Dr. Detmer was chairman of a 1991 committee of the National Institute of Medicine on computer-based patient records.

"Without computer-based patient records, those errors are not going to be reduced," said Dr. Thomas Handler, a research director at Gartner, the technology research firm.

By bringing together hospitals, computer makers, software companies and health care professionals, the institute intends to set a clear definition of what constitutes the computer-based patient record and how to make it a reality.

"The only way to achieve the institute's goal of a 50 percent reduction in errors is by aggressively implementing computer-based patient records," said Dr. Barry Hieb, a research director at the Gartner Group, a consulting firm based in Stamford, Conn.