This publication is sponsored by the American Association for Medical
Systems and Informatics. The Board of AAMSI and the Board of the Society
for Computer Medicine, one of AAMSI's predecessors, agreed that a book
on application of medical systems and informatics for the practitioner
would help promote high quality health care and they charged the
Committee on Standards of the Society for Computer Medicine to write
such a text. It is intended as a guide for the field of medical systems
and informatics with emphasis on standards, terminology, and coding
systems. The text, a result of three years of research and effort, has
been reviewed by the Board of Directors of AAMSI and approved by the
Publications Committee. We believe that you will find it valuable and
hope to revise it from time to time to meet current needs. On behalf of
the members of the Association, we congratulate the authors and thank
them for their efforts. WILLIAM A. BAUMAN, M.D. President American
Association for Medical Systems and Informatics Preface This book has
been written by the members of the Committee on Standards of the Society
for Computer Medicine. We have drawn upon the Society's expertise to
prepare an easy-to-read and understandable How-to- Do-It text for use by
those physicians who are considering computerization of their office in
one manner or another.