And the process starts all over again at the next hospital. As a result, doctors typically don't have all the information they need to care for patients, and much of the information they do have is inaccurate or out of date, studies indicate. Enter the Web, which started as a giant document retrieval and text processing system but is rapidly developing into a more dynamic, multimedia, interactive platform. This allows physicians to access most computerized information using a streamlined, uniform interface. Dictated notes are quickly available to other caregivers.
Demographic information is used to automatically calculate drug doses.
And new lab results instantaneously prompt suggested interventions. Tenn. Many Web features are obtained at relatively little cost, and they do not require institutions to dump current information systems. In addition, Web-based systems are relatively easy to prototype, refine and maintain, which helps win user support. Meanwhile, links to the Internet allow physicians to access data from anywhere at anytime. On the other hand, those uncomfortable with sharing patient records or professional communications on the Internet can run their system on intranets, closed, secure Web-based communication networks operated on or off the Internet.