International transfer of the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center clinical information system

The transfer of the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center clinical information system to an Australian tertiary care center began in 1982. The converted system was installed for use by the hospital administration in 1991, and it is now used extensively in management and patient care. This article discusses the original software, the applications implemented, and the problems encountered and overcome, as well as the role of the hospital administration in the development and subsequent freezing of the system.