1. An automated method for generating a medical report based on results of a medical examination of a patient, said method comprising: a) providing a hierarchically-organized database view having a plurality of nodes capable of having further related nodes, fields, or attributes; b) displaying on a user interface: i) a first series of menu items representing a first series of nodes according to their position in the hierarchical database view; and ii) a first series of shortcuts representing a second series of nodes in an arrangement facilitating global navigation of the hierarchical database view; c) displaying a second series of menu items in place of the first series of menu items by selecting a shortcut, the second series of menu items representing a third series of nodes according to their position in the hierarchical database view; d) entering data items based on results of the medical examination into the hierarchically-organized database view by selecting a menu item or entering data into the menu item; e) displaying at least one of the entered data items; and f) generating the medical report by electronically transferring data from the hierarchically-organized database view into a report-generating function.