Reference: Frisse, M. E. & Wiederhold, G. Retrieving Information from Hypertext Systems. August, 1987.
Abstract: Research directed toward information management in medicine has made major contributions to the development of hospital information systems [Blum86a], bibliographic-retrieval services [Bleich86a], and clinical decision-support systems, including expert systems [Reggia85a, Clancey and Shortliffe84a]. Despite advances in all these areas, there is continued evidence that medicine's information-management needs are not being met [Warren81a, AAMC86a, Covell85a]. Our society's concern with how doctors can keep up with the explosion of medical knowledge and with how medical technology should be evaluated and standardized provides the impetus for researchers to explore new methods for managing medical information. One of these new methods, hypertext, has become the topic of research in both university and industrial laboratories [Neptune86a, Intermedia85a, NoteCards87a]. Hypertext systems represent information as a network of nodes (or cards) connected by semantic links. This structure allows for efficient creation and use of documentation for large-scale collaborative activities such as software system development and, we believe, medical care.
Notes: 14 pages.