Heterogeneous Medical Information Systems Research Articles

Approach to Software Integration of Heterogeneous Sources of Medical Data Based on Microservice Architecture

The task of processing medical information is currently being solved in our country and abroad by means of heterogeneous medical information systems, mainly at the local and regional levels. The ever-increasing volume and complexity of the accumulated information, along with the need to ensure transparency and continuity in the processing of medical data (in particular, for bronchopulmonary diseases) in various organizations, requires the development of a new approach to integrating their heterogeneous sources. At the same time, an important requirement for solving the problem is the possibility of web-oriented implementation, which will make the corresponding applications available to a wide range of users without high requirements for their hardware and software capabilities. The paper considers an approach to the integration of heterogeneous sources of medical information, which is based on the principles of building microservice web architectures. Each data processing module can be used independently of other program modules, providing a universal entry point and the resulting data set in accordance with the accepted data schema. Sequential execution of processing steps implies the transfer of control to the corresponding program modules in the background according to the Cron principle. The schema declares two types of data schemas - local (from medical information systems) and global (for a single storage system), between which the corresponding display parameters are provided according to the principle of constructing XSLT tables. An important distinguishing feature of the proposed approach is the modernization of the medical information storage system, which consists in creating mirror copies of the main server with periodic replication of the relevant information. At the same time, the interaction between clients and data storage servers is carried out according to the type of content delivery systems with the creation of a connection session between end points based on the principle of the nearest distance between them, calculated using the haversine formula. The computational experiments carried out on test data on bronchopulmonary diseases showed the effectiveness of the proposed approach both for loading data and for obtaining them by individual users and software systems. Overall, the reactivity score of the corresponding web-based applications was improved by 40% on a stable connection.

Research on Regional Medical Heterogeneous Data Integration Technology

The integration of regional medical heterogeneous information is a problem that must be solved in the process of modern medical digitization. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of the existing medical information system, combined with the existing data integration and exchange technology, this paper proposes a heterogeneous data integration scheme for regional medical care. It also focuses on the data processing in the process of regional medical data integration and exchange, and describes in detail the process of medical data extraction, medical data conversion and medical data loading. The goal is to integrate existing heterogeneous medical information systems and eliminate information barriers to improve the effective utilization of medical information.

Design and Application of a Telemedicine System Jointly Driven by Videoconferencing and Data Exchange: Practical Experience from Henan Province, China

Background and Objectives: There are a few problems restraining the effective operation of telemedicine in China. On the basis of practices of the Henan Province Telemedicine Center of China (HTCC), the purpose of this study was to design a telemedicine system jointly driven by videoconferencing and data exchange to address the issues limiting the further development and implementation of telemedicine. Methods: Based on service-oriented architecture, the organizational design of the telemedicine system was gradually refined from top to bottom to complete its hierarchical layout. Technologies including multiprotocol stack adaptation, self-adaptive multilink network transmission, information exchange of heterogeneous medical systems, and open application system architecture were also used to construct the system. Results: The telemedicine system realizes the integration of videoconferencing, data acquisition and exchange of heterogeneous medical information systems, and the actual applications and expansion of telemedicine services. The HTCC currently covers more than 500 telemedicine centers, workstations, and service points, forming a five-level "province-city-county-township-village" telemedicine network linkage. The HTCC handles nearly 30,000 teleconsultation cases per year, helping patients save about ¥120 million Chinese Yuan RMB (approximately US $17.5 million). Conclusions: The proposed telemedicine system achieves satisfactory operation effects, along with social and economic benefits. It has the potential to increase the coverage of medical resources in remote regions, and it can play a role in solving other problems facing telemedicine development in China. The findings also inform measures for further improvement in telemedicine's implementation effects, service quality, and application scope in China and globally.

Heterogeneous Medical Information Systems Integration

Heterogeneous Medical Information Systems Integration

HL7 ontology and mobile agents for interoperability in heterogeneous medical information systems

Modern medical information management is a knowledge intensive activity requiring a high degree of interoperability across various health management entities. Ontology-based multi-agent systems provide a framework for interactions in a distributed medical systems environment without the limitations of a more traditional client server approach. In this paper, we describe electronic Medical Agent System (eMAGS) a multi-agent system with an ontology based on an accepted public health message standard, Health Level Seven (HL7), to facilitate the flow of patient information across a whole healthcare organisation.