Use of relational database management system by clinicians to create automated MICU progress note from existent data sources.

We designed and built an application called MD Assist that compiles data from several hospital databases to create reports used for daily house officer rounding in the medical intensive care unit (MICU). After rounding, the report becomes the objective portion of the daily "SOAP" MICU progress note. All data used in the automated note was available in digital format residing in an institution wide Sybase data repository which had been built to fulfill data needs of the parent enterprise. From initial design of target output through actual creation and implementation in the MICU, MD Assist was created by physicians with only consultative help from information systems (IS). This project demonstrated a method for rapidly developing time saving, clinically useful applications using a comprehensive clinical data repository.