Information Systems and Healthcare XX: Toward Seamless Healthcare with Software Agents
Journal
Communications of the Association for Information Systems (CAIS)
ISSN
1529-3181
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2007-06-01
Author(s)
Research Team
iw6-init
Abstract
Healthcare processes are frequently fragmented and often badly supported with IT. Inter- and intra-organizational communication and media frictions complicate the continuous provision of information according to the principle of information logistics. Based on extensive literature review, we present the vision of seamless healthcare with horizontally and vertically integrated healthcare processes enabled by seamless IT support. Its implementation requires the establishment of a communication infrastructure and the deployment of adequate standards in healthcare. There are already comprehensive approaches for dealing with integrating heterogeneous information systems. However, they lack a common communication infrastructure and do not support proactivity and flexibility which are dominant characteristics in healthcare. We propose a software agent-based approach for realizing the vision of seamless healthcare. We present a corresponding implementation for integrating heterogeneous information systems in the context of the German Health Telematics Infrastructure. Based on the concept and the implementation, we show that the modular approach is capable of supporting a wide range of different applications. We furthermore outline which facets of an agent-based solution could be implemented in an operative real-world environment. In closing we derive implications for IT decision makers in healthcare and show directions for future approaches for reducing information logistics related deficits in healthcare.
Language
English
Keywords
healthcare information systems
information logistics
standards
software agent
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
ACM
Publisher place
New York, NY
Volume
19
Start page
692
End page
709
Pages
18
Official URL
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
219570
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
JML_80.pdf
Size
381.42 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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