Interoperability Of Information Systems Research Articles

Architectural design of national evidence based medicine information system based on electronic health record.

The global implementation of Electronic Health Records has significantly enhanced the quality of medical care and the overall delivery of public health services. The incorporation of Evidence-Based Medicine offers numerous benefits and enhances the efficacy of decision-making in areas such as prevention, prognosis, diagnosis, and therapeutic approaches. The objective of this paper is to propose an architectural design of an Evidence-Based Medicine information system based on the Electronic Health Record, taking into account the existing and future level of interoperability of health information systems in Greece. A study of the suggested evidence-based medicine architectures found in the existing literature was conducted. Moreover, the interoperability architecture of health information systems in Greece was analyzed. The architecture design reviewed by specialized personnel and their recommendations were incorporated into the final design of the proposed architecture. The proposed integrated architecture of an Evidence-Based Medicine system based on the Electronic Health Record integrates and utilizes citizens' health data while leveraging the existing knowledge available in the literature. Taking into consideration the recently established National Interoperability Framework, which aligns with the European Interoperability Framework, the proposed realistic architectural approach contributes to improving the quality of healthcare provided through the ability to make safe, timely and accurate decisions by physicians.

Implementing a new Research Data Alliance recommendation, the I-ADOPT framework, for the naming of environmental variables of continental surfaces

To improve data usage in an interdisciplinary context, a clear understanding of the variables being measured is required for both humans and machines. In this paper, the I-ADOPT framework, which decomposes variable names into atomic elements, was tested within the context of continental surfaces and critical zone science, characterized by a large number and variety of observed environmental variables. We showed that the I-ADOPT framework can be used effectively to describe environmental variables with precision and that it was flexible enough to be used in the critical zone science context. Variable names can be documented in detail while allowing alignment with other ontologies or thesauri. We have identified difficulties in modeling complex variables, such as those monitoring fluxes between different environmental compartments and for variables monitoring ratios of physical quantities. We also showed that, for some variables, different decompositions were possible, which could make alignments with other ontologies and thesauri more difficult. The precision of variable names proved inadequate for data discovery services and a non-standard label (SimplifiedLabel) had to be defined for this purpose. In the context of open science and interdisciplinary research, the I-ADOPT framework has the potential to improve the interoperability of information systems and the use of data from various sources and disciplines.

Performance of API Design for Interoperability of Medical Information Systems

After the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become evident that efficient and secure interoperability of medical information is crucial for effective diagnoses and medical treatments. However, a significant challenge arises concerning the heterogeneity of the systems storing patient information in medical centers or hospitals. Memory management becomes a pivotal element for the effective operation of the proposed API, as it must seamlessly execute across various devices, ranging from healthcare units, such as mobile phones, to servers in cloud computing. This proposal addresses these issues through techniques designed to enhance the performance of the software architecture in creating a medical interoperability API. This API has the capacity to be cloned and distributed to facilitate the exchange of data related to a patient’s medical history. To tackle heterogeneity, efficient memory management was implemented by utilizing an object-oriented approach and leveraging design patterns like abstract factory and wrapper. Regarding the evaluation of the proposal, this study showed an estimated performance of 94.5 percent, which was indirectly demonstrated through the assessment of operation sequences. This result suggests a satisfactory level based on complexity and coupling.

Factors Affecting the Availability of Essential Health Commodities in Tanzania with a Special Focus on the Tracer Commodities

Background: Access to essential health commodities is fundamental to healthcare system efficacy. These commodities are vital in delivering health services and form integral elements within the World Health Organization's strengthening framework, encompassing the six foundational building blocks. Regrettably, there has been a global increase in shortages and stockouts of essential health commodities in recent years. Objective: The study aimed to identify factors influencing the availability of essential health commodities throughout all levels of the supply chain in Tanzania. Methods: A cross-sectional that employed qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. Quantitative data were analyzed using STATA version 16, while Qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Results: Factors contributing to stockouts of essential commodities at the national level include increased demand, delayed shipments from donors, decreased funding commitments, delayed disbursement of funds, global shortages, inadequate governance, debt within the Medical Stores Department, donor dependency for vertical program commodities, and long lead times by Medical Stores Department suppliers. At the Regional and District levels, such factors include a shortage of human resources, lack of Electronic Medical Records, limited interoperability of information systems, poor quality of logistics data, inadequate use of data for decision-making, and poor inventory management. At the healthcare facility level, they include an overwhelming number of exempted clients, which reduces facility revenues. Conclusion: More efforts are still needed to address both the upstream and downstream challenges needed to ensure sustainable access and availability of essential health commodities at service delivery points as a pathway for improving health sector performance.

