Computerized surgical databases: introduction to design and function.

Abstract

There has been an enormous increase in the variety and volume of information encountered in surgical practice, either as measurable clinical variables or laboratory research data over the last three decades. Despite its form and origin, this information remains the basis of both daily clinical decision making and analytical research. Inferences drawn from past experience will modify an individual's approach to disease and treatment. However, when the demands of information processing cannot be met, mischief begins and quality of care declines. Modern computers offer an extraordinarily powerful method of processing the large volumes of medical data that are acquired, and provide techniques for analysis that would have been impossible, and often inconceivable, without computers. The applications of computer technology to surgical data management range from such simple and repetitive tasks as practice administration and accounting to elegant statistical and image analysis. This paper outlines the utility of computerized data management in clinical surgery and surgical research, and describes techniques for designing and implementing a customized surgical database system.