Modularity and Integration of Medical and Health Information Systems

Abstract

In many European hospitals and in Primary Care, information systems have been made operational for management-oriented and medically-and patient-oriented applications. Only very few hospitals use fully integrated systems for management, planning and patient care. Certain areas in Europe are very advanced in using information systems for health care, but in general there exists a situation in which many regions are lagging far behind. Some reasons are that the field is largely dominated by American systems, that there is a lack in communication standards, and that there are substantial differences in health care cultures in the European countries. In general, there are four major objectives for introducing computers in hospitals and health care: efficiency, quality, accessibility, and management support. These four criteria will be briefly discussed.