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A distributed, scalable, community care network architecture for wide-area electronic patient records: modeling and simulation.

Principal systems issues relative to computerizing patient medical records that are yet to be addressed in the scientific literature include (1) the characteristics of networks, i.e. bandwidth and capacity, and their impact on the performance of the system, (2) the architecture and the underlying algorithm of the system, (3) the location and migration of medical records, (4) scalability of the system, and (5) the nature of the performance variation under heavy and light use of the network. Key parameters that affect performance include the number of patients, doctors, frequency of patient visits, and the number of electronic queries and record entries initiated during a patient-doctor interaction episode. This paper presents AMPReD, a Distributed, Scalable, Community Care Network Architecture that aims to provide Real-Time Access to Geographically-Dispersed Patient Medical Records. The AMPReD model includes stationary hospitals and medical clinics, mobile clinics, migrating doctors as well as patients, the communications network, and the patient medical record database. AMPReD's goals include (1) the accurate modeling of the propagation of medical records and (2) providing real-time access to patient medical records from anywhere in the system. To achieve these goals, an asynchronous, distributed algorithm must be developed that achieves concurrent access of multiple, autonomous databases. AMPReD is modeled and simulated for a representative community care network on a network of workstations configured as a loosely-coupled parallel processor, for different parametric combinations of number of doctors, patients, and number of queries or record entries generated corresponding to every patient-doctor interaction episode. AMPReD defines and obtains key performance measures including the idle times of the doctors, patient waiting times, the access times of queries as functions of their sizes, and the growth of the databases. In addition, AMPReD also measures the deviation of the actual time required for a patient-doctor interaction episode from the scheduled interaction interval, as a function of the network load. For the representative system selected, performance measures indicate that the network, utilizing 1/2T1 links, and the database system poses no bottleneck to the system even where the number of doctors and patients within a 30 minute interval are chosen at 192 and 200 respectively. A T1 is a standard, digital, transmission link that is rated at 1.44Mbits/sec.

Algorithms↗

Implementation of an on-line Emergency Unit nursing system.

We designed and implemented an Emergency Unit nursing system which has been in practice since March of 1995. The system has been very successful and is used on 97% of all Emergency Unit visits. The system is designed for rapid entry and retrieval of information. We have found that the time spent by nurses documenting patient care in this system is minimal. On average, over a six day study period only five minutes per patient visit, and about 30 minutes per nurse per shift was spent actually entering information into the system. We plan to continue to evaluate the use of the system and expand it to include use by other disciplines in the near future.

Emergency Service, Hospital↗

[DRG and OPS-301: effects on the acquisition performance in radiology].

Reimbursement for inpatient services rendered based on comparable daily care rates, case-based flat rates, and special fees as practiced until now has been replaced by the system of diagnosis-related groups. Up until 2004, operation and procedure system (OPS 301) codes could be processed completely automatically by appropriate adaptation of the radiology information system (RIS). Because of further differentiation of OPS codes in the 2005 version, it is no longer possible to unambiguously determine OPS codes automatically. Our goal was to fulfill these additional requirements with as little extra effort as possible. In 36 of 2138 procedures during an observation period of 12 days, i.e., 4/day, manual input on the part of the radiology technical assistant and quality assurance by the diagnosing physician were necessary. This is only needed in complicated procedures for which the minor added effort is negligible in comparison to the entire effort expended for the procedure. We were thus able to achieve the goal of near automation of ascertaining OPS codes.

Databases, Factual↗

Construction of a system for the access, storage and exploitation of data and medical images generated in radiology information systems (RIS).

