Integration of Computer Utilization for Medical Office Practice.

Computers have become quite valuable to medical practice because the programs that are available can simplify the tasks done by physicians and their staff. As many of these tasks utilize the same information, a good medical computer system needs to allow many different programs and people to have access to the same data. We have addressed this problem in our office using the Pick Operating System on a multiuser computer. We have purchased and/or developed an integrated set of programs that perform many functions including billing, appointment scheduling, mailing list generation, report writing, patient management, research and intra-office communications. By allowing easy sharing of data among programs and users, the operating system facilitates the rapid development of new applications. This has enabled our physicians, other professionals, secretaries, and administrators to use their time more effectively.