polysomnography or polygraphy report. Pack-years are typed each visit, not worked out from cigarettes and years. When the nose or the tonsils lie behind the snoring, see ENT clinic software.
FEV1 and PEF across visits
FEV1 and PEF across visits plots both measures using the patient's own earlier pulmonology visits and this one, each on its own scale. It appears from the second measurement and shows only what was entered: no target line, no shaded band. FVC and the ratio are not charted.
The spirometry report and the written action plan
The Spirometry report prints the test condition and a table: FEV1, FVC, the ratio and PEF as rows; measured, predicted and percent of predicted as columns. A column nobody filled is dropped. Your comment prints as written.
The action plan is written in the visit, for asthma, COPD or other conditions. Type the Best peak flow (PEF) for reference and set the Peak-flow bands for Well, Getting worse and Emergency yourself; OPALEVI never derives them. Each zone takes symptoms, medicines with dose and frequency, and what to do. On paper every zone is a box, an empty one is left out, and the border's weight rather than colour tells them apart, so a black-and-white printer loses nothing.
Hand over the plan, keep the copy
Print the action plan before the patient leaves. Its bands and medicines stay in the visit, so the next review starts from exactly what the patient was told.
Referrals, the laboratory and the rest of the practice
Chest patients often arrive through general practice or cardiology.
- Between departments. With two or more departments, Refer to a department puts a request, say for a chest X-ray, on the Referrals worklist until the receiving department completes a visit for the patient. See the radiology and cardiology guides.
- Out of the clinic. The Referral letter names the addressee, urgency and question, and carries the visit's diagnosis and therapy. For the family doctor's side, read the general practice guide.
- The laboratory. Where the clinic's laboratory runs in OPALEVI, tests are requested under Analyses and read in Analysis results.
Invoices work from the day you register. A one-department practice starts with invoices only; offers, stock and discharge notes are a tick each under Settings → Application menus.
Record privacy, in Settings → Department setup, decides who in the clinical team reads pulmonology records: with one department, Automatic or Only the clinician (the one the record is assigned to); with several, also the whole clinic or the department alone. The desk sees visit history only once the clinic allows it, and finance staff never see it. The Change history keeps each change with its author and time.
Questions to ask before choosing pulmonology software
Ask each vendor the same eight questions, ours too, with one of your own spirometry printouts at hand.
| Ask | What a good answer sounds like | OPALEVI |
|---|---|---|
| Is the FEV1/FVC ratio calculated? | Worked out from the two volumes, never retyped. | Yes, as you type, with a warning above 100 %. |
| Does it calculate predicted values? | Clear about which reference equation it uses. | No: typed as the spirometer or laboratory reports them. |
| Does it read results from the spirometer? | A tested connection, or a clear file route. | No: type the values and attach the PDF. |
| Is auscultation recorded by zone and side? | A grid where empty means not examined. | Yes: six zones per side, with added sounds and percussion. |
| Is lung function charted across visits? | Each measure on its own scale. | Partly: FEV1 and PEF are charted; FVC and the ratio are not. |
| Does it score symptom or sleep questionnaires? | Scoring for the instruments you use. | No: none is on this record; the AHI is typed. |
| Can it print an action plan for the patient? | Zones, bands and medicines, legible in black and white. | Yes: three boxed zones with bands you set. |
| Will the bill stay predictable? | Pricing you can work out in advance. | Yes: one seat per staff member, whatever the number of patients. |
Modules are listed on the features page; the general buying checklist lives in how to choose clinic software.
Your first week with pulmonology in OPALEVI
An afternoon sets it up; a week of real clinics proves it. First steps on the Today screen keeps count.
Sign up
Choose clinic, or private practice if you are a lone chest physician, and select pulmonology among the departments.
Services and letterhead
Add your services and prices, starting from the pulmonology consultation and spirometry already listed, then Set up the report letterhead.
Test with a real printout
Copy one spirometry into a test visit and compare the calculated ratio with the device's figure.
Bring in the team
Invite your colleagues, the nurse and the receptionist, each with their own role.
Type the FEV1 at every review
The chart needs two measurements. Enter FEV1 and PEF at each review, and from the second visit the course is on one screen.
Frequently asked questions
What is pulmonology software?
A program that keeps a chest clinic's visits in structured form: spirometry, breath sounds by zone and side, walk-test and sleep results, smoking history, prescriptions, referrals and the patient's action plan. Lung function can then be compared across years, while the interpretation stays with the clinician.
Does OPALEVI connect to our spirometer?
No. There is no device connection: FEV1, FVC, PEF and the predicted values are typed from the spirometer's report, which can be attached to the visit as a PDF. OPALEVI calculates the FEV1/FVC ratio from the two volumes; it does not calculate predicted values or classify the result.
Can reception see clinical notes?
Not by default. Reception books, admits and takes payment, and reads visit history only if the clinic turns that on; finance never reads clinical records. Within the clinical team, Record privacy can limit pulmonology records to the clinician the record is assigned to or, in a clinic with several departments, to the department.
Can we use OPALEVI on a tablet in the clinic room?
Yes. It is a web program, so an up-to-date browser on a tablet, phone or computer is enough and nothing is installed. On narrow screens the navigation drops to the foot of the page, and checking the last FEV1 or a patient's action plan between rooms takes a few taps.
Can I try it before paying?
Yes, free of charge and without a card, from the moment the clinic is registered. Use it on real clinics: type a spirometry, print the spirometry report and an action plan. If you do not subscribe when the trial is over, you are not charged; the records become read-only and none of them is deleted.
How is OPALEVI priced for a chest clinic?
By staff seat: one for each colleague with an active account, whatever their role. A yearly subscription costs less per month than paying monthly. Patients, visits and departments are not counted, so a fuller spirometry list leaves the bill unchanged. The figures are on the pricing page.
