A web-based central diagnostic data repository.

A central repository for diagnostic information about individual patients was created as a service to diagnostic laboratories participating in the Compentence Network for Acute and Chronic Leukemias in order to support health care delivery to patients suffering from leukemia. During the diagnostic phase several specialised laboratories perform different assays on samples from the same patient. The use of these assays in the diagnostic process and during the treatment phase may be improved in terms of both rapid delivery and cost if any one laboratory is aware of preliminary or final results from the assay carried out in other laboratories. In order to support a more efficient communication of these results, a central diagnostic data repository (CDDR) was created and web-based user interface was developed. Currently, the CDDR maintains documents in the form of portable document format (PDF) files. Several other formats are accepted and converted automatically upon entry. Patient identification is accomplished by pseudonym rather than proper name and the data is held on the CDDR for a limited time interval to accommodate the stringent privacy regulations in Germany. The principle operation of a CDDR may also be applied to the diagnostic or therapeutic process of other diseases.