We present the analysis, design and implementation of a system that allows specialists at a medical centre to recuperate and manage information produced by computers that generate medical diagnosis images. The main objective of the system is to define an architecture that provides doctors with an easy and centralized access to any information they may need, and to allow users to access this information from the computers at the hospital itself as well as from remote locations, which then require telemedicine sessions. The architecture is built according to a layered and modular methodology, which provides high scalability and interoperability with other information systems (HIS, RIS, etc). All the information is stored in a database: not only the various image studies of the patient, but also all data concerning the diagnosis and any comments the specialist may have made. We have also incorporated tools that are not usually found in conventional systems (image segmentation, advanced visualization, etc), but that help the specialist with the decision-making process.

Diagnostic Imaging↗

Redundant array of independent disks: practical on-line archiving of nuclear medicine image data.

While various methods for long-term archiving of nuclear medicine image data exist, none support rapid on-line search and retrieval of information. We assembled a 90-Gbyte redundant array of independent disks (RAID) system using 10-, 9-Gbyte disk drives. The system was connected to a personal computer and software was used to partition the array into 4-Gbyte sections. All studies (50,000) acquired over a 7-year period were archived in the system. Based on patient name/number and study date, information could be located within 20 seconds and retrieved for display and analysis in less than 5 seconds. RAID offers a practical, redundant method for long-term archiving of nuclear medicine studies that supports rapid on-line retrieval.

CD-ROM↗

Design of RCSS: Resource Coordination Systems for Surgical Services using distributed communications.

The plans for Resource Coordination for Surgical Services system (RCSS) incorporate a distributed objectbase with a coordinating server. User-centered information screens are customized for each geographic location in surgical services. User interfaces are designed to mimic paper lists and worksheets used by health care providers. Patient-specific and site-specific data will be entered and maintained by providers at each geographic location, but also rebroadcast and displayed for all providers. Although RCSS is primarily a communications system, it will also support review of surgical utilization and operative scheduling.

Cost Control↗

BioSilico: an integrated metabolic database system.

BioSilico is a web-based database system that facilitates the search and analysis of metabolic pathways. Heterogeneous metabolic databases including LIGAND, ENZYME, EcoCyc and MetaCyc are integrated in a systematic way, thereby allowing users to efficiently retrieve the relevant information on enzymes, biochemical compounds and reactions. In addition, it provides well-designed view pages for more detailed summary information. BioSilico is developed as an extensible system with a robust systematic architecture.

Database Management Systems↗

Storage and distribution of pathology digital images using integrated web-based viewing systems.

CONTEXT: Health care providers have expressed increasing interest in incorporating digital images of gross pathology specimens and photomicrographs in routine pathology reports. OBJECTIVE: To describe the multiple technical and logistical challenges involved in the integration of the various components needed for the development of a system for integrated Web-based viewing, storage, and distribution of digital images in a large health system. DESIGN: An Oracle version 8.1.6 database was developed to store, index, and deploy pathology digital photographs via our Intranet. The database allows for retrieval of images by patient demographics or by SNOMED code information. SETTING: The Intranet of a large health system accessible from multiple computers located within the medical center and at distant private physician offices. RESULTS: The images can be viewed using any of the workstations of the health system that have authorized access to our Intranet, using a standard browser or a browser configured with an external viewer or inexpensive plug-in software, such as Prizm 2.0. The images can be printed on paper or transferred to film using a digital film recorder. Digital images can also be displayed at pathology conferences by using wireless local area network (LAN) and secure remote technologies. CONCLUSIONS: The standardization of technologies and the adoption of a Web interface for all our computer systems allows us to distribute digital images from a pathology database to a potentially large group of users distributed in multiple locations throughout a large medical center.

Computer Storage Devices↗

O3-DPACS Open-Source Image-Data Manager/Archiver and HDW2 Image-Data Display: an IHE-compliant project pushing the e-health integration in the world.

