Ning and Mei set up a narrow table in the hospital’s public courtyard. They placed blank copies, sealed envelopes, and a small sign on top. The sign said: “Request your own test reading here.” Beneath it, someone had added a second line in smaller writing: “No public statement required.”
The clinic clerk arrived with a stack of blank forms and a box of carbon paper. Qinghe checked that each copy showed the patient’s name, date, and measure without including the ward’s private notes. She explained how to read the breath values and what the different time stamps meant.
“Does every number need an explanation?” the clerk asked.
“Enough to keep it from being mistaken for another person’s,” Qinghe said. “A measure without its date and conditions is easy to misuse.”
Ning took a sample sheet and read it as if she were seeing it for the first time. The patient’s name appeared at the top, the shift time below it, then the reading and the examiner’s mark. She asked Mei to add a line explaining how to request another copy if the first was lost.
Before opening the table, Mei asked the clinic clerk where the uncollected copies should sit. The clerk pointed to a shallow tray at the end of the table. Each envelope had a patient name on the outside, so the clerk could sort them quickly.
