Microfiche as a medium for the long-term storage of laboratory computer records.

The chemical pathology requests on 180 000 patients a year are stored on microfiche, occupying 72 mm of shelf space. They are produced by a sequence of three computer programs which remove data from disc on to magnetic tape using the laboratory's Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 11/34 minicomputer. Processing on to microfiche is performed by a bureau. The magnetic tape is available for retrospective research and management studies in one-month periods.