An object-oriented tool for the generation and management of multimedia patient folders

Computer-based patient folders are evolving from the simple reproduction of traditional paper documents toward active tools, able to support the whole diagnostic and therapeutic process. The advent of multimediality has given emphasys to the idea of computerized folder, i.e. a collection of heterogeneous kinds of documents pertaining different media. In this paper we present a tool implementing generation and management of multimedia patient folders showing its architecture and functionalities and the innovative interaction paradigms adopted. The tool realized allows medical users to choose the concepts desired in their target application and generates a customized patient folder management system by means of a friendly interface and without the need of a programming language. The system automatically created can be effectively employed for reporting and storing clinical cases.