Brewer: an integrated on-line coding system for diagnoses and medication

A database system has been developed for diagnosis and medication data. Brewer is a Windows application running on PCs in a network environment. A diagnoses list, extended for the domain of clinical cardiology, was derived from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Similarly, a medication list was developed based on the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical classification (ATC). The system was integrated in the authors´ department information system but is capable of stand alone operation as well. The system has been tested in a pilot study of 324 post-infarction patients at the out-patient clinic. The development has resulted in active feedback with previously stored patient data and standardized coding of diagnoses and medication