A computerised medical manpower database--an assessment of its value in medical education.

The development of a computerised medical and dental manpower database for medical education in the West of Scotland is described. The purpose of the database is to provide the West of Scotland Committee for Postgraduate Medical Education with information on the career patterns of doctors and dentists, and to assist in the planning of training. Data collection is from a wide variety of sources and confidentiality and security are paramount. A standing committee, representing all professional interests, has been central to the development of the database. It has acted as policy-maker and adviser, and has been concerned with the way in which the data is used. At each stage in the development, this committee has been fully consulted. The data collected is both of a personal and professional nature and is validated annually by sending a copy of the data to each doctor or dentist for checking. This has highlighted some deficiencies in the data, which now contains information on over 6,000 doctors and dentists. Requests for information from the database are carefully scrutinised by the standing committee before the data is released.