Integrated and collaborative computing in a medical workgroup environment.

Abstract

The demand for integrated and collaborative computing in the practice and research of pediatric medicine today is particularly strong within the Division of Haematology/Oncology at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. As the lead institution in pediatric oncology, the hospital and the division are championing the use of information technology and automation methodology to stage an environment with viable system solutions in which distinct working groups and units coexist and cooperate to promote total quality patient care and front-line medical research. A medical information management paradigm, utilizing the concept of computer-oriented workgroup collaboration, is implemented to enable data, knowledge, and work flow integration in a functionally separate workgroup setting.