Development of a Web-based clinical information system for surveillance of multiresistant organisms and nosocomial infections.

To optimize the surveillance and control of infections at our hospital, we have developed a clinical information system (CIS) linked to a server providing three kinds of patient-oriented data reports: 1/an automated alert for multiresistant bacteria from a data-driven mechanism; 2/the relevant data for surveillance of hospital-acquired infections; 3/some clinical and educational data for antibiotic prescribing. The new CIS is a Web-based one and now integrated to the Hospital Information System (HIS). In a close collaboration with the experts, we have, first, specified the relevant information for each report. Then, we have linked the system to those HIS DBs containing this information. Finally we have developed a well-secured intranet Web site, on which the concerned practitioners can instantaneously review the latest alerts and/or the summarized/detailed reports. The preliminary results shows that the system is reliable in medical practice and the response time is satisfying.