The Brigham integrated computing system (BICS): advanced clinical systems in an academic hospital environment

The Brigham integrated computing system (BICS) provides nearly all clinical , administrative, and financial computing services to Brigham and Women's H ospital, an academic tertiary-care hospital in Boston. The BICS clinical in formation system includes a very wide range of data and applications, inclu ding results review, longitudinal medical records, provider order entry, cr itical pathway management, operating-room dynamic scheduling. critical-even t detection and altering, dynamic coverage lists, automated inpatient sumar ies, and an online reference library. BICS design emphasizes direct physici an interaction and extensive clinical decision support. impact studies have demonstrated significant value of the system in pl eventing adverse events and in saving costs, particularly for medications. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.