Computerisation of anticoagulant records - management of 2 large anticoagulant clinics on a personal computer

Abstract

An essential for safe anticoagulant therapy is efficient management of patients and their records. Several computer systems have been introduced with varying success and these have usually involved specifically written programmes. We have devised a system using an inexpensive personal computer and a standard database package “Datamaster”. Data is stored in 3 files containing: 1.Patient’s personal details, diagnosis, name of referring physicial, other relevant items of medical history, and medication. 2.Blood counts. 3.Prothrombin time result (INR) and recommended treatment at each visit to the clinic. The system produces clinic lists, lists of defaulters and lists of anaemic patients, as well as dosage instructions for the patient and reminder letters for defaulters. Other information and statistics are easily obtained. A relatively small PC with disc storage capacity of 10 megabytes is capable of handling data for a clinic of up to 1000 patients. An essential for safe anticoagulant therapy is efficient management of patients and their records. Several computer systems have been introduced with varying success and these have usually involved specifically written programmes. We have devised a system using an inexpensive personal computer and a standard database package “Datamaster”. Data is stored in 3 files containing: 1.Patient’s personal details, diagnosis, name of referring physicial, other relevant items of medical history, and medication. 2.Blood counts. 3.Prothrombin time result (INR) and recommended treatment at each visit to the clinic. The system produces clinic lists, lists of defaulters and lists of anaemic patients, as well as dosage instructions for the patient and reminder letters for defaulters. Other information and statistics are easily obtained. A relatively small PC with disc storage capacity of 10 megabytes is capable of handling data for a clinic of up to 1000 patients.