Automated data entry and retrieval for health-care management.

The development and implementation of a unique system for medical information management are described. An automated, optically scanned data entry system (OpScan) was combined with a generalized, interactive, storage and retrieval system, the Medical Information Management System (MIMS). OpScan-MIMS operates via a time-share system and requires minimal acquisition and maintenance of hardware. The primary advantages of OpScan-MIMS are its efficient and rapid method for data entry, lack of requirement for technical skills, user-generated programs, and cost-effectiveness. OpScan-MIMS has been utilized in a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases for immediate audit of medical records, monitoring of quality-assurance systems, retrieval of data for statistical analysis and clinic management, and as a teaching instrument for medical and paramedical trainees. Further applications to other systems of health-care management are being developed.