Report to the National Institutes of Health Division of Research Grants Computer Research Study Section on Computer Applications in Medical Communication and Information Retrieval Systems as Related to the Improvement of Patient Care and the Medical Record—September 26, 1966

( Editor's note : The full text of the original and previously unpublished 1966 historical document is available via an online JAMIA supplement at www.jamia.org; excerpts from representative segments follow below. An ellipsis in square brackets […] has been inserted at each point where text from the original document was omitted. Such text appears in the online “full” version of the document.) I would like to welcome the Public Health Service visitors to the Computer Research Study Section Meeting and to express my personal appreciation for the opportunity to lead this colloquium. It is both a privilege and a challenge to attempt to guide a discussion with such a group of participants and I am certain that it will be an informative experience for me. In the past few years, my work with the members of the Computer Study Section has greatly contributed to my understanding of the problems we are to examine today. The critical and imaginative ideas and the depth of under-standing displayed by these individuals have set a standard which continues to inspire me. It is my hope that this colloquium will conclude with an active discussion. I hope—and expect—to be challenged at many points and feel that we shall all benefit from such an approach. It will be interesting to hear from those among us who may have different philosophies regarding the nature of the objectives and procedures with which we are concerned and, above all, from those present who have had considerable experience in many of the topics we will discuss. This presentation is divided into four sections. 1. A characterization of the basic needs and problems which have brought the computer into medical care. 2. A brief review of certain research and development activities currently underway. 3. A discussion of some of the significant issues encountered in …