Computers in medicine. Augmenting medical care in pediatric patients with chronic illnesses.

The use of computers to aid care for chronically ill pediatric patients is a relatively new concept. We are currently using Filemaker II software and a Macintosh Plus computer to augment overall patient care in children with chronic diseases, such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, neuromuscular diseases, head injury, and spinal cord injury. This is a computerized medical record with a clinical database for dissemination of information to multidisciplinary team members, generating letters to private health care providers, displaying telephone messages, and assisting inpatient care. Advances in computer technology will provide future applications to aid health care providers in caring for patients with chronic illnesses.