SUMMARIZING CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIC DATA

The authors propose a method of summarizing clinical data to serve pat ient care. The proposed one-page summary uses diverse visual presentat ions of data, including small graphs for ratings and drug dosages, tim e lines for clinic visits and hospital stays, and genograms for-inheri ted illness, as well as a textual presentation of recent clinical note s. The summary-depicts a patient's recent and lifetime clinical experi ence, It allows the viewer to assess relationships between interventio ns and outcomes for psychiatric and medical problems, Computerized pat ient information systems, which are increasingly being used, call pres ent data in virtually any form. The authors hope to encourage mental h ealth professionals to reshape psychiatric records.