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The Read Codes are a hierarchically-arranged controlled clinical vocabulary introduced in the early 1980s and now consisting of three maintained versions of differing complexity. The code sets are dynamic, and are updated quarterly in response to requests from users including clinicians in both primary and secondary care, software suppliers, and advice from a network of specialist healthcare professionals. The codes' continual evolution of content, both across and within versions, highlights [...]

In March of 1997, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences issued the report, "For the Record: Protecting Electronic Health Information." Concluding that the current practices at the majority of health care facilities in the United States are insufficient, the Council delineated both technical and organizational approaches to protecting electronic health information. The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center recently implemented a proof-of-concept, Web-based, cross-institutional medical record [...]

In mid-1996, the FDA called for discussions on regulation of clinical software programs as medical devices. In response, a consortium of organizations dedicated to improving health care through information technology has developed recommendations for the responsible regulation and monitoring of clinical software systems by users, vendors, and regulatory agencies. Organizations assisting in development of recommendations, or endorsing the consortium position include the American Medical Informatics Association, the Computer-based Patient Record [...]

Kurzweil Applied Intelligence received a research grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program to develop a prototype voice-enabled, structured medical reporting system. In typical usage, the physician dictates to the system, which then uses automatic speech recognition and medical knowledge bases to produce a structured report. This report can then be formatted and viewed on a computer screen, stored in databases of patient information [...]

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a new communications medium that permits investigators to contact patients in nonmedical settings and study the effects of disease on quality of life through self-administered questionnaires. However, little is known about the feasibility and, what is more important, the validity of this approach. An on-line survey for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and patients whose UC had been treated with surgical procedures was developed [...]

Telephone-Linked Care (TLC) technology has been developed and applied as an alternative to and a supplement for office visits as a means to deliver ambulatory care. TLC is used to monitor patients with chronic diseases, counsel patients on important health behaviors, and provide information and support to home caregivers of patients with disabling conditions. TLC speaks to patients over the telephone in their homes using computer-controlled digitized human speech. Patients [...]

Health care is shifting from a focus on hospital-based acute care toward prevention, promotion of wellness, and maintenance of function in community and home-based facilities. Telemedicine can facilitate this shifted focus, but the bulk of the current projects emphasize academic medical center consultations to rural hospitals. Home-based projects encounter barriers of cost and inadequate infrastructure. The 1996 Telecommunications Act as implemented by the Federal Communications commission holds out significant promise [...]

To develop a knowledge representation model for clinical practice guidelines that is linguistically adequate, comprehensible, reusable, and maintainable.

To measure the accuracy of automated tuberculosis case detection.