Informatics in the School of Medicine of the University of Chile. I. Origin and evolution of biomedical computing in Chile Informática en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Chile. I. Origen y evolución de la computación biomédica en Chile.

Abstract

In the sixties and seventies, the School of Medicine of the University of Chile was the first Chilean institution to incorporate computers into academic endeavors through its own Computer Center. Later, professors were marginated from policy making, which became oriented to administrative goals, but they compensated that situation with the easy access to personal computers brought about by present technology. In 1986, when School authorities were again elected by the faculty staff, professors were able to participate again in a committee designing projects in this area. Current development at the School of Medicine include a proliferation of personal computers, the implementation of a computer network with access to medical data bases, and a growing number of applications in the fields of research and teaching. In the near future, due to the accessibility of telecommunications and computers, these advancements should have an impact on the whole biomedical community, a situation that wo