Medcin A New Nomenclature for Clinical Medicine [Paperback]

This computer-based nomenclature aims to create a universal environment for the acquisition, review, and transmission of medical information independent of language. MEDCIN systemizes the diagnostic process, by removing the subjective variables of patient information gathering, allowing for a more consistent patient diagnosis, and more reliable data for research. Through a coding structure of hierarchical inheritance, MEDCIN accommodates the individual thought processes of the clinician, while remaining structured enough to capture the clinical findings needed for documentation and analysis. It also provides a universal language base for over 50,000 specific medical findings in French, German and Spanish, enabling the user to read patient chart data, irrespective of the language of acquisition.The practice of medicine has become an information intensive profes? sion. Pertinent and detailed information resources and references are proliferating rapidly, while the quantity of patient data gathered during an episode of care can be daunting. Identifying the best guideline and interventions which will lead to an optimal clinical outcome for an individual patient poses an increasingly difficult challenge. Matching the detailed information about a particular patient with the parameters of a guideline may be tedious. Attempting to identify or use a guideline with terms of definitions which differ from those found in a patient's record may well be impossible. Here we confront the well-known medical vocabulary problem which plagues nascent efforts to establish elec? tronic medical records (EMRs) everywhere. Efficient resource management and the adoption of cost effective strategies are of increasing importance in the new market realities of healthcare in the late 90's. Whether providers seek to describe their practice, implement continuous improvement, engage in outcomes re? search, or develop data driven guidelines, a way to represent patient findings and events consistentlÃI