Data Integration Applications in Medical Information Systems

Abstract

Medical information systems play a vital role in the everyday successful treatment of patients in hospitals, general practitioners’ offices, and beyond. From storing patient information in electronic health records to the recommendation of treatment options, and the warning on wrong prescriptions or dosages, the information systems provide a multitude of different features. These can be utilized in prospective, direct, and retrospective patient care. One especially important task is the prevention of drug interactions and their potential adverse drug reactions in polypharmacy patients. All of these tasks require a solid data basis and data integration processes to provide the latest recommendations and information to healthcare professionals. Where historically, single large databases such as ABDAmed on the German market provided all required information, newer systems use a multitude of different data sources of high quality. This chapter analyzes different examples of medical information systems, the underlying data integration, and how a solid integration workflow can elevate the potential of old and new healthcare information. The examples range from drug therapy safety systems using official healthcare database, over potentially inadequate medication systems, to molecular biological analysis tools. Finally, the chapter outlines an approach how new data integration efforts may bring all of these systems together for the prospect of patient treatment in a personalized manner.