Abstract
At the Gielßen University Hospital electronic data processing systems have been in
routine use since 1975. In the early years developments were focused on ADT functions
(admission/discharge/transfer) and laboratory systems. In the next decade additional
systems were introduced supporting various functional departments. In the mid-eighties
the need to stop the ongoing trend towards more and more separated standalone systems
was realized and it was decided to launch a strategic evaluation and planning process
which sets the foundation for an integrated hospital information system (HIS). The
evaluation of the HELP system for its portability into the German hospital environment
was the first step in this process. Despite its recognized capabilities in integrating
decision support and communication technologies, and its powerful HIS development
tools, the large differences between American and German hospital organization, influencing
all existing HELP applications, and the incompatibility of the HELP tools with modern
software standards were two important factors forcing the investigation of alternative
solutions. With the HELP experience in mind, a HIS concept for the Gießen University
Hospital was developed. This new concept centers on the idea of a centralized relational
patient database on a highly reliable database server, and clinical front-end applications
which might be running on various other computer systems (mainframes, departmental
UNIX satellites or PCs in a LAN) integrated into a comprehensive open HIS network.
The first step towards this integrated approach was performed with the implementation
of ADT and results reporting functions on care units.
Key-Words
Hospital Information System - Decision Support Functions