Help for house officers: EFCOS--the Ealing Hospital Firm Computer System

The Ealing Hospital Firm Computer System is a novel database system which has been designed to meet the needs of house physicians in a busy general medical unit. It is maintained exclusively by them and produces instant lists of all patients on their firm, with all relevant information needed to organise their clinical work. It has proved extremely popular, and its value to both junior and senior staff has been documented in an anonymous questionnaire survey. The system is available for distribution on a non-profit basis, and other colleagues are invited to use it.