title: The discharge letter and data collection--a method for avoiding duplication.
abstract: It frequently happens that following a patient consultation similar data are recorded in a number of ways in a number of places. This paper describes a method which has been used in one busy clinic to capture this data only once, effecting a saving in consultant's time, avoiding delay in data capture and ensuring consistency of databases. The implementation, using a mixture of custom programs and commercial database software, is discussed. Examples of the sort of data input and user interfaces and some future directions for extension are given. Limitations of commercial packages encountered are mentioned.
authors.affiliation: Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Findlay
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D009520:New Zealand; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface