OntoSearch

Trends That Emerge Within Health Info Systems

This material will determine and gift some of the most important rising trends in health info systems. Consequently, the text will discuss about Internet services and semantic Web, Net 2.zero, and HealthGrid.

The internet services and semantic internet encompass the software components or applications that interact when using XML and Internet technologies. Their major function is to express data and application logic and to move info as messages. With a platform-neutral interfacing and communication mechanism and a wide infrastructure support in terms of servers and development environments, Net services provide the advantages of loose coupling, ease of integration and of accessibility. In the last decades, Web services technology has evolved towards the development of a collection of standards for publishing, discovering and composing independent services in an open network. 2 principle approaches can be applied to Internet services: the procedural approach and the document-oriented one. The previous lays stress on bottom-up applications. The latter, on the other hand, resorts to top-down business exchanges, making an attempt to describe thoroughly the elements of the respective exchange. The semantic Web is an extension of the World Wide Net, giving a united approach to data management and info processing. It resorts to standards in order to render machine-interpretable information. The interaction between pc and also the human factor is maximized by means that of semantic Internet technology as a result of it offers the contents well-outlined meanings.

A second emerging trend in health info systems is to use Internet 2.0 technologies, that consult with applications and services that are internet-oriented and which use the Net as a working platform. The distinct feature of this type of technology resides in the very fact that the Web is employed with its unique characteristics and counting on its strengths, without attempting to adapt the Internet to a specific application. Inside Health 2.0 are incorporated concepts like telemedicine, electronic medical records and the employment of the Net by patients themselves. Message boards, blogs and other more advanced systems are varieties of communication utilized in the Internet 2.0 technology.

The use of HealthGrid emerged as another necessary trend in health data systems. HealthGrid represents a virtual surroundings in which medical information is stored and made accessible to various participants within the healthcare systems like physicians, healthcare centers, allied professions, administrators and patients. Medical, health and clinical records maintained by disparate hospitals, drug firms and health organizations can be gathered and shared through HealthGrid. Among the advantages ensured by this software platform one will enumerate:

- real-time and remote access to large quantity of medical and clinical knowledge, no matter the original healthcare setting from that they were acquired;

- complete history of patients irrespective of where the care was provided;

- real-time monitoring of trial results and analysis outcomes.

These are solely three of the trends rising at intervals health data systems. Others would be Voice over IP, proof-based health informatics, and using e-health models and services.