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Specialized High-Intensity Clinical Settings: A Brief Review

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Book cover The History of Medical Informatics in the United States

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

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Abstract

In the early 1960s, some medical centers began to develop intensive care unit (ICU) information systems to monitor critically ill patients. These used a combination of devices to obtain measurements and derive variables. One generated a severity index to guide treatment and compute the probability of survival; another saved data to use in analysis and educational simulations. Studies of the clinical effectiveness of such systems were mixed, despite findings that variations in hospital death rates were associated with variations in care processes. While few hospitals had emergency department (ED) subsystems installed by the end of the 1980s, some participated in community emergency medical systems that routed patients to hospitals for treatment. Despite progress in intervening years, recent studies find that both settings face continued challenges. The data-intensive ICU faces interoperability issues arising from incompatible piece of monitoring equipment. For the ED, exchange of patient information from other settings remains difficult and evidence as to the impact of health information technology remains limited.

Author was deceased at the time of publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBM Research, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marion J. Ball Ed.D.

  2. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Marion J. Ball Ed.D.

Authors
  1. Morris F. Collen
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  2. Marion J. Ball Ed.D.
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Correspondence to Marion J. Ball Ed.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland, California, USA

    Morris F. Collen

  2. IBM Research, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Marion J. Ball

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Collen, M.F., Ball, M.J. (2015). Specialized High-Intensity Clinical Settings: A Brief Review. In: Collen, M., Ball, M. (eds) The History of Medical Informatics in the United States. Health Informatics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6732-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6732-7_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-6731-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-6732-7

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