Family practice informatics: research issues in computerized medical records.

There are unique features of family and general practice which lead to unique issues in medical informatics for family physicians. The nature of practice in office based community settings and the discipline of dealing with all ages, sexes, and health conditions over the lifetime of a patient and his/her family lead to models of the thinking that are different from those used in most other specialties. Research is urgently needed to verify the models of thinking that physicians use during patient care encounters and the associated nomenclatures and classifications which support them. User interfaces need to be optimized for accuracy and speed. Standards for medical records computing in family practice need testing and validation.