🏥 Hospital Appointment System

A simple and easy-to-use web application for managing hospital appointments, patients, doctors, and departments.

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🏗️ Architecture Diagram

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              CLIENT LAYER                                    │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                        Web Browser                                     │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐   │  │
│  │  │    HTML     │  │    CSS      │  │ JavaScript  │  │ Bootstrap 5 │   │  │
│  │  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘   │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                                      │ HTTP/HTTPS
                                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            SERVER LAYER (Node.js)                            │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                         Express.js Server                              │  │
│  │                          (server.js)                                   │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                      │                                       │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                         MIDDLEWARE LAYER                               │  │
│  │  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐    │  │
│  │  │  Helmet  │ │   CORS   │ │   Rate   │ │   JWT    │ │  Auth    │    │  │
│  │  │ Security │ │  Policy  │ │ Limiter  │ │  Verify  │ │Middleware│    │  │
│  │  └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘    │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                      │                                       │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                           API ROUTES                                   │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐     │  │
│  │  │    /api/    │ │    /api/    │ │    /api/    │ │    /api/    │     │  │
│  │  │ departments │ │  patients   │ │   doctors   │ │appointments │     │  │
│  │  └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘     │  │
│  │                        ┌─────────────┐                                │  │
│  │                        │    /api/    │                                │  │
│  │                        │    auth     │                                │  │
│  │                        └─────────────┘                                │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                      │                                       │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                           MODELS LAYER                                 │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐     │  │
│  │  │ Department  │ │   Patient   │ │   Doctor    │ │ Appointment │     │  │
│  │  │   Model     │ │    Model    │ │    Model    │ │    Model    │     │  │
│  │  └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘     │  │
│  │                        ┌─────────────┐                                │  │
│  │                        │    User     │                                │  │
│  │                        │    Model    │                                │  │
│  │                        └─────────────┘                                │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                                      │ SQL Queries
                                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            DATABASE LAYER                                    │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                         PostgreSQL Database                            │  │
│  │  ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐     │  │
│  │  │ departments │ │  patients   │ │   doctors   │ │appointments │     │  │
│  │  └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘     │  │
│  │                        ┌─────────────┐                                │  │
│  │                        │    users    │                                │  │
│  │                        └─────────────┘                                │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

📊 Data Flow

┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  User    │────▶│ Frontend │────▶│  Routes  │────▶│  Models  │────▶│ Database │
│ Browser  │◀────│  (HTML/  │◀────│  (API    │◀────│ (Query   │◀────│(PostgreSQL│
│          │     │   JS)    │     │ Handlers)│     │ Builder) │     │          │
└──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘     └──────────┘
                      │                 │
                      │    ┌────────────┴────────────┐
                      │    │      Middleware         │
                      │    │  • Authentication       │
                      │    │  • Rate Limiting        │
                      │    │  • Security Headers     │
                      │    └─────────────────────────┘

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📋 What This App Does

This system helps hospitals manage:

• 📅 Appointments - Schedule, view, update, and cancel patient appointments
• 👥 Patients - Add and manage patient information
• 👨‍⚕️ Doctors - Manage doctor profiles and their departments
• 🏢 Departments - Organize doctors by medical departments
• 🔐 User Authentication - Secure login and registration system

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🛠️ Technologies Used

Category	Technology
Backend	Node.js, Express.js
Database	PostgreSQL
Frontend	HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Bootstrap 5
Security	JWT Authentication, Helmet, Rate Limiting

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📁 Project Structure

hospital-appointment/
├── server.js           # Main server file
├── package.json        # Dependencies and scripts
├── .env                # Environment variables (you create this)
├── database/           # SQL files for database setup
├── middleware/         # Authentication middleware
├── models/             # Database models
├── public/             # Frontend files (HTML, CSS, JS)
├── routes/             # API routes
├── scripts/            # Utility scripts
└── tests/              # Test files

