Computers and Medicine

Overview The healthcare industry has experienced measurable increases in quality with the invention of new, high-tech solutions to age-old problems of communication, diagnosis, and information handling. At a touch of a button, a modern doctor can view a patient's medical history or learn what a hospital patient ate for lunch an hour ago. Medical reference books have been computerized, allowing doctors and nurses to carry the equivalent of a whole library worth of books on handheld computers. Read more about how computers are used in the medical industry at the following links.

General Information Visit the World Health Organization's Web site at this link. The Center for Disease control maintains a Web site here. All aspects of health care technology are discussed at this Web site. Read articles on health topics, drug information, and other medical information at MEDLINEplus, a government sponsored health information Web site.

Specific Links The following links lead to more information about computers and medicine.

  • Read about how the World Health Organization diagnosed and is treating SARS at this link.
  • Denver hospitals are using bar codes on prescription medicine to help prevent medical errors. Read more about it at this link.
  • Read articles and follow links to more information about patient record automation here.
  • Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest non-profit heath care organization, has put patient records online. Read more at this link.
  • Visit this Google search page for links to telemedicine organizations and information.
  • Read about DICOM--the digital imaging and communication standards used in medicine--at this link.
  • The US Department of Health and Human Services maintains HIPAA Regulation standards that all medical related companies must follow. Visit its Web site at this link.
  • One of the most widely used applications of computers in the hospital and pharmaceutical industry is that of LIMS (Labortory Information Systems). A great resource for information about LIMS can be found at LIMSource.

Additional Links Learn more about CAT scans at this link. Visit the US National Library of Medicine's Web site by clicking here. This page allows you to diagnose a variety of medical conditions.