The Database: Its Definition and Present Status

Abstract

In the problem oriented system, the database is an organized collection of information on how an individual lives and functions from a physical, emotional, and social point of view. Its purpose is to discover any problems in their earliest stages and to organize them for analysis and solution. A total list of problems assures that each problem is dealt with in the context of all the other problems. In present paper based medical care systems and in many computerized systems, this information resides in notes on review of systems, chief complaints, physical examination, and present illnesses (largely written by physicians) and in the notes of nurses, physical therapists, social workers, and many other medical care workers. Today, portions of the information reside in hospitals, offices of all types of health workers, schools, etc. Individual patients may have little or none of it in their own possession. Furthermore, in the present system, some of the most important information related to wellness is nowhere, because it was never elicited in an organized manner in the first place.