ABC of medical computing. Computers in general practice--II.

Computerised appointment system. Computerised appointment systems offer great flexibility in making and checking appointments but have to be extremely well written to be more usable than the traditional appointment book at the reception desk. One strength of the book is that it readily allows the receptionist an overview of activity in the practice, whereas computerised systems often show just one doctor's appointments at a time, making it more difficult to spot gaps where an urgent appointment could be fitted in.