Aspects of the Computer-based Patient Record

Abstract

A particular political issue today concerns ways of improving national healthcare systems without incurring further costs. An extensive study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States formally reported that computer-based patient records are absolutely necessary to help contain the cost explosion in health care. The information obtained from experts, the studies conducted, and the conclusions that went into the IOM's report have now been collected in this volume. A large portion of the volume discusses the state-of-the-art in existing computer-based systems as well as the essential needs which must be addressed by future computer-based patients' records. A final section in the book discusses implementation strategies for changing to the electronic system and practical issues. The book asks who will bear the final cost? how and when will health-care providers who use the system be trained? This volume contains the sort of information which hospital administrators, hospital systems designers, third-party payer groups, and medical technology providers will need in any sucessful transition to hospital systems which use a computer-based patient record.