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Computer Application in Medicine

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This text is supported by three graphics ranging in size from 20-75 KB. The first is a national communications grid; the second is an example of a public clinical practice guideline source ; the third is a health care system grid.
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN MEDICAL CARE
The expanding influence of computers on society is being felt in medicine as well. Essentially all hospitals and clinics depend on computers for administrative and financial functions and for providing access to clinical data. Most physicians have been exposed to the powerful available systems for searching the biomedical literature by computer. Modern imaging techniques depend on computers for image generation, small computers have become mandatory elements in the research …show more content…

Any medical computing system will fail to be accepted if it is unduly time consuming or if the cost is not clearly justified by the benefit gained. There is also an issue of inertia-the disinclination of busy people to use a computer if it requires an interruption in the normal routine. This implies the need for an integrated model whereby computers are used routinely for traditional data-management tasks, perhaps in lieu of traditional pen and paper data-recording techniques, and from which the physician obtains advice as a byproduct of this ongoing interaction. Decision-support tools will be more feasible as improved medical record and information systems begin to appear in hospitals and offices.

Equally important is the design of decision-making tools that are sensitive to the traditional independence and skill of physicians. There is a need for system transparency (ie, ability for the program to provide explanations) and for tactful presentation of advice. Such features make it clear that the unique skills of trained physicians are respected and that the system should be viewed as a knowledge-management tool rather than as the decision maker itself.

Medical informatics researchers have long sought to design interactive techniques that avoid clumsiness, typing, or the need for prolonged training of the intended users. Programs have tended to use a pointing device, such as a light pen or a mouse, as the means for manual selection of items and

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