A computerized data bank of surgical pathology and cytopathology diagnoses. Structure and purposes.

A computerized data bank was created to file the diagnoses from the Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology laboratories in a University Department of Pathology. The diagnoses are divided into separate diagnostic statements, coded according to SNOMed and stored on magnetic tapes. Coding procedures are made easier by the creation of a lexicon of diagnoses used. The use of additional keys, besides SNOMed codes, allows the retention of further information. Several programs perform many data-retrieval operations both routinely and on request in order to meet different goals in the fields of quality control, diagnosis, education and research. The system is characterized by low cost, flexibility and multi-purpose utilization.