A history of Computing in Medicine



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A History of Computing in Medicine

Matthew Case

Kevin Clement

Genevieve Orchard

Rebecca Zou
December 2006

Table of Contents


A History of Computing in Medicine 1

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

Applications of Computing in Medicine 3

Figure 1 - A Timeline of Computing in Medicine 5

Key to Timeline 6

Electronic Medical Records 8

Benefits 8

History of the EMR 10

Drawbacks of EMR Systems 11

Clinical Decision Support Systems 11

A Brief History of Significant Developments in the Field 11

Patient-computer interviewing (1960) 11

Expert Systems (1970) 12

Real-time Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Technology (1980s) 12

Widespread Introduction of PCs and Networks into Health Care Infrastructure (~1995) 12

Reference Databases and Portable Access (~2000 onwards) 13

Current State and Goals of CDSS 13

Policy Issues in Computerized Health Care 14

Demand for a Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy 14

A Broken Record? 15

History of Government Involvement in Medical Computing 16

Unexpected Consequences of the Computerization of Health Care 19

Depersonalization 19

Outsourcing 20

Medication Errors 20

Faulty Information on the World Wide Web 21

Unnecessary Procedures 21

Care Expectations and Information Overload 21

Centralization of Health Care 22

Other Consequences 22

Summary 22


Introduction


In his epic 1945 paper As We May Think, Vannevar Bush wrote of his 'Memex' idea: “The physician, puzzled by a patient's reactions, strikes the trail established in studying an earlier similar case, and runs rapidly through analogous case histories, with side references to the classics for the pertinent anatomy and histology.”1 Computers appear in today’s health care industry in a wide variety of applications, and albeit not in the form of the desk-sized 'Memex', Bush's idea is indeed one of the major ones. Today, electronic medical records and their associated tools enable physicians to assimilate data, both from an individual patient history and from related case histories, and in so doing attempt to provide the best possible treatment and care. Along with this power come difficult issues, though, such as those of privacy and litigation concerns.
In this paper we discuss in detail two of the major applications of computers in medicine, namely electronic medical records and clinical decision support systems. We also discuss policy issues and the history of government involvement in working to bring information technology to medicine. We end with a discussion of some unexpected and perhaps interesting consequences of the computerization of medicine. But first, we start with a broad overview of the various ways in which computers have found their way into medicine today. We also mention historical uses as well as possibilities for the future.

Applications of Computing in Medicine


In addition to the two clinical applications of computers in medicine mentioned in the Introduction, others include computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems for tasks such as ordering tests and medications; advanced imaging systems; monitoring devices; robotic surgery systems and “scrub nurses” (a scrub nurse’s job is to hand instruments to a surgeon); treatment planning such as the computerized Gamma Knife; and in the pathology lab, computerized slide reading.
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices are widely used by physicians and nurses for tasks such as looking up drug information, reading health journals and textbooks, viewing practice guidelines, using medical calculators and email.2
Computer systems are also used for hospital administration, including hospital bed tracking, admissions scheduling, billing and payroll, facility scheduling and inventory control.
The Internet has served medicine in a variety of ways:

  • It has enabled the growth of telemedicine including teleradiology (which is discussed in a subsequent section) and remote surgery and patient monitoring.

  • PUBMED is an online database of medical journal citations used extensively by physicians and researchers, but also available to the general public.

  • A wealth of health information is available on the World Wide Web, enabling consumers to research their own symptoms. Google Health (http://www.google.com/Top/Health/), which sorts health information into categories, is one example of such a service.

  • Online comparison-shopping for hospitals and doctors is a growing trend among consumers. The data that feeds such programs comes from medical records provided by doctors and hospitals as well as patient surveys3.

  • Online solutions like WebMD are available that allow consumers to enter and track their personal medical histories.

  • Some companies offer websites where critically ill patients and their caregivers can post updates on their status and in so doing avoid having to repeat the same information to concerned friends and relatives.4

  • The Internet has also played a role in aiding biomedical research, for example the use of grid computing to help unravel the mysteries of genetic diseases.

One of the perhaps lesser known applications of computer technology in medicine is the use of video games to hone laparoscopic surgeons’ dexterity and to train a new generation of these surgeons.5 Laparoscopic surgery requires good hand-eye coordination, and video game controllers can serve as low-cost simulators of the surgical controls. A study conducted in 2004 showed that surgeons who played video games for at least three hours per week made 37 percent fewer mistakes than those who did not.Error: Reference source not found


Historically, computers have been used for medical applications since about the 1950s. The timeline in Figure 1 and its associated key describe some of the historical uses of computers in medicine. It also includes some general computer history milestones for perspective.
What sort of computer applications will we see in the future of medicine? The biggest potential role for computers is in the realm of electronic records, which, as is discussed later in this paper, have not yet seen widespread use in the U.S. Other nascent ideas include nanotechnology in medicine, for example tiny chips which can be implanted in the body to continuously measure blood sugar levels and trigger insulin release as necessary.
Perhaps we will wear personal monitoring devices that continuously measure blood pressure, pulse, body fat percentage, etc. Perhaps this data will be automatically uploaded wirelessly to a person's electronic medical record, where programs analyze the data at regular intervals and send notification to the individual and their physician if something is amiss.
Perhaps people will soon be scheduling doctor appointments via the Internet, much as we can make hotel reservations today. And when we visit the doctor's office, perhaps we will sign in by touching our finger to a pad. We will then sit in a special chair that will measure our vital signs and enter them into our electronic record, doing away with the need for a human technician.


