This is the first comprehensive book on the subject. The authors describe in detail, with numerous references, the limited hospital computer systems in operation at the time both in the United States and in Europe. The editor, who was responsible for the development of the most advanced system at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, and provides a detailed account of it here, began his preface with this statement: "A variety of computer applications in medical care has been developed within many hospitals in the U.S. and Europe over the past ten years. In the first half of 1973, there was not yet in existence a single completely computerized hospital information system, although considerable progress had been achieved in utlizing the computer for many inpatient and out patient services."