Internet rounds: a congenital heart surgeon's Web log.

As the complexity of congenital heart care increases, and expectations for improved outcomes grow, the limitations of current medical information management systems are exposed. Despite advances in information management technology, achieving a state of information resonance within a congenital heart team, where comprehensive patient data and real time program performance can be intuitively accessed on demand, remains an elusive goal. The World Wide Web constitutes a potential platform for a medical information management system capable of overcoming the limitations of traditional medical information exchange. We designed and implemented an Internet based information management system to collect, store and exchange comprehensive patient information, and measure clinical performance in real time. Use of this system has been associated with improved clinical outcomes for a congenital heart team.