Introduction:
From the second half of the 1980s, together with the introduction of personal computers (PC), a trend may have been observed towards the computerization of various domains of daily living. Due to the development of microelectronics, increasingly more frequently electronic systems of more or less complicated structure are an integral component not only of specialized equipment, but also objects of daily use. Modern personal computers equipped with ‘friendly’ operating systems and software may be the work tool for physicians, especially in conditions of primary health care (PHC). In the presented study, selected aspects of use of teleinformation technology in primary health care are discussed, based on several examples concerning the application of computers in PHC in Poland and abroad. The authors consider the fol- lowing spheres of the use of computers in PHC: 1) Electronic Health Record (EHR), generation of prescriptions (e-prescrip- tion), and electronic settling of accounts (National Health Fund); 2) telemedicine covering, among other things, remote consultations and interpretation of testing equipment results; 3) e-learning, i.e. learning from a distance with the use of the Internet, and access to specialist (medical) sources of knowledge and databases; 4) common office and administrative tasks. The problem of mobility of teleinformation equipment in the context of its medical use occupies a special position in the presented considerations. Analysis of reports concerning the use of computers in primary health care in Poland and abroad allowed the authors to formulate a list of conclusions and postulates. The postulate which is especially important in Polish conditions is the development and strengthening of technical-organizational solutions, and not a constant start- ing of new ‘revolutionary’ projects.