title: Computers and the orthopaedic office.
abstract: The advance of today's medicine could be linked very closely to the history of computers through the last twenty years. In the beginning the first attempt to build a computer was trying to help us with mathematical calculations. This has changed recently and computers are now linked to x-ray machines, CT scanners, and MRIs. Being able to share information is one of the goals of the future. Today's computer technology has helped a great deal to allow orthopaedic surgeons from around the world to consult on a difficult case or to become a part of a large database. Obtaining the results from a method of treatment using a multicentric information study can be done on a regular basis. In the future, computers will help us to retrieve information from patients' clinical history directly from a hospital database or by portable memory cards that will carry every radiograph or video from previous surgeries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Hospital Clinica del Parque, Chihuahua, Mexico.
authors.forename: Edmundo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berumen
authors.forename: Fidel Dobarganes
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Barllow
authors.forename: Fransisco Javier
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: Jorge Arturo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lopez
mesh_terms: D003201:Computers / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D020407:Internet; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D010824:Physicians' Offices; D011216:Practice Management, Medical