Implementation of a Departmental Information System for Surgery Wards

The German public healthcare system has changed drastically in the course of the health reform. The reform has accelerated the introduction of electronic data processing, not only in administration, but also in the medical and care area. Still, hospitals today are faced with additional requirements that call for an efficient system of information and reporting. Owing to these requirements hospital information system (HIS) suppliers offer more and more departmental information system (DIS) modules for medical data processing, but these modules often are not accepted by the medical personnel. To accommodate the current and individual needs of the different medical specialities, flexibility was a major design goal. This is achieved by a self-developed data model with a modular structure, which has taken into account the varied demands of the medical partners. Moreover, the hierarchical structure of the user-interface renders the new departmental information system, ARISTOPHANES, flexible enough to accommodate the integration of other departments without necessitating any time-consuming adaptations.