title: Design and development of a computer-based clinical referral system for use within a physician hospital organization.
abstract: The process of creating a clinical referral for a patient and the transfer of information from the primary care physician to the specialist and back again is a key component in the struggle to deliver less costly and more effective clinical care. We have created a computer-based clinical referral application which facilitates 1) identifying an appropriate specialist; 2) collecting the clinical, demographic, and financial data required to generate a referral; and 3) transferring the information between the specialist and the primary care physician. Preliminary results indicate that the new computer-based process is faster.
authors.affiliation: Partners Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02167, USA. dfsittig@bics.bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Sittig
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turetsky
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sussman
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Komaroff
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Teich
mesh_terms: D000555:Ambulatory Care Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration; D006759:Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008404:Massachusetts; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012985:Software Design; D014584:User-Computer Interface