Computers in Private Practice Management

Designed to assist the physician in the application of computers in private medical practice, this comprehensive guide outlines where, why, and how this valuable tool can best be used. Integrating the mechanisms of computerization with the implications for health care, the authors draw on personal research and experience to describe models used effectively in the medical setting. Chapters cover administrative procedures, applications for marketing and quality assurance, and the link to an office-hospital application. Aslo included is information on software, hardware, database management, expert systems, artificial intelligence, and indications of future trends. This work will serve as an essential reference in meeting the ever-increasing medical information needs of the private practitioner.

I: The Necessary Items.- 1. Major Application Areas: Computer Goodies.- 2. The Technology Behind the Applications Packages.- 3. Communications: The Telephone Connection.- 4. Validation, Regulation, and Standardization of Computer-Based Medical Products and Services.- II: The Eight Major Office System Functions.- 5. Administrative Management: Where Decisions Are Made.- 6. Accounting Management: This Area Makes the Wheels Go Around.- 7. Time Management: “Time”—A Forgotten Resource.- 8. Marketing Management: The New Buzzword in Medicine.- 9. Patient Care Management: What Medicine Is All About.- 10. Physician Management: Quality Management of All Types.- 11. Hospital Management: Efficient Use of Resources.- 12. Medical Information Management: Coping With the Volumes.- 13. Need Analysis: What Is It? Why? How?.- III: New Resources—Network Databases.- 14. Medical Information Networks: How to Access and Find Data.- 15. Electronic Mail: A New Way to Exchange Information.- 16. Expert Decision Support: Artificial Intelligence.- 17. Continuing Medical Education and Computers.- IV: Special Applications.- 18. Creation of a Personalized Medical Textbook: Specialized Software.- 19. The Automated Medical Records System.- 20. Future Trends: What Is in the Crystal Ball?.