Abstract
The time aspects of daily use of a clinical database system in an endoscopy department were studied. The SADE database system for endoscopic procedures was introduced for daily use at Ullevål Hospital on 1 January 1989. The average weekly programme of the endoscopy unit includes 57 gastroduodenoscopies, 23 colonoscopies and 12 ERCP/EPTs. During three consecutive weeks of the study the mean physician input time was 4 min 17 sec per patient (range 57 sec to 15 min), individual variation depending mainly on the extent of the report. Assistants spent a mean time of 4 min 23 sec for each patient. Thus, a total of 8 min 40 sec was spent for every patient seen. Endoscopic units should analyze their routines and needs before introducing an electronic data base manager.
