The Development of a Computerized Clinical Database in Psychiatry

The development & early findings of a computerized clinical database are presented. By incorporating both clinical & research needs, a comprehensive database of all adult admissions to inpatient & outpatient psychiatric services in a university setting are recorded. The research potential of the database is illustrated by comparison of demographic information, psychiatric history, current symptomatology, & DSM-III-R diagnoses for inpatients, previously hospitalized outpatients & never hospitalized outpatients. Differences detected include age at evaluation, marital status, age at 1st psychiatric episode, level of symptomatology, & suicide attempts. Implications of the database for research planning are discussed. (14 refs)