2. Other ICT systems used in hospitals

Patient Appointments System

Another database system now used in many hospitals is an appointment system.

If a patient has an appointment with a consultant at the outpatients department they can often check their appointment time. Some systems allow them to cancel or re-schedule their appointments online.

Computerised Prescriptions

When a prescription needs to be written for a patient, many doctors will now use a computer rather than writing it by hand.

This has many benefits, the main one being that the name of the drug and dosage are easy to read - with handwritten prescriptions, sometimes it was hard to make out what the squiggles were supposed to say.

The computer can also automatically check whether the dosage being prescribed is within reasonable limits for that drug.

If the prescription system is linked to the hospital pharmacy system then a doctor could be warned that a medicine is low or out of stock.

Training Systems

Nurses and doctors can practice new skills either using computer based training systems or real life models.

For example, a virtual reality hand, complete with vital veins, that "feels" has been developed to help trainee nurses practise their jabs.

Another example is where a robotic baby that breathes, burps and can be X-rayed is being used by student nurses. The 'baby' can be programmed to simulate a range of medical problems which could occur.

It gives the nurses a chance to learn how to spot a problem without having to put a real baby at risk.