Linking and integrating computers for maternity care

Functionally separate computer systems have been developed for many different areas relevant to maternity care, e.g. maternity data collection, pathology and imaging reports, staff rostering, personnel, accounting, audit, primary care etc. Using land lines, modems and network gateways, many such quite distinct computer programs or databases can be made accessible from a single terminal. If computer systems are to attain their full potential for the improvement of the maternity care, there will be a need not only for terminal emulation but also for more complex integration. Major obstacles must be overcome before such integration is widely achieved. Technical and conceptual progress towards overcoming these problems is discussed, with particular reference to the OSI (open systems interconnection) initiative, to the Read clinical classification and to the MUMMIES CBS (Common Basic Specification) Maternity Care Project. The issue of confidentiality is also briefly explored.