Enabling Components of HYGEIAnet
Dimitrios G. Katehakis, Manolis Tsiknakis, Stelios C. Orphanoudakis · 2001
Throughout all integrated healthcare system environments, a wide diversity of autonomous, networked clinical information sources exist with different internal structures (database schemata) and different vocabularies to describe the notions used by them. Bearing in mind that legacy systems will continue to be present in the future, a fundamental pre-requisite for the establishment of a scaleable regional health telematics network is the development of an architecture and tools for the integration of specialized autonomous applications that are supported by a healthcare information infrastructure. Based on an effective horizontal integration of networked information services, the interoperability of applications and services within a healthcare institution, the interconnection of different institutions, and the intelligent management of health related information that exists within such an integrated network, can be supported. In the context of HYGEIAnet, which is the regional health telematics network of Crete, a number of key components have been identified and utilized to provide end-users with seamless access to necessary clinical information. The effort has been based on an open architecture, which provides the framework for the reuse of standardized common components and public interfaces. Technologies linked to the corresponding execution architecture include CORBA, COM++, X.500, SQL/ ODBC, Java and XML. In particular, the underlying capabilities of XML technologies allow for dynamic navigation according to personalized end-user preferences and authorities, and prepare the ground for the integrated, and personalized delivery of healthcare.