ABC of computing. Computers in high dependency units.

Artefact -? *~Inotropic drug ?) lNew nurse". In many hospitals the most severely ill patients are cared for together in specialist areas-for example, in postsurgical, intensive care, and coronary care units-to simplify management and provide a high ratio of staff to patients. These patients usually need extensive monitoring and the necessary equipment generates a large volume of data. Computers are increasingly used in high dependency units to make these data available and useful to the staff, but unfortunately it is difficult to predict their best application. New methods need to be critically examined, and the views of the people who will have to use the system should be taken into account. It is perfectly possible to implement a computer system for the sake of doing so yet remain unaware that the real benefits may be small. The applications can be divided into off line, on line, and feedback control.