An efficient structure for a medical information database in a general hospital

This paper describes a Medical Information System (conversational in real-time). SIGMED, which is used in the French hospital of Angers. Its main feature is its original organization which (i) allows one to follow a patient's history in space and time with a limited number of medical items and the whole set of administration ones and makes it possible to carry and (ii) the possibility of various epidemiological studies relating to medical speciality records which contain all the medical information related to a patient's examination and/or hospitalization.