Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ucla-cs!sdcrdcf!randvax!lincoln
From: lincoln@randvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Which Database and Hardware
Message-ID: <259@iris.randvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Apr-87 11:28:42 EST
Article-I.D.: iris.259
Posted: Thu Apr 23 11:28:42 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Apr-87 19:30:01 EST
References: <2378@ncoast.UUCP>
Reply-To: lincoln@iris.UUCP (Tom Lincoln)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 38
Summary: More information needed

In article <2378@ncoast.UUCP> rhg@ncoast.UUCP (Rich Garrett) writes:
>I am looking for comments from fellow net readers to help me make a strategic
>decision for a company that will be moving their hospital information system
>software from pascal to a fourth generation language.  They currently have 
>over 70 hospitals in the under 300 bed marketplace.
>Which of the databases that are available running under Un*x or VMS would
>you recommend and why?

*** What do you mean by hospital information system:
     a. Billing and financial software with a patient registration on-line
	capability and a bill posting capability?
     b. A system that links various medical support services together with
	nursing station order entry - that then feeds a?
     c. A system that maintains some subset of the patient medical chart
	on-line which can be queried from various sites in the hospital
	and possibly remotely?

Each of these implies a different design, different data base requirements,
etc., with increasing complexity from a to c. The closer that one comes to
the clinical setting, the more complex the data structures must be to
capture the relevant information in a useable fashion.

>Since the company will be converting from Pascal to a database, probably
>with some C routines, are there any software tools and or companies that 
>would assist in such an effort?

Medical applications require fourth generation tools for the screen
interface that link the user to  data base in many complex ways.

Dan Essin, Director of Information Systems, Womens Hospital, LAC/USC
Medical Center has made a particular study of these fourth generation
functional requirements, and will present them in June at a meeting in
San Diego. The checklist exceeds 50 functions, and no product, Unix based
or otherwise carries them all out well. This approach should allow you
to make concrete trade-offs in this critical area. His #:(213)226-3188
or via E-mail to me.

Tom Lincoln lincoln@rand-unix.ARPA