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So, we now have at least 3 requirements for diseases. More detailed history ( onset, criteria etc )A summary paragraphChronic disease management plan Other consultants involved. If the illness is just a single episode, you may only use points 1, and perhaps 2.

Database normalization refers to keeping only one copy of the information in your database.  So, social history is just one copy .. unless you put the social history into an encounter which does then violate this principle. Thinking more about this, it's not just past medical history we are talking about, but more about disease ...

The problem with free form is that it is very hard to get the data out again .. eg. CCR export. I agree that maintaining such a list will be very hard ... If you have a separate tab for this, then you start to violate rules on database normalization.  I will have to think on this some more. 

I have been thinking about this for a while. I'm not sure any "Box Model" method will work here.  Flexibility I think is ultra important.  Two patients with the same diagnoses may require vastly different disease "summaries". Keeping a list like this up to date, will prove a challenge. My actual suggestion was ...