ObstetriX is a new obstetrics medical record system being developed for NSW Health. The system is based on IDME (Intelligent clinical Data Management Engine) which enables expert users to define their needs without requiring a great deal of support from system specialists.

There are two main components to the ObstetriX system. The first is the modeller where the clinical expert or representative (e.g. data manager) records all the data and their relationships to each other. The modeller also enables the clinician’s to define and maintain rules. Rules enable the ObstetriX system to ensure data integrity, alert the clinician to a potentially dangerous situation, warn the clinician when certain conditions occur, control processes and prevent data entry or update under certain conditions. Rules can be activated at different points of the process e.g. on entry, update or save. Rules can be formed by simple or compound expressions. An expert clinician responsible for the maintenance of the reference model defines the rules for the ObstetriX. The second component of ObstetriX is the Browser - the user interface. The Browser uses the model created via the modeller to control for example, what is recorded, its sequence and the rules associated with the data for input and display.

Some typical rules set up in ObstetriX include:

• Warn clinician if perineal tear occurred but no suturing recorded
• Calculate the baby apgar scores and ensure they are consistent with other birth information
• Calculate expected date of birth (EDB) from all available information
• Explicit call to action by clinician if psychosocial screening suggest baby or mother at risk
• Calculate caesarean Section urgency score
• Reminder for common neonatal medications on discharge.

Two other software systems, Patient Care Manager and Clinic Manager, provide suport for workflow, care plans, clinical pathways, referrals and Clinical Knowledge management.