After many years of study, development and experimentation of open PACS and Image workstation solutions including management of medical data and signals (DPACS project), the research and development at the University of Trieste have recently been directed towards Java-based, IHE compliant and multi-purpose servers and clients. In this paper an original Image-Data Manager/Archiver (O3-DPACS) and a universal Image-Data Display (HDW2) are described. O3-DPACS is also part of a new project called Open Three (O3) Consortium, promoting Open Source adoption in e-health at European and world-wide levels. This project aims to give a contribution to the development of e-health through the study of Healthcare Information Systems and the contemporary proposal of new concepts, designs and solutions for the management of health data in an integrated environment: hospitals, Regional Health Information Organizations and citizens (home-care, mobile-care and ambient assisted living).

Data Display↗

The clinical display of radiologic information as an interactive multimedia report.

We regard the delivery of radiological information as an interactive multimedia report. We use a multimedia report model based on Extensible Markup Language (XML), rather than a traditional workstation model. Others have suggested a similar document-based approach. This display presentation includes image-related and text-based information and may contain interactive components (e.g., window, level and zoom). Using XML as a foundation for this multimedia presentation, we achieve flexibility and platform independence at a lower cost. XML allows for the separation of content and form. Content information, defined as elements (e.g., images, radiologic reports, and demographic information), is treated as independent information objects. The behavior of the elements can be changed for different users and tasks. In addition, by separating format detail from content, the appearance of the elements within the report can be modified. XML does not replace existing standards (i.e., Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine [DICOM], Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol [TCP/IP]). Instead, it provides a powerful framework that is used in combination with existing standards to allow system designers to modify display characteristics based on user need. We describe our application of XML to the clinical display of radiologic information.

Computer Systems↗

Formal ontology for natural language processing and the integration of biomedical databases.

The central hypothesis underlying this communication is that the methodology and conceptual rigor of a philosophically inspired formal ontology can bring significant benefits in the development and maintenance of application ontologies [A. Flett, M. Dos Santos, W. Ceusters, Some Ontology Engineering Procedures and their Supporting Technologies, EKAW2002, 2003]. This hypothesis has been tested in the collaboration between Language and Computing (L&C), a company specializing in software for supporting natural language processing especially in the medical field, and the Institute for Formal Ontology and Medical Information Science (IFOMIS), an academic research institution concerned with the theoretical foundations of ontology. In the course of this collaboration L&C's ontology, LinKBase, which is designed to integrate and support reasoning across a plurality of external databases, has been subjected to a thorough auditing on the basis of the principles underlying IFOMIS's Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) [B. Smith, Basic Formal Ontology, 2002. http://ontology.buffalo.edu/bfo]. The goal is to transform a large terminology-based ontology into one with the ability to support reasoning applications. Our general procedure has been the implementation of a meta-ontological definition space in which the definitions of all the concepts and relations in LinKBase are standardized in the framework of first-order logic. In this paper we describe how this principles-based standardization has led to a greater degree of internal coherence of the LinKBase structure, and how it has facilitated the construction of mappings between external databases using LinKBase as translation hub. We argue that the collaboration here described represents a new phase in the quest to solve the so-called "Tower of Babel" problem of ontology integration [F. Montayne, J. Flanagan, Formal Ontology: The Foundation for Natural Language Processing, 2003. http://www.landcglobal.com/].

Artificial Intelligence↗

The heart of the Heart Hospital--information technology.

The Indiana Heart Hospital, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, opened on February 17, 2003, as the first all digital Heart Hospital in the United States. Physicians, nurses, and all the ancillary departments use computers to do physician orders, progress notes, nursing bedside documentation, procedure notes, and consultant notes. They also use computers to view laboratory results, x-rays, cardiac catheterization films, echocardiograms, and EKGs. This information is available not only while the clinician is in the building, but also from anywhere outside the hospital with Internet access. This purpose-made physical plant has been developed to accommodate and integrate all the new digital applications that are currently advancing cardiac surgical care today.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗

[Quality improvement of resources in radiology on the internet].

