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Abstract
This paper describes the development of an applications software workbench called the clinician's Workbench (cW), for use by clinical workers in a modern, distributed, computing environment. We first discuss the need for a comprehensive cW to support the interaction of clinical workers with a variety of software tools, in the process facilitating interoperability between database and analytical application software packages. A discussion of our cW architecture and operation then follows. Finally, preliminary results of user evaluation are reported and conclusions are drawn. One function of our cW is to be able to extract data from a clinical database by allowing the formulation of repeatable queries that can be easily customized and extended by clinical workers in later use. Its other functions are to provide integration and interoperability with existing software packages and other tools, thereby enabling preliminary and advanced statistical analysis to be done on the extracted data. Reuse of queries and flexibility of interaction with software tools are achieved by means of ‘clinical profiles’, i.e. clinical data processing task procedures that can be saved, recalled and modified if necessary as well as created and executed by users. The cW also supports query access to clinically coded information by means of the READ medical coding system.