Linking clinical, research and administrative computer systems

Abstract

Historically, clinical, research and administrative functions were carried out by independent computer-based medical systems. Even today, clinical and health care systems often remain separated by boundaries between medical sub-specialties. They are based on different application software packages and are built on different computer platforms. Success in the development of electronic medical records depends, to a large part, on progress in the linking and integration of existing systems in medicine and health care. We were successful in integrating various systems using desktop tools, LANs and mainframe interfaces. This allowed us to obtain useful scientific results, reduce administrative expenses and increase overall productivity.