Ever since the early 1960s, the medical ical records. Expert assistance in di issue might contain a review of an office agnosis and treatment selection will be world has awaited the promise of com practice management system-of in as close as the nearest telephone, which terest to the physician, nurse, and office puterization. Many of us were fasci will provide an immediate link to the nated by the efforts of the pioneers: practice manager. Next to it might be Homer Warner’’s computerized diag office computer. found a detailed article about a language nosis system, Octo Barnett’’s medical Since 1983, M,D. Computing has such as LISP and how it could be ap information system, Howard Bleich’’s explored and explained all of these as plied to medical problems, or a tutorial pects. Our magazine’’s major focus is on about real-time monitoring of a patient’’s automated acid/base consultant" and Warner Slack’’s history-taking program computer systems that serve the health physiological state, along with book re were foretastes of what was to come. provider in the home or office environ views and departments reporting on At first, however, physicians and hos ment. M. D, Computing has also ex pertinent computer news. pital personnel resisted the computer amined more general computer appli In several cases, a distinct theme because it was too slow, too fragile, too cations in medical care.