Services Integration in Tanzania e-Government Systems

The interoperability of information systems for public organizations is a significant opportunity for improved delivery of e-government services. However, the lack of e-government services integration is one of the issues preventing services from effectively reaching citizens in many developing nations, especially in this era of information technology advancement. Consequently, this paper aims to provide background information and a framework for comprehending the relevance of Tanzania's integration of e-government services. To understand the current state of the art and the prospects for system integration in government procedures, a thorough government institution Information Systems analysis was done to understand the magnitude of the problem. The survey revealed that the absence of electronic data exchange between public information systems leads to information system silos, which hinder efficiency and synergy in the provision of electronic services. A framework for e-government service integration is proposed utilizing a design science research approach to explain the possibilities of service integration in the public sector. The framework suggests harmonizing public institutions in e-government project plans, communicating e-government systems through a unified network, and establishing the e-government service catalog.

A messaging standard for environmental inspections: is it time?

Environmental health (EH) services in the United States lag behind other areas of public health and health care with respect to information system interoperability and data sharing. This is partly due to an absence of well-defined use cases, the lack of direct economic drivers and resources to improve, the multiple jurisdictional elements that govern EH services across the United States, and no central organization to drive modernization of EH data. We summarize the status of EH information systems; argue for greater interoperability, including use cases for a messaging standard for environmental inspections; and present recommendations to better align EH services and data modernization efforts currently underway in other areas of public health.

Interoperability at healthcare institutions in Brazil: framework for identify maturity stages

There is a growing support from data management and analysis in the clinical and operational support at health services, impacting positively the patient outcome. Studies report that data management provides gains in productivity and raises the value of health services [1]. In this context, the interoperability of information systems (IS) at the environment of health services assumes an important role in spreading information and supporting different activities and procedures. The Brazilian government, through its Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS), aimed to support and organize the growing use of data technology in the healthcare sector, formalizing protocols and concepts of interoperability used in both public and private health systems. Through applying this MF, it is expected to identify the state of interoperability at Brazilian healthcare institutions, defining a comparative scenario that allows the alignment of efforts in its strategic development in healthcare services, benefiting users and healthcare network.

Providing continuity of care for people living with noncommunicable diseases in humanitarian settings: A qualitative study of health actors' experiences in Lebanon

ObjectiveThe burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing among populations living in humanitarian settings. Continuity of care (CoC) involves following an individual over time and across different levels of healthcare (management, longitudinal, informational and interpersonal continuity); it is an essential component of good quality, person-centred NCD care. Providing CoC is particularly challenging in humanitarian crises where health care access may be interrupted or restricted. This paper aimed to explore health actors’ experiences of continuity of hypertension and diabetes care for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese in Lebanon. MethodsWe conducted 20 in-depth qualitative interviews with health actors, including eleven with health care providers at four urban-based health facilities supported by international humanitarian agencies that provide NCD care to Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese, one representative of a governmental institution, one international delegate and seven humanitarian actors. Thematic analysis, combining inductive and deductive approaches, was guided by a conceptual framework for NCD models of care in humanitarian settings. We reported our findings against the conceptual framework's domains relating to health system inputs and intermediate goals, reflecting on their impact on the domains of CoC. FindingsExisting health system weaknesses and novel challenges (the economic crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and Beirut blast) to continuity of NCD care were identified. Health system input challenges: governance and financing (weakened governance, limited central financing, historical dependence on local NGOs for primary healthcare, a dominant private sector), health workforce (exodus of health care providers from the public system), inconsistent medicines and equipment supplies, and limited health information systems (no unified system across institutions or levels of care, lack of formal referral systems, and inconsistent facility-level data collection) contributed to limited public primary care, poorly integrated within a fragile, pluralistic health system. These factors negatively impacted the intermediate health system goals of access, standardisation and quality of NCD care for Syrian refugee and Lebanese patients, and collectively hampered the management, longitudinal, informational and interpersonal continuity of NCD care in Lebanon. ConclusionWe recommend that humanitarian actors continue the work underway with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health to align with and strengthen health system inputs, including supporting health governance through the accreditation process, exploring new funding mechanisms, strengthening the workforce via task sharing and training, supporting the medication supply chain, improving access to facilities and service quality, and supporting the development, standardisation and interoperability of referral and information systems. In combination, these elements will support better CoC for people living with hypertension and diabetes in Lebanon.

A semantic web-based risk assessment framework for collaborative planning to enhance overall supply chain effectiveness for semiconductor industry

Semiconductor supply chain uncertainty is increasingly complicated due to shortening product life cycles, demand fluctuation and a series of collaborative decisions, yet little research focuses on risk assessment from operational planning level to supply chain planning level. Limitations of existing approaches can be traced in part to the lack of a framework within which the decisions involved in different levels can be integrated and aligned in light of supply chain dynamics. This study aims to develop a semantic web based risk assessment framework to integrate collaborative planning and enable the interpretability among real world and simulation modelling. This study starts by proposing a performance elevation metric from interpreting planning level for overall supply chain effectiveness. This study further constructs an ontology for planning and control decisions to support building the risk assessment simulation model to ensure information system interoperability and link domain knowledge for semiconductor supply chain network resilience. For validation, a simulation model is constructed for backend production from a leading semiconductor company in Germany. The contribution of the proposed semantic web-based framework provides the interoperability for supporting supply chain management and reduces the gaps between simulation modelling and physical setting to enhance overall supply chain effectiveness.

Digital Health Information Systems in the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States: Status and Prospects

This paper examines the status of the development of national digital health information systems (HIS) in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states. Data for research were collected using a questionnaire adapted from the questionnaire of the WHO’s Third Global Survey on eHealth. The results showed that the digital transformation of HIS was occurring in all seven CIS member states (participating in the study), which were financed by different resources. Laws and regulations on electronic medical records (EMR) use were present in almost all participating CIS member states. Various international standards and classifications were used to support development and the interoperability of digital health information system (d-HIS), including International Classification of Diseases (ICD), Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), ISO 18308, Logical Observation Identifiers, Names, and Codes (LOINC), Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), and ISO TC 215. Several CIS member states had adopted a national information security strategy for the safe processing of both personal data and medical confidential information. The digital transformation of healthcare and the Empowerment through Digital Health initiative are taking place in all CIS member states, which are at different stages of introducing electronic medical and health records.

Evolution of the Concept of Interoperability of Open Information Systems

The article compares the definitions of interoperability presented in international standards and documents. The transformation of this concept is shown and justified, starting with a technical definition and ending with a complex concept, which is an integral element of digital transformation processes. The main processes (business management, consumer management, communication channel management and service-oriented technology management) necessary for the implementation of the New European Interoperability Strategy are presented. The principles and levels (political, legislative, organizational, semantic and technical) of interoperability are presented. The experience of the United States of America, the countries of Europe and the Russian Federation on the regulatory consolidation of the interoperability of open information systems and the practice of its use in some areas of activity are analyzed. A model of interoperability is presented in accordance with the standards of the Russian Federation, including technical, semantic and organizational levels. On the basis of the analysis carried out, a more complete normative consolidation of this concept in the Republic of Belarus is proposed.

Identifying Key Themes of Care Coordination for Patients with Chronic Conditions in Singapore: A Scoping Review.

A projected rise in patients with complex health needs and a rapidly ageing population will place an increased burden on the healthcare system. Care coordination can bridge potential gaps during care transitions and across the care continuum to facilitate care integration and the delivery of personalised care. Despite having a national strategic vision of improving care integration across different levels of care and community partners, there is no consolidation of evidence specifically on the salient dimensions of care coordination in the Singapore healthcare context. Hence, this scoping review aims to uncover the key themes that facilitate care coordination for patients with chronic conditions in Singapore to be managed in the community while illuminating under-researched areas in care coordination requiring further exploration. The databases searched were PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Results from Google Scholar were also included. Two independent reviewers screened articles in a two-stage screening process based on the Cochrane scoping review guidelines. Recommendation for inclusion was indicated on a three-point scale and rating conflicts were resolved through discussion. Of the 5792 articles identified, 28 were included in the final review. Key cross-cutting themes such as having standards and guidelines for care programmes, forging stronger partnerships across providers, an interoperable information system across care interfaces, strong programme leadership, financial and technical resource availabilities and patient and provider-specific factors emerged. This review also recommends leveraging these themes to align with Singapore's national healthcare vision to contain rising healthcare costs.

