ABSTRACT
One of the unusual aspects of this chapter is the large number of technical sidebars. There is a good reason for this. The database project at the heart of this pro„le is built upon computer science that goes well beyond what a typical discussion of software engineering projects might imply. That is because computing theory and application is driving many aspects of contemporary healthcare data management. There is a lot of background information not only necessary for following the story of this project, but enlightening because of the insight it gives into how deeply computing has in„ltrated into medical records, data standardization efforts, and other areas. The sidebars show clearly where computer scientists can, and are, in¦uencing the direction of medicine in a positive way. Federal healthcare reform legislation is discussed as it impacts the project. There is an in-depth focus on lessons the development team learned from this project.
