Case tracking automates monitoring of reports

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have developed an automated report monitoring system that allows users to automate case tracking for clinical follow-up or teaching purposes.

Radiologists can collect reports for their tracking cases while dictating. They imitate case tracking by including a keyword in the report. Any existing and future reports associated with the same patient will automatically be collected. Researchers described the system in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Because the report transfer is based on HL7, the only software requirement is the ability to receive HL7 reports. The researchers used commercially available software and developed the system on a PC platform.

Any system that can perform TCP/IP communications, including Mac OS, Linux, and Unix, can use the report monitoring method. A number of commercial HL7 products are available on the Internet.