THE COMPUTER RESEARCH NETWORK OF THE ROYAL NEW-ZEALAND COLLEGE OF GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS - AN APPROACH TO GENERAL-PRACTICE RESEARCH IN NEW-ZEALAND

Computers are now in widespread use by general practitioners (GPs) in many countries. In New Zealand this development has advanced general p ractice research by enabling collaboration among a small population of doctors practising in geographically diverse locations. This paper re views the establishment of the Computer Research Network of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) and its developm ent between 1990 and 1995. The Network consists of 181 general practic es (approximately 450 GPs) from throughout urban and rural New Zealand . All participants use computers in their practices to record consulta tion notes and to generate prescriptions, investigations and referral forms. Computer programs developed in the RNZCGP Research Unit are run on commercial software in doctors' surgeries to provide anonymous, in dividual data. In addition to the routine analysis of utilization for feedback to participants, 13 research projects have been completed. Th ese include investigations of access to general practice care, use of health services by individuals and families, surveillance of immunizat ion uptake, epidemiology of common conditions, and the use of pharmace uticals in general practice. The RNZCGP Computer Research Network is a n example of a computerized general practice research network that has been productive without receiving significant financial resources or having a formal management structure.