Experimental identification of technical and database factors that can affect the success of clinical computer systems.

The entry of clinical data into computer systems is an extremely demanding form of transaction processing. High speed is important, especially if the collection involves real-time data. Clinicians must feel that they intuitively understand a system and that it is responsive. Medical data must be easily accommodated without sacrificing accuracy or completeness. Most systems cannot do this. Clinical systems that involve on-line storage of data from patients should employ data-base technology. Systems that lack any of the following capabilities will not succeed: manual data entry, a data dictionary, a file system, utility functions, ad hoc query, and a statistical report generator. These general capabilities must satisfy a number of specific functional requirements if the entire system is to be a success. A group of such requirements have been experimentally validated. These will be discussed and a more comprehensive list presented.