Although, computerization has been widely adopted in medical communities,
it is often difficult for small-scale hospitals to make the large investments necessary to
introduce electronic medical record systems, such as hospital information, radiology
information, and picture archiving and communication systems (HIS, RIS, PACS,
respectively). We have constructed medical information support systems with the
commercial database software FileMaker Pro, which was also integrated with other
hospital systems, such as PACS, ordering, and general account systems. Our FileMaker
databases consist of master databases containing data regarding patient attributes, drug
information, disease information, etc., and operation databases consisting of
administration, medical histories, examination schedules, imaging reports, operation
plans, etc. FileMaker databases collect patient attributes from the general account
system every 3 min. We developed an interface server for programs integration. The
servers were connected with ODBC. After working with this cooperation program, we
could reexamine operation of duties. Medical information support systems using
FileMaker Pro are ideal for hospitals, because they can cooperate with other hospital
systems or work as standalone systems. In a wide sense, this system can be defined as
an electronic medical record, and it would be suitable for use in small-scale hospitals
because of its low cost and ease of customization.
Keywords: Medical information supporting systems, digital divide, FileMaker
Pro, small- scale hospital, electronic medical record systems, HIS, RIS, PACS,
DICOM, ODBC, computerization, radiology, IHE, IHE-J, HL7.
