Date format rules
When inputting a date, the safe format to use is the recognised dd/mm/yyyy format. The separator is optional i.e. you can just enter ddmmyyyy. However, if you use a separator, it can be any of several recognised punctuation symbols e.g. / (oblique) . (fullstop) or - (hyphen).
Whenever a date is confirmed, it subsequently appears as dd month yyyy e.g. 09 March 1970.
or
get confirmed as
You can also enter a month as full or abbreviated text e.g. April or Apr. However, there must be spaces between the separate parts before you confirm it. 12 mar 65 will correctly convert to 12 March 1965. However, neither 12mar65 or 12mar1965 can be confirmed.
If you do not include the century and just input the year as yy, Pharmacy Manager tries to anticipate what is expected. This may not always be correct when being applied as a date of birth for a very old or very young patient. 23/07/10 will default to 23/07/2010. However, if it should refer to 23/07/1910 then you must re-enter the date in dd/mm/yyyy format.
An example such as dd/mm/yy will be accepted as a date of birth but be disallowed as future date e.g. an expiry date for an exemption when the date is more than 12 months from today.
An ambiguous or invalid date will remain as red text and cannot be confirmed. The text of any input date that is acceptable will turn black and can be confirmed.
Future dates are not permitted for any date of birth. the input values will remain as red/unconfirmed and will require correcting.
Future dates can be input as expiry dates, but generally within a valid period. A prescription exemption would typically cover 12 months, so for a period in excess of this, use the recognised dd/mm/yyyy format.
Updated 29th July 2010
