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Information technology and emergency medical care during disasters.

Disaster response to mass-casualty incidents represents one of the greatest challenges to a community's emergency response system. Rescuers, field medical personnel, and regional emergency departments and hospitals must often provide care to large numbers of casualties in a setting of limited resources, inadequate communication, misinformation, damaged infrastructure, and great personal risk. Emergency care providers and incident managers attempt to procure and coordinate resources and personnel, often with inaccurate data regarding the true nature of the incident, needs, and ongoing response. In this chaotic environment, new technologies in communications, the Internet, computer miniaturization, and advanced "smart devices" have the potential to vastly improve the emergency medical response to such mass-casualty incident disasters. In particular, next-generation wireless Internet and geopositioning technologies may have the greatest impact on improving communications, information management, and overall disaster response and emergency medical care. These technologies have applications in terms of enhancing mass-casualty field care, provider safety, field incident command, resource management, informatics support, and regional emergency department and hospital care of disaster victims.

California↗

The role of biometry in the training of medical informaticians.

Medical informatics and medical biometry, as well as the medical biometrician's and medical informatician's fields of activity, overlap significantly. The affinity between the two disciplines can be illustrated by a comparison of the definitions of both disciplines, by examples of research projects for which the application of methods from both fields is necessary in order to complete the project successfully, and by an analysis of the professional fields of medical informatics graduates working in their occupation. Therefore, a stronger integration of both disciplines is advocated.

Biometry↗

[Application of spectral optical coherent tomography (SOCT) in ophthalmology].

The article describes spectral optical coherent tomography (SOCT) constructed by Medical Physics Group, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics at Nicholas Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland). It presents the physical bases for the functioning of the constructed device and includes pictures of optical sections of various elements of the eyeball: an optic disc and the region of central fovea, a cornea and angle structures (trabecular meshwork). The article also discusses potential application of SOCT in ophthalmic diagnosis of anterior and posterior segments of the eye.

Eye Diseases↗

[How could telemedicine improve the quality of health care in Poland?].

From the view-point of the health-care system there is possibility of application of modern communication and informatics technologies to optimize some important aspects of patient treatment. This new fields of medical interest are called: telemedicine and medical telecare. Telemedicine deals with distance diagnose (for example: during emergency transport) and specialist consultations based on videoconferencing programs. Medical telecare concerns with home monitoring of patients with chronic diseases by means of computer control of important diagnostic parameters and automatic signaling when the variables exceed the defined values. Both disciplines share problems of standards of electronic medical documentation, virtual medical care networks and tele-education of health-care professionals and patients. The preliminary trials of introduction of some telemedicine programs in the health service units of local and specialist levels should make possible to evaluate the applicability and advantages of using these technologies in the whole Polish health care system in the future.

Humans↗

AI in medical education--another grand challenge for medical informatics.

The potential benefits of artificial intelligence in medicine (AIM) were never realized as anticipated. This paper addresses ways in which such potential can be achieved. Recent discussions of this topic have proposed a stronger integration between AIM applications and health information systems, and emphasize computer guidelines to support the new health care paradigms of evidence-based medicine and cost-effectiveness. These proposals, however, promote the initial definition of AIM applications as being AI systems that can perform or aid in diagnoses. We challenge this traditional philosophy of AIM and propose a new approach aiming at empowering health care workers to become independent self-sufficient problem solvers and decision makers. Our philosophy is based on findings from a review of empirical research that examines the relationship between the health care personnel's level of knowledge and skills, their job satisfaction, and the quality of the health care they provide. This review supports addressing the quality of health care by empowering health care workers to reach their full potential. As an aid in this empowerment process we argue for reviving a long forgotten AIM research area, namely, AI based applications for medical education and training. There is a growing body of research in artificial intelligence in education that demonstrates that the use of artificial intelligence can enhance learning in numerous domains. By examining the strengths of these educational applications and the results from previous AIM research we derive a framework for empowering medical personnel and consequently raising the quality of health care through the use of advanced AI based technology.

Artificial Intelligence↗

The next-generation emergency department.

The greatest advances in medicine over the next two decades will result from application of the tools and principles of informatics to the problems of clinical medicine. New developments in medical informatics will drive advances in clinical care administration, research, and education. Information flow in the emergency department a decade hence will be characterized by a transformation from a "hunter-gatherer" information model to a "publisher-subscriber" model in which the right information will always be available at the right time. In large part, information will be gathered automatically rather than manually. Computers will be ubiquitous and almost invisible. Invasive and attached monitoring and testing will yield to new remote and noninvasive technologies. Information will be shared and modified as needed, rather than recreated and reentered by each caregiver. Eventually, the use of information technologies in the emergency medicine workplace will enhance our traditional role as hands-on providers of direct patient care.

Emergency Service, Hospital↗

A Tcl/Tk based graphical interface to medical and administrative information.

