Review

Future docs

Health in the new communications age: Studies in health technology and informatics, volume 24
Laires M, Ladeira MJ, Christensen JP (eds)
IOS Press, 1995, £74

The ‘information age’ is much talked about in health service research, but the fruits are few and far between and in most places consist of computerised billing systems. Britain’s NHS is advanced in comparison with much of Europe because the computerisation of general practice is so extensive, although hospital services lag far behind.

This book, a conference report of 733 pages, compiles a wide range of reports from different research groups and contains some fascinating snippets of information about the potential of electronic information systems for healthcare.

Unfortunately, as the conference must have been, it is designed for those already in the field. The general commentaries on information technology are too general to be useful, while the specific reports are short and either highly technical or extremely conceptual. Research into the applications of information technology in decision support, clinical data analysis and distant communication of medical information is at an early stage, it seems.

The editors make it clear that the conference report is a stepping stone to a new phase of research. To that end, the whole informatics enterprise is to be rebadged as ‘telematics’, reflecting the ability of surgeons in Houston to direct operations in Abu Dhabi. Quite why anyone should want that to happen is not made clear, and readers wanting a clearer insight into the possible future shapes of an information-rich health service will need to look elsewhere.