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How to Create a Dynamic Invoice Management System

In hospital management systems, keeping track of invoices for patient services is essential. Imagine a scenario where patients can view their test invoices dynamically and print them directly from the system. This functionality is incredibly useful, both for the hospital and for the patients, as it allows for easier management of billing records, reduced paperwork, and increased transparency. In this blog post, I'll walk you through the process of creating such a system in PHP using a MySQL database, making use of pagination to handle large datasets, and implementing features for printing invoices directly from the interface.

Features of the System

This system will allow patients to:

View invoices based on specific billing dates.
See test details such as the test name, test ID, and the cost for each service.
Print their invoice for a given billing date.
Navigate through multiple invoices using pagination for a smoother experience when handling large data.

Now, let's break down how we can build this in PHP.

Step 1: Setting Up the Database

The first step is to have a products table in your MySQL database that contains the relevant invoice data. Each record in this table represents a product (or service) that a patient has availed. Here's an outline of some key fields:

id - Unique ID of the test.
name - Name of the test.
price - Price of the test.
date_bill - Billing date of the test.
patient_id - ID of the patient.
full_name - Patient's full name (for easier identification).

In this system, we will be querying data based on the date_bill field to fetch all the products (or services) billed on that particular date for a specific patient.

Step 2: Fetching the Invoices

Once the patient logs into their account, we retrieve their patient ID from the session. Using this ID, we query the products table to fetch all the billing dates associated with this patient. This way, patients can see all the dates on which they were billed and choose a specific one to view detailed invoices.

Here’s a sample query you would use to get the unique billing dates for a patient:

$sql = "SELECT DISTINCT date_bill FROM products WHERE patient_id = '$patientID'";

This query helps fetch all the distinct billing dates for the logged-in patient, allowing them to click on a specific date and view the invoices associated with that date.

Step 3: Displaying the Invoice Data

Once the patient selects a billing date, you fetch all the invoices related to that date and display them in a table format. Each row in the table contains information about a specific test, such as the test name, test ID, price, and billing date. The total amount for all the tests is calculated at the bottom of the table.

See the full Project Tutorial

This process is handled through a paginated system, ensuring that the user interface remains smooth and responsive, even if there are hundreds of records. Here's an example of how to paginate the results:

$sql = "SELECT id, name, price, date_bill, full_name FROM products WHERE date_bill = '$dateBill'
 AND patient_id = " . $_SESSION['patient_id'] . " LIMIT " . $startingLimitNumber . ", " . $resultPerPage;

This query ensures that the results are limited to a certain number per page (e.g., 15), and the total number of pages is calculated based on the number of invoices.

Step 4: Total Amount Calculation

At the bottom of the invoice table, you can show the total amount due for that particular billing date. This is done by summing the prices of all the tests displayed:

Step 5: Printing the Invoice

Once the patient views their invoice, they should be able to print it directly from the system. This functionality can be easily implemented using JavaScript’s window.print() function. With a button click, the user can print the table containing all the invoice details:

Step 6: Enhancing the User Interface

Patient Invoice Management system

You can improve the user experience by applying Bootstrap to style the tables and buttons. A simple Bootstrap table with borders and headers can make the invoice look professional and clean. Additionally, you can use a color scheme that matches the overall theme of your hospital management system. For instance, using a light background color for table headers and aligning the price column to the right can make the data easier to read.

Here I have used styles.css file. Those I have inputted this link to download styles.css