FELIX is an front-end application processor, with an open systems back-end, that provides a uniform and intuitive interface to clinical and administrative information. It consists of an information browser, three clinical applications, and three management applications. FELIX was developed in a community hospital environment, but has conceptual and technical roots in medical informatics and the Internet.

Computer Graphics↗

Hyperlinked Lexicon in Nursing Informatics--a tool for navigating through Nursing Informatics Terminology.

The Evolution of Information Technology is rapid. Electronic circuits substitute mental activities and new Technology invades to all aspects of life. Nursing, which is like all the other Health related professions information-intensive, could use the new Technology to be facilitated. The implementation of Informatics to Nursing was supported by the growing information that Nursing has to manage. The definition of Nursing Informatics was put on 1980 and since then a lot attempts to define Nursing Informatics have followed. The applications of Nursing Informatics are focused on four fields of Nursing: Administration of Nursing, Clinical Practice, Education, and Research. The first applications of Nursing Informatics made visible the need for the development of a Unified Language System. The efforts, today, are focused on two fields: to establish a standard definition of the terms of or related to Nursing Informatics, to establish standard definitions and Classification Schemes for the Nursing Phenomena and Practice so that they can be processed by Nursing Informatics. In solving these problems important role plays the study of Linguistics. Another important factor that should be taken into account is the Development of International Standards of general acceptance that enhances communication aspects. Apart from the International Standardisation Organisations, other non-profit organisations have constituted Special Groups that are dealing with the promotion of Nursing Informatics. Final Nursing Informatics should follow the previous attempts of Nursing to establish a Unified Language System. All the steps of the development of the application are described. In particular subjects that are covered are: the scope of the application, the collection of the material, the designing and building up of the Database, the development of a User Interface and the characteristics of the Application.

Databases as Topic↗

Application of the RealAudio package to computerized medical lectures.

We created a multimedia system to computerize past lectures using RealAudio software. Physicians, medical researchers and students can browse the contents of lecture slides and handouts with synchronous audio using the Internet. The audience can easily review the most interesting parts of lectures and medical students can listen to complete medical lectures from remote sites with narration and slide depiction, whenever convenient. We have created three multimedia programs; the memorial lecture of a professor's retirement, a new method of hand washing for surgical procedures and a lecture on medical informatics. The cost of this system and the results of the evaluation by medical students are described. The ease of using this application makes it a potentially valuable tool for clinicians and researchers.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

Mémoire: A framework for semantic interoperability of case-based reasoning systems in biology and medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Mémoire is a framework for sharing and distributing case bases and case-based reasoning (CBR) systems in biology and medicine. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This paper first introduces the semantic Web approach to build a better Web where search engines, knowledge sources and servers, applications and services can live, work, and learn in cooperation. This semantic approach is particularly well suited for biomedical domains because significant ontologies have been developed there and constitute a sound basis for the standardization effort required for the semantic Web. Case-based reasoning systems in biomedicine have also benefited from these biomedical ontologies and models. RESULTS: This article demonstrates for three such systems how a semantics infused approach in CBR gives better, more accurate results in CBR. From this previous work on a semantic approach in CBR in biomedicine, the Mémoire framework has evolved. CONCLUSION: Mémoire proposes a unified OWL-based representation language for cases and case-based ontologies in biomedicine, where a Web Ontology Language (OWL) is a language to represent ontologies on the Web. Mémoire provides a set of tools for building case-based reasoning systems compliant with its language. Mémoire is extensible and can be adapted to different types of biomedical application domains, tasks, and environments. Mémoire will permit bridging the gap within the multiple case-based reasoning systems dedicated to a single domain, and make available to agents and Web services the case-based competency of the CBR systems adopting its interchange language. The approach could be extended to other application domains of CBR.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Domain ontologies in software engineering: use of Protégé with the EON architecture.

Domain ontologies are formal descriptions of the classes of concepts and the relationships among those concepts that describe an application area. The Protégé software-engineering methodology provides a clear division between domain ontologies and domain-independent problem-solvers that, when mapped to domain ontologies, can solve application tasks. The Protégé approach allows domain ontologies to inform the total software-engineering process, and for ontologies to be shared among a variety of problem-solving components. We illustrate the approach by describing the development of EON, a set of middleware components that automate various aspects of protocol-directed therapy. Our work illustrates the organizing effect that domain ontologies can have on the software-development process. Ontologies, like all formal representations, have limitations in their ability to capture the semantics of application areas. Nevertheless, the capability of ontologies to encode clinical distinctions not usually captured by controlled medical terminologies provides significant advantages for developers and maintainers of clinical software applications.

Computer Systems↗

osni.info-Using free/libre/open source software to build a virtual international community for open source nursing informatics.

