Chemist supplier develops system for new markets

Press, 26 October 1982, Page 32

Chemist supplier develops system for new markets

The Rotorua company that is the dominate supplier of computer systems to chemist shops in New Zealand has developed a multi-user operating system to support the company's growth into larger configurations and new markets. Foundation Systems. Ltd. has written a CP M-compat-ible operating system, which it calls FSDOS. to use on multi-terminal configurations and single-terminal systems where performance is important. “We cannot use CP M: we were forced to use FSDOS." said Mr Robin Churchman, managing director of Foundation Systems. “Our computers perform above their class." Foundation Systems wrote FSDOS to overcome drawbacks in the design of CP/M and to provide support for the multiple-processor Televideo hardware for which they are a distributor. In FSDOS all input,'output is interrupt driven, potentially improving central processing unit utilisation from 5 per cent to more than 50 per cent. Buffering is provided on terminal input and print output. The user can type ahead on the terminal — before the

program is actually requesting that data. Characters typed in advance are shown in an area at the bottom of the screen. To improve disc performance. Foundation Systems has allotted memory for buffering of disc blocks. The buffer can hold directory blocks, data blocks, and the index blocks in Foundation System's data-base manager. "In the pharmacy systems, with files that grow every day, our performance stays high," said Mr Churchman. “We are successful because we are able to use an 8-bit system and out-perform anything in the 16-bit market." FSDOS was written in about three months by Foundation Systems director of development, Mr Mel Poulsen. With FSDOS he wrote a BASIC system, called FSBASIC, which is similar to Microsoft BASIC but has extra instructions for screen formatting. The multiple terminal Televideo systems distributed by Foundation Systems have a ZBO microprocessor inside each terminal to run the application software. Disc and record management for all terminals is provided by a single master micro-

processor. The terminals are connected to the master box by a synchronous line. Part of FSDOS runs in the master microprocessor. When a terminal requires more information from disc the master finds the disc block and ships the data record to the terminal. Mr Churchman estimates that his company has placed 85 per cent of the computers in chemist shops in the country. Now Foundation Systems has released a system for medical practitioners, particularly aimed at group practices. The software will include a patient register, an appointment register, a service file, financial statistics, billing schedules, patient billing, and banking programmes. In development is a clinical records system which contains a full medical profile of each patient, including research-orientated data. Future projects at Foundation Systems will include a point-o’f-sale extension to the pharmacy system, where a cash register will be attached to the system. The system can then record sales and update the shop’s inventory records. This extension will also be able to support the planned universal product coding of goods and the use of portable data entry terminals for ordering goods. In the meantime Foundation Systems has been promoting its systems in Australia through offices in Sydney and Melbourne. The company hopes to be the major supplier of pharmacy computers in Australia and intends also to launch its doctors’ package there. In New Zealand a typical pharmacy system with a 10 megabyte Winchester disc drive costs $19,000. A twoscreen system costs about $25,000.