PURPOSE: Categorization and evaluation of online teaching files in radiology by representative members of the target group to make the specific search for adequate programs more effective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A representative team of board qualified radiologists, residents and medical students performed a basic search for radiology teaching files on the Internet using search machines, international mailing lists and link lists to collections of national and international radiological societies and departments. The programs were categorized by language, modality, target group and special features, such as qualification for CME-accreditation. For final evaluation and ranking of the detected files, a questionnaire was developed to assess completeness, image quality, page loading time, layout, orientation, interactivity, annotation and maintenance. The results were stored in an Access database on a web server. A query form in HTML format, including the parameters described above, was made accessible to the online user. RESULTS: A search machine for radiological teaching files (RadList/Entity-link List) was made available online ( www.tnt-radiology.de/radlist and www.tnt-radiology.de/entitylinklist ). A submitted request calls a cgi script that searches the database for the appropriate sites according to the individual search parameters selected by the user. The list of matching URLs is returned to the user as HTML page. Evaluating the single sites by applying the criteria listed above contributed to the quality assurance of the radiological teaching resources on the Internet. CONCLUSION: Adapting a new Internet interface to the particular needs of the user allows a more effective access to specific radiological teaching files online. RadList/Entity-link List ( www.tnt-radiology.de/radlist and www.tnt-radiology.de/entitylinklist ) is conducive to quality improvement and benefits users as well as authors of radiological teaching files on the Internet.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

Telecardiology for effective healthcare services.

Continuous monitoring of the electrocardiogram (ECG) and other signals related to current heart activity are necessary for patients who are suffering from cardiac diseases. This paper deals with the work that has been carried out to transmit ECGs from remote sites. Software has been developed which enables the uploading of ECG data from a patient so that the physician can monitor the state of the patient from a distance and at the same time may consult other experts for a second opinion. Records can only be examined by the authorized physician after proper registration and diagnosis or prescription may be sent back to the referring site. Further consultation with the patient through a 'chat' facility is also possible. The suitability of the system over transport control protocol (TCP), internet protocol (IP), local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) and World Wide Web (WWW) has been assessed. The bandwidth, latency, availability, security and ubiquity have also been discussed. A study has also been undertaken in order to make the system compatible with available bandwidths and to find out which one out of a number of available techniques is most efficient for ECG data compression. The results indicate that the scheme is suitable for telecardiology and can form part of an overall telemedicine system in a health care network.

Computer Security↗

Biological information: making it accessible and integrated (and trying to make sense of it).

The availability of the genome sequences of human and mouse, human sequence variation data and other large genetic data sets will lead to a revolution in understanding of the human machine and the treatment of its diseases. The success of the international genome sequencing consortiums shows what can be achieved by well coordinated large scale public domain projects and the benefits of data access to all. It is already clear that the availability of this sequence is having a huge impact on research worldwide. Complete genome sequences provide a framework to pull all biological data together such that each piece has the potential to say something about biology as a whole. Biology is too complex for any organisation to have a monopoly of ideas or data, so the collection, analysis and access to this data can be contributed to by research institutes around the world. However, although it is possible for all this data to be accessible to all through the internet, the more organisations provide data or analysis separately, the harder it becomes for anyone to collect and integrate the results. To address these problems of intergration of data, open standards for biological data exchange, such as the 'Distributed Annotation System' (DAS) are being developed and bioinformatics (Dowell et al., 2001) as a whole is now being strongly driven by the open source software (OSS) model for collaborative software development (Hubbard and Birney, 1999). The leading provider of human genome annotation, the Ensembl project (http://www.ensembl.org), is entirely an OSS project and has been widely adopted by academic and commerical organisations alike (Hubbard et al., 2002). Accurate automatic annotation of features such as genes in vertebrate genomes currently relies on supporting evidence in the form of homologies to mRNAs, ESTs or protein. However, it appears that sufficient high quality experimentally curated annotation now exists to be used as a substrate for machine learning algorithms to create effective models of biological signal sequences (Down and Hubbard, 2002). Is there hope for ab initio prediction methods after all?

Chromosome Mapping↗