A computerized system for rapid retrieval and compilation of critical or interesting patient data

The timely availability and presentation of critical and interesting patient data is essential to ensure quality patient care as well as ease of recognition and, secondarily, to provide material for teaching and research. The ability to accomplish these goals expeditiously in a complex and busy clinical laboratory may be difficult to acquire. An on-line, computerized system has been developed which automatically searches each patient record for up to 600 different laboratory tests, compares each result against individually established limits, and then formats pertinent test results for maximum discrimination. The report format also includes patient and specimen collection data, diagnosis, attending physician's name, and other desired associated test results. An additional feature of the system is that selected critical or interesting results for each laboratory division may be displayed on video display terminals located throughout the laboratory and at nursing stations. The system was written using the FORTRAN programming language and runs on a Control Data Cyber 18 computer.