Report 84 19 Technology and the Hospital Ward

"Coming to Terms With the Computer" by Edward H. Shortliffe reprinted with permission from The Machine at the Bedside, Eds. You are asked to assist a major teaching hospital in the assessment of a large computer system that was installed 3 months ago to help with doctors' orders, laboratory test reporting, nursing schedules, and bed control. Because of mixed reviews of the system's effectiveness, the hospital has decided to bring in outside experts to assess the computer's strengths and weaknesses. The computer system was installed by a vendor of large-scale hospital information systems (HIS). The company had developed the programs over several years, but this is its first major commercial installation.