ABSTRACT
Optimal management of hospitalized and critically ill patients requires
close monitoring and ongoing assessment of their status. An extraordinary
amount of data is generated daily for each patient that in turn must be assimilated
and distilled to direct the most appropriate course of therapy. The sheer
volume of data and information has increased the reliance on the computer and
associated applications. While no electronic medium can ever replace the
human element in patient care, these devices have achieved a near-indispensable
status that will only increase in the future. It is only fitting that in a book devoted to
the practical aspects of pulmonary and critical care management, and as an
acknowledgment of their importance, that a section is devoted to this arena.
