THE GRAPHICAL CASE RECORD - AN INTERFACE CONGRUENT WITH PROFESSIONAL WORK STYLE

The incompatibility of human service practitioners' work styles and th ose of computerized systems is one of the main reasons for underutiliz ation of these systems. This conceptual paper presents the graphical c ase record (GCR) as a computerized interface, congruent with practitio ner work style, supportive of professional treatment standards, and ea sy to use. It supports case explication; that is, the creation of info rmation in a form meaningful to the specific user, enabling the latter visually and mentally to structure a case for a specific task. GCR ef fects case explication by providing a computerized environment that st ructures the professional procedural environment by establishing a uni fied means of communication. It enables practitioners to justify decis ions and presents them with new, relevant, and contextual information. This is done by using software that integrates data from different me dia and provides tools to navigate freely, associatively, and simply w ithin the case record.