Many health informatics organizations seem to be slow to take up the advantages of dynamic, web-based technologies for providing services to, and interaction with, their members; these are often the very technologies they promote for use within healthcare environments. This paper aims to introduce some of the many free/libre/open source (FLOSS) applications that are now available to develop interactive websites and dynamic online communities as part of the structure of health informatics organizations, and to show how the Open Source Nursing Informatics Working Group (OSNI) of the special interest group in nursing informatics of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA-NI) is using some of these tools to develop an online community of nurse informaticians through their website, at . Some background introduction to FLOSS applications is used for the benefit of those less familiar with such tools, and examples of some of the FLOSS content management systems (CMS) being used by OSNI are described. The experiences of the OSNI will facilitate a knowledgeable nursing contribution to the wider discussions on the applications of FLOSS within health and healthcare, and provides a model that many other groups could adopt.

Database Management Systems↗

Aspects of implementing and harmonizing healthcare communication standards.

A variety of healthcare communication standards (HCS) have been developed during the last decade. They have improved the interoperability and the connectivity in open hospital information systems to a large extent. They have also reduced time and efforts during the implementation of standard interfaces. However, the implementation of communication standards is still far from the expected plug and play. The two reasons which are the main cause the current drawbacks are identified--the lack of a standardized terminology and the restricted flexibility of the currently used interchange formats. On the one hand the standardization of the terminology can not be solved by the standards development organizations. It is a general challenge for the medical informatics community. On the other hand the movement to a new interchange format can be initiated by standards development organizations. The application of SGML/XML as an interchange format for communication standards offers a much greater flexibility and adaptability to user needs than the currently used interchange formats. Concepts for a smooth change to a new direction are discussed.

Computer Communication Networks↗

Health care organizational uses of information technology.

Let's say that, by having read the many inspiring articles on medical informatics in this issue of Physician Executive, you are now ready to move ahead with some serious applications of information systems in your organization. Or, you were already a believer in the usefulness of information technology (IT), and are wondering how to proceed. What types of systems should your organization be looking at to acquire or build? How should you get to there from here? Perhaps you'll find what you're looking for in what follows--an initial roadmap through organizational "IT Land."

Computer Communication Networks↗

[Computers in the Swedish health care system].

The author reports on his study stay in Sweden focusing on the use of computers in the health care system. He specifies the hospitalized patients, registry the modes of information collection and processing in health care computers used. His visit of the organization providing computer services enabled the author to get insight into the process which resulted in the high level of computer equipment applications in the Swedish health care system. In Uppsala he got acquainted applications with SWEDIS, a recording system of drugs and their adverse effects. On visiting the Department of Medical Informatics he became familiar with the organization of training provided to students and doctors in this speciality.

Information Systems↗

Internet as clinical information system: application development using the World Wide Web.

Clinical computing application development at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center has been limited by the lack of a flexible programming environment that supports multiple client user platforms. The World Wide Web offers a potential solution, with its multifunction servers, multiplatform clients, and use of standard protocols for displaying information. The authors are now using the Web, coupled with their own local clinical data server and vocabulary server, to carry out rapid prototype development of clinical information systems. They have developed one such prototype system that can be run on most popular computing platforms from anywhere on the Internet. The Web paradigm allows easy integration of clinical information with other local and Internet-based information sources. The Web also simplifies many aspects of application design; for example, it includes facilities for the use of encryption to meet the authors' security and confidentiality requirements. The prototype currently runs on only the Web server in the Department of Medical Informatics at Columbia University, but it could be run on other Web servers that access the authors' clinical data and vocabulary servers. It could also be adapted to access clinical information from other systems with similar server capabilities. This approach may be adaptable for use in developing institution-independent standards for data and application sharing.

Computer Communication Networks↗

A novel codification scheme based on the "VITAL" and "DICOM" Standards for telemedicine applications.

The field of interest discussed in this study is a novel codification scheme for (vital signs) medical device communication and patient monitoring data interchange, into the context of effective home care service provisioning. With medical technology having developed in isolation and major manufacturers developing their own proprietary communication protocols, which preclude connection to devices from different manufacturers, and with healthcare trends having evolved, pointing to primary care, telecare and home care monitoring, there is an increasing need for technical standardization in healthcare environments and the development of protocols that enable communication in a structured and open way. In this study, a novel codification scheme has been developed, based on two healthcare informatics standards, the VITAL and DICOM Sup. 30, in addressing the robust interchange of waveform and medical data for a home care application. Based on this scheme, we created a real-time facility, consisting of a base unit and a telemedicine (mobile) unit, that enables home telemonitoring, by installing the telemedicine unit at the patient's home while the base unit remains at the physician's office or hospital. The system allows the transmission of vital biosignals (3-lead ECG, pulse rate, blood pressure and SpO2) of the patient. This paper presents an object-oriented design with unified modeling language (UML) of a class hierarchy for exchanging the acquired medical data and performing alert management, and investigates the applicability of the proposed scheme into a commercial patient-connected medical device, thus addressing service and functionality requirements with focus on home-care applications. The system has been validated for technical performance over several telecommunication means and for clinical validity via real patient-involved pilot trials.

Database Management Systems↗