The Clinical Oncology Information Network (COIN) Project: background, purpose and products

The Clinical Oncology Information Network (COIN) Project of The Royal College of Radiologists is developing evidence-based practice guidelines, clinical core data sets to audit compliance and a dedicated clinical workstation with a client-server architecture that will collect the data sets as an automatic by-product of the routine delivery of care. Guidelines for the treatment of breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer and for the delivery of chemotherapy and radiotherapy will be published in 1999. Version 2 of a demonstrator workstation is in use at the North Middlesex Hospital, London.