Computerized archives in surgery. Our experience

In recent years, the necessity for a surgical department to obtain a wide range of clinical data in a short period is greatly increased. This necessity has been almost satisfied with widespread use of information systems in medicine using database programs and the integration of these database with other programs has allowed graphic representation of data. Anyhow, some difficulties are still present, such as low knowledge in using personal computers and lacking of a common program for all surgical departments. In the article the authors present a computerized program for the filing of medical records in a surgical department. Starting from January 1992, clinical data of all patients admitted in our department have been recorded in the described program. After three years of use, the system has shown to be easy to use, and able to give useful information for data analysis regarding the population observed, the clinical activity performed and the level of quality obtained. For these reasons, it can represent an attempt to diffuse and uniform computerized data recording in surgical departments.