COMPUTERIZED PERINATAL DATA SYSTEM FOR A REGION

The development of regionalized systems for perinatal care requires a record system which will provide a flow of patient information to and from referring and central hospitals. It should also provide for the risk evaluation of patients being cared for within the region as well as for the quality and statistical evaluation. When the Arizona Perinatal Program was established in 1975 with funding by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the decision was made to adopt and expand a perinatal data system under development at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. This data syatem is made up of two major components: (1) a paper record system in which the documents completed by physician or nurse serve both as the medical record and a computer-input document and (2) a computer capable of simultaneous communication with 17 different terminals, directly or by telephone lines. Programs to meet the goals of patient care, quality evaluation, and statistical assessment are described.