tAnReDos--a circle application in evolution.

It is not easy to build a computerised medical record system for a microcomputer system. Several aspects of the medical environment require more than just 'off the shelf software. This paper describes some of the properties and possibilities of Circle applications. Circle software has been developed as a result of 15 years of close contacts with medical departments and is meant to be adaptable to any medical environment. Although medical applications usually are very complex, using Circle has been proven to be easy in its use. Above all, Circle applications can always be modified in such a way that they keep pace with the inherent evolution of medical applications.

The Position Of National Surveys In Proficiency Testing Of Clinical Chemistry Laboratories.

Results of the Belgian proficiency surveys (1971-1973) for clinical chemistry labs are reported. The specific position of this external type of quality control is analyzed. Special attention is given to the detection of systematic factors that could interfere with the introduction of a uniform medical record. A new procedure is described for displaying results grouped according to methods. The difference between the main methods in actual use is of the systematic type rather than a difference in precision. The Youden approach to collaborative tests has been elaborated and generalized by the introduction of correla-tion as an expression of the incidence of systematic factors. The shape of the contour encompassing 95% of the Youden couples, defines a target area often very different from the circular surface expected with uncorrelated results. The participating laboratories, as a group, appeared to work from the beginning according to the current state of the art. Improvement is only possible if basic changes in methods or in calibration are introduced. This suggests a broadening of the activities of the Belgian Society for Quality Control.