A digital computer and a lung function test service: efficiency and costs.

An off-line digital computer used to calculate the results of routine lung function tests saved an average of 20% (9.8 min) of the time required per patient when compared with the use of a simple electronic calculator. This saving would permit an increase in the work-load of the laboratory from 1250 to 1500 patients per year if the same tests were used. The cost of suitable computer equipment, however, would exceed that of employing an additional lung function technician.