Patient data acquisition.

Patient data are acquired in three ways: by direct interrogation; physiological measurements; and analysis of specimens, signals, and images. When computers are used to acquire information from the patient directly, difficulties arise from the lack of standardized patient medical history, the complexities of natural language processing, and the problems of man/machine communication (patient with computer terminal, and physician with computer-generated history). A great variety of data input devices have been used for the acquisition of the patient medical history. Most have been extensively used in multiphasic health testing programs, and this experience is freely drawn upon in this paper.