Figure 1 - A Timeline of Computing in Medicine

Key to Timeline





1954

Computerized cytoanalyzer

This cytoanalyzer was capable of examining mass cells on a slide for signs of cancer.6

1960

The “Brains”

An IBM 650 called the “Brains” was used to scan medical records for subtle abnormalities.7

1960

Patient-Computer Interviewing

Computerized questionnaire-based history-taking.

1961

Administrative and fiscal functions

In the early 1960s, computers were used for administrative and fiscal functions in hospitals.8

1962

Electrocardiogram analysis

Electrical impulses from the heart were relayed by telephone to a central computer which created a curve and analyzed it.9

1963

First decision support systems

A computer approach to rehabilitation is introduced. For example, the computer was used to determine the optimum time a cast should be worn following surgery.10

1964

IBM System/360

The IBM System/360 was introduced.

1964

DEC PDP-8

Introduction of the PDP-8 minicomputer.

1964

MEDLARS

MEDLARS was a computerized database system for indexing and retrieving medical citations at the National Library of Medicine (NLM).11

1965

Idea of EMR

The idea of an electronic medical record was already in place in the 1960s.

1966

MUMPS

Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System (MUMPS) – also called ‘M’ – was a programming language for the health care industry.

1968

IMIA

International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) was established in France.

1970

Computerized lab data processing

Computers were used to perform pathology lab calculations such as determining the chemical concentrations in amniotic fluid. This allowed for faster, higher quality results.12

1971

Computerized record processing

The IBM System/3 Model 6 minicomputer was used to process records of patient tests.13

1971

COSTAR

Computer Stored Ambulatory Record (COSTAR) – a successful outpatient electronic medical record system programmed in MUMPS – was introduced.

1971

MEDLINE

MEDLARS On-Line (MEDLINE) went online.

1972

MYCIN

MYCIN was an interactive expert system for infectious disease diagnosis and therapy. It was developed at the Stanford Medical School and ran on a DEC PDP-10.14

1972

HELP

Health Evaluation through Logical Process (HELP) was developed at the LDS Hospital.Error: Reference source not found

1974

First clinical CT scanners

The Computed Tomography (CT) scanner (for the head only) was invented by Hounsfield and Cormack in 1972. A full body scanner became available in 1976.15

1974

Computerized Gamma Knife

Introduction of the first computer-assisted dose planning program for Gamma Knife, a way to radiosurgically remove brain tumors. The original human-guided Gamma Knife technique was developed in 1967.16

1974

Internist-1

This computer-assisted diagnosis system was developed at the University of Pittsburgh for the general internal medicine domain.17

1977

Medical Informatics

The term ‘medical informatics’ was defined.

1978

Fileman

Used at the VA Department of Medicine and Surgery

1981

IBM PC

The IBM PC was introduced.

1983

Networking

In the 1980s, networking was introduced to the mainstream.

1984

ACMI

The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) was established.

1987

HL7

Health Level Seven, Inc. (HL7) was founded as a standard for clinical data exchange.

1988

MUMPS becomes IBM-supported

MUMPS became an IBM-supported programming language.18

1989

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web was invented.

1992

Windows 3.1

Windows 3.1 was released.

1996

Palm Pilot

The Palm Pilot was introduced.

1996

HIPAA

Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

1999

da Vinci Surgical System

This robotic surgical system was introduced by Intuitive Surgical. A prototype was developed in the late 1980s at Stanford Research Institute under contract to the U.S. Army.19

2000

Image transmission

Some hospitals were electronically transmitting medical images such as X-rays and MRIs.20

2001

Wide adoption of handhelds

In the early 2000s, health care workers started to use handheld devices widely to perform tasks such as accessing medical literature and electronic pharmacopoeias.21

2003

Virtual Colonoscopy

The virtual colonoscopy uses a combination of CT scanning technology and computer graphics.22

2004

World Community Grid

IBM launched this grid computing project to search for genetic markers of disease.23

2004

Multidetector CT scanner

This new heart scanning technique could largely replace angiograms.24

2004

Executive Order 13335

President Bush created this order, titled “Incentives for the Use of Health Information Technology”

2005

Penelope

Introduction of this robotic scrub nurse.25

2006

Microsoft buys Azyxxi

Microsoft bought this clinical health care software that can retrieve and display various kinds of patient data.26





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