Data model development as a prelude to implementing a hospital information system.

We developed a data model for use in a veterinary teaching hospital using modern object oriented database diagramming. Since we deal with more than one species and often with herds or flocks, the problem became even more complex than the situation in human medicine. We chose to follow, insofar as possible, standards set forth by the HL7 consortium and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), two organizations deeply involved in setting standards for the health care record. Some modifications became necessary in order to fit the veterinary medical record to these standards but these were straightforward and did not disrupt the overall model. As a first step in constructing a hospital information system we have developed, and present herein, a data model which adequately addresses our needs in both the clinical and financial arenas and which conforms to appropriate standards as completely as possible.