A computer-based general practice and health centre information system.

Abstract

EVER-INCREASING medical and sociological knowledge leads to an ever-increasing volume of information which may be recorded about a person's health. Because of this the present paperbased record systems are becoming difficult to manage and are fragmented into a number of different parts within each branch of the health service. Integration of these parts into a single comprehensive health record for each individual could lead to improvements in medical care, but such an integrated record would be impracticable in any paper system. Modern computer science, however, makes this idea feasible, and the present paper describes how this can be done for general practice, local health authority, and dental records, and indicates additional far-reaching advantages which are only made possible by a computer-based system. The use of computers within the health industry is increasing rapidly but mainly as applied either to research projects or to administration. For example, the Oxford record linkage study (Acheson and Evans 1964) and the Exeter project (Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust 1967) aim to collect information for epidemiological research from a number of different sources and use a computer to analyse it. In this case automation assists the health professions indirectly by enabling more rapid analysis of large volumes of data, but it plays no direct part in the actual consultation process. Similarly, computers used for administrative purposes can improve health care indirectly by enabling more efficient management of hospitals and by such functions as keeping a record ofimmunizations. Computers are also being used in the analysis of some pathological investigations, electrocardiograms and electro-encephalograms, and are valuable in calculating radiotherapy dosages. Their use in providing record systems to assist the doctor directly