The advancement of our society  is  closely  linked  to  the

          advancement of technology.  The medical  field  is  one  area  of

          society in  which these rapid technological advances are evident.

          Computers  are  becoming  increasingly  important  in  hospitals,

          doctor's  offices  and  medical practices.   The  limitations  of

          diagnosing certain illnesses  and  helping to allevieate them are

          being lessened.  Although there  are  numerous  benefits with the

          integration of computers into the medical field, there are  still

          many criticisms.  Dehumanization  of  the  patient and alienation

          from the doctor provide the basis for these complaints.  In order

          for the effectiveness of the new innovations to be maximized they

          must be modified to become acceptable to  both the doctor and the

          patient.


               The  introduction  of the computer into  the  medical  field

          occurred during the  l960's.   This occurred, however, only after

          many  years  of  preliminary  experimentation  in  the  world  of

          technology.  The  automation of medical practices was advanced by

          the invention of the automatic analyzer in  l956.   This  machine

          could  execute  ten   separate   laboratory   procedures  on  one








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          biological substance and could  test  5,000  substances a day.[1]

          In  1947,  doctors   in   Chester  Pennsylvania  and  doctors  in

          Philadelphia  successfully  completed  a  transmission  of  x-ray

          pictures over the phone.[2]  Then  in  1967, also through the use

          of    the    telephone,   it   became   possible    to    analyze

          electrocardiograms over long distance.[3]   This marked the start

          of the development  of  long distance consultation and symbolized

          the  decentralization  of the hospital.  Investigation  into  the

          actual use of computers in aiding doctors began .  One example of

          this, was the conversion of a  doctor's  phone  into  a  computer

          terminal.  The physician, using  this,  could  call in diagnostic

          questions and  data  to  a computer, located at a certain medical

          center, and receive the proper answers.[4]


               At  this  point in time, there was a fortified  belief  that

          computers  could  be very useful to the physician as  a  type  of

          data-handler.  The need for this originated first from  the  fact

          that  the  amount  of  information  about  various illnesses  was

          greatly  increasing.    In  the  l960's,  there  were  over  l000

          illnesses and approximately 200 symptoms described dealing solely




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          1.   Stanley   Joel   Reiser,   Medicine   and   the   Reign   of
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