Monitoring
Monitoring systems "watch" the clinical database for the storage of particular data items or the passage of a predetermined amount of time. Once such an item is stored in the database, a program is called which "decides" whether the particular data value (or combination of data values) warrants notifying a clinician. Monitoring systems work best on problem areas in which the medical knowledge can be represented in one or more if-then-else type constructs. These systems have met with considerable success in areas as simple as the detection of abnormal laboratory results [Bradshaw, 1989] and adverse drug events [Classen, 1992] or as complicated as ventilator monitoring in ICU patients [Sittig, 1989]. Most clinicians find the "safety net" effect of such systems reassuring and more often than not are happy to comply with the computer's suggestion.
- Bradshaw KE, Gardner RM, Pryor TA. Development of a computerized laboratory alerting system. Comput Biomed Res 1989 Dec;22(6):575-87
- Classen DC, Pestotnik SL, Evans RS, Burke JP. Computerized surveillance of adverse drug events in hospital patients. JAMA 1991 Nov 27;266(20):2847-51 Published erratum appears in JAMA 1992 Apr 8;267(14):1922
- Sittig DF, Pace NL, Gardner RM, Beck E, Morris AH. Implementation of a computerized patient advice system using the HELP clinical information system. Comput Biomed Res 1989 Oct;22(5):474-87