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🚀 How to Run This Project

Step 1: Install Node.js

Download and install Node.js from nodejs.org

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL

Download and install PostgreSQL from postgresql.org

Step 3: Clone the Project

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd hospital-appointment

Step 4: Install Dependencies

npm install

Step 5: Set Up the Database

1. Open pgAdmin or psql terminal
2. Create a new database:

   CREATE DATABASE hospital_appointment;

3. Run the SQL file to create tables:

   psql -U your_username -d hospital_appointment -f database/hospital_appointment_pg.sql

4. (Optional) Create user authentication table:

   psql -U your_username -d hospital_appointment -f database/create_users_table.sql

Step 6: Create Environment File

Create a file named .env in the root folder with:

# Database Settings
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=5432
DB_USER=your_postgres_username
DB_PASSWORD=your_postgres_password
DB_NAME=hospital_appointment

# Server Settings
PORT=3000

# Security (generate a random string for JWT_SECRET)
JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key_here
JWT_EXPIRES_IN=24h

Step 7: Start the Application

For Development (auto-restart on changes):

npm run dev

For Production:

npm start

Step 8: Open in Browser

Go to: http://localhost:3000

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📖 How to Use

Dashboard

• View summary of appointments, patients, and doctors
• Quick overview of today's schedule

Patients Page

• Add new patients with name, phone, and email
• View all registered patients
• Edit or delete patient records

Doctors Page

• Add doctors and assign them to departments
• View all doctors and their specialties
• Manage doctor information

Appointments Page

• Schedule new appointments
• Select patient, doctor, date, and time
• View, update, or cancel appointments
• Check appointment conflicts automatically

Admin Section

• Manage departments
• User settings and preferences

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🔌 API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
Departments
GET	/api/departments	Get all departments
POST	/api/departments	Create new department
PUT	/api/departments/:id	Update department
DELETE	/api/departments/:id	Delete department
Patients
GET	/api/patients	Get all patients
POST	/api/patients	Add new patient
PUT	/api/patients/:id	Update patient
DELETE	/api/patients/:id	Delete patient
Doctors
GET	/api/doctors	Get all doctors
POST	/api/doctors	Add new doctor
PUT	/api/doctors/:id	Update doctor
DELETE	/api/doctors/:id	Delete doctor
Appointments
GET	/api/appointments	Get all appointments
POST	/api/appointments	Create appointment
PUT	/api/appointments/:id	Update appointment
DELETE	/api/appointments/:id	Cancel appointment
Authentication
POST	/api/auth/register	Register new user
POST	/api/auth/login	Login user

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🧪 Running Tests

npm test

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📝 Available Scripts

Command	What it does
npm start	Start the server
npm run dev	Start with auto-reload (development)
npm test	Run tests
npm run lint	Check code quality
npm run format	Format code automatically

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🔒 Security Features

• Password Hashing - Passwords are encrypted using bcrypt
• JWT Tokens - Secure authentication tokens
• Rate Limiting - Prevents too many requests (100 per 15 minutes)
• Helmet - Adds security headers
• CORS - Controls which websites can access the API

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🗄️ Database Tables

Table	Purpose
departments	Hospital departments (Cardiology, Pediatrics, etc.)
patients	Patient information (name, phone, email)
doctors	Doctor profiles linked to departments
appointments	Scheduled appointments with status
users	User accounts for login

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❓ Common Issues

"Cannot connect to database"

• Make sure PostgreSQL is running
• Check your .env file has correct database credentials

"Port 3000 already in use"

• Change PORT in .env file to another number (e.g., 3001)

"Missing environment variables"

• Make sure you created the .env file
• Copy from .env.example if available

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👨‍💻 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Commit (git commit -m 'Add some feature')
5. Push (git push origin feature/your-feature)
6. Open a Pull Request

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📄 License

ISC License

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🙋 Need Help?

If you have questions or run into issues:

1. Check the "Common Issues" section above
2. Look at existing issues in the repository
3. Create a new issue with details about your problem

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Made with ❤️ for better healthcare management