Rischio e vulnerabilità nel modello europeo di intelligenza artificiale

The contribution explores how the European model on artificial intelligence addresses the relationship between risk analysis and management of automated systems and its impact on the vulnerability factors that the use of certain deceptive techniques determines or increases. The article draws some reflections on the European model that illustrates how risk assessment and management are logically related to data governance choices. Some data governance choices can lead to mitigation of the risk by combining market needs with an anthropocentric approach. As a result of general considerations on the European approach to artificial intelligence systems, the contribution offers the analysis of a case related to the interoperability of European information systems for purposes of security, migration and European border control, focusing on the impact that these systems have on the real life of third country nationals.

Interoperability of heterogeneous health information systems: a systematic literature review

BackgroundThe lack of interoperability between health information systems reduces the quality of care provided to patients and wastes resources. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop integration mechanisms among the various health information systems. The aim of this review was to investigate the interoperability requirements for heterogeneous health information systems and to summarize and present them.MethodsIn accordance with the PRISMA guideline, a broad electronic search of all literature was conducted on the topic through six databases, including PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and Embase to 25 July 2022. The inclusion criteria were to select English-written articles available in full text with the closest objectives. 36 articles were selected for further analysis.ResultsInteroperability has been raised in the field of health information systems from 2003 and now it is one of the topics of interest to researchers. The projects done in this field are mostly in the national scope and to achieve the electronic health record. HL7 FHIR, CDA, HIPAA and SNOMED-CT, SOA, RIM, XML, API, JAVA and SQL are among the most important requirements for implementing interoperability. In order to guarantee the concept of data exchange, semantic interaction is the best choice because the systems can recognize and process semantically similar information homogeneously.ConclusionsThe health industry has become more complex and has new needs. Interoperability meets this needs by communicating between the output and input of processor systems and making easier to access the data in the required formats.

ETL Processes for Integrating Healthcare Data - Tools and Architecture Patterns.

Improving the interoperability of healthcare information systems is a crucial clinical care issue involving disparate but coexisting information systems. However, healthcare organizations are also facing the dilemma of choosing the right ETL tool and architecture pattern as data warehouse enterprises. This article gives an overview of current ETL tools for healthcare data integration. In addition, we demonstrate three ETL processes for clinical data integration using different ETL tools and architecture patterns, which map data from various data sources (e.g. MEONA and ORBIS) to diverse standards (e.g. FHIR and openEHR). Depending on the project's technical requirements, we choose our ETL tool and software architecture pattern to boost team efficiency.

From Personal to Public Health - building Health Data Pipelines

Abstract The creation of future proof infostructures requires a number of efforts on different levels within a health organisation. One important thing that we need to be genuinely realise and grow aware of is that there is an inherent need to move away from Excel Spreadsheets, Access Databases and legacy data tools (including paper) towards interoperable information systems that are focused on high-quality data coordination mechanisms, robust processes and documentation and most of all design of data flows that enable sustainable data collection and analysis. This hands-on session will inform users on the following elements: – Doing a thorough situation analysis of your current data situation – Design your health data pipeline - paper and imagination required – Resources to help you design the ideal infostructure – Setting your next steps forward – Being aware of your organisational culture to ensure maximum success

FAIR Equivalency with Regulatory Framework for Digital Health in Uganda

Abstract This study explores the possibility of opening a policy window for the adoption of the FAIR Guidelines— that data be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR)—in Uganda's eHealth sector. Although the FAIR Guidelines were not mentioned in any of the policy documents relevant to Uganda's eHealth sector, the study found that 83% of the documents mentioned FAIR Equivalent efforts, such as the adoption of the National Identification Number (NIN) as a unique identifier in Uganda's national Electronic Health Management Information System (eHMIS) (findability), the planned/ongoing integration of various information systems (interoperability), and the alignment of various projects with international best practices/standards (reusability). A FAIR Equivalency Score (FE-Score), devised in this study as an aggregate score of the mention of the equivalent of FAIR facets in the policy documents, showed that the documents at the core of Uganda's digital health/eHealth policy have the highest score of all the documents analysed, indicating that there is a degree of alignment between Uganda's National eHealth Vision and the FAIR Guidelines. Therefore, it can be concluded that favourable conditions exist for the adoption and implementation of the FAIR Guidelines in Uganda's eHealth sector. Hence, it is recommended that the FAIR community adopt a capacity building strategy through organisations with a worldwide mandate, such as the World Health Organization, to promote the adoption of the FAIR Guidelines as part of international best practices.

ECG Standards and Formats for Interoperability between mHealth and Healthcare Information Systems: A Scoping Review.

Interoperability is defined as the ability of a system or device to communicate between different technologies and software applications. This allows the exchange and use of data in an efficient, precise, and robust way. The present article gives researchers and healthcare information systems developers a qualitative and quantitative synthesis of the state of knowledge related to data formats and data standards proposed for mHealth devices interoperability in healthcare information systems that retrieve and store ECG data. We carry out a scoping review to answer to following questions: (1) What digital data formats or data standards have been proposed for the interoperability of electrocardiograph data between traditional healthcare information systems and mobile healthcare information systems? (2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of these data formats or data standards? The scoping review was conducted in four databases in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews, and in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). A total of 4018 studies were identified of which 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Based on our findings, we identify four standards and nine formats for capturing and storing streaming ECG data in mobile health applications. The standards used were HL7, SCP-ECG, x73-PHD, and PDF/A. Formats include CSV, PDF-ECG, and seven XML-based formats. These are ECG-XML, HL7-XML, mPCG-XML, mECGML, JSON, SaECG, and CDA R2.

Interoperability approaches of blockchain technology for supply chain systems

PurposeThis work focuses on the interoperability of the blockchain from the viewpoint of its technological evolution in the wider context of supply chain systems. Interoperability concerns the most since it is among the most persevering problems in the process of blockchain adaptation. The study aims to trace and pinpoint all the different methods that affect the interoperability of blockchains, gather all the obtainable evidence and recognize gaps in between the applicable approaches mentioned across the contemporary academic literature.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis is done of seven interoperability approaches based on their relevance, practical usefulness and adoption processes concerning the blockchain. Mainly, this work examines interoperability from several different perspectives. An interoperability modular decomposition via a layered model has been defined through the level of conceptual interoperability (LCIM) and level of information system interoperability (LISI), which represent the most popular metrics with regard to assessing the level of interoperability from a qualitative level.FindingsGenerally, the findings of this work are directed in two major aspects: Firstly, it expands the research around blockchain technology interoperability by providing crucial background information and pinpointing important connotations for both industrial and academic environments. It also defines and analyzes several different approaches toward the blockchain platform's interoperability. Secondly, it also identifies and proposes several scenarios that take advantage of multiple blockchain application approaches, highlights various issues and challenges to the evolution of interoperability standards and solutions and indicates the desired areas of further research.Originality/valueAn essential aspect of the originality of this paper is that, contrary to other work contributions, this work summarized the different interoperability approaches for blockchain in supply chain systems. Mainly, seven approaches were discussed for practitioners and researchers, and the open issues and future research direction were considered.

A Novel Model for the Semantic Enrichment of an Ontology Alignment System

In many applications, ontology alignment is a difficult challenge, and it is a major concern for interoperability and domain specialists in information systems. Although there are various methods for ontology alignment, most of them ignore ontological links such as subsumption and aggregation. Furthermore, traditional alignment methods provide little or no information about the underlying structure of the correspondences between ideas that they identify, limiting them to basic links between matched concepts. However, many actions, such as ontology mergers, ontology evolution, or data conversion, require more detailed information, such as the actual relationship type of correspondences matches or information about the cardinality of a correspondence (one-to-one or one-to-many). We employed an enrichment technique to build an upgrade to the present ontology alignment tool (Falcon AO++) that recognizes and adds more semantic information to a created ontology mapping in this study. The improved mapping now supports equal, is-a, inverse is-a, part-of, has-a, and related semantic connection types. To enable semi-automated mapping to correct and detect more sorts of correspondences, the enrichment technique leverages a variety of linguistic, structural, and background knowledge. As an outcome, more expressive mappings may be created. In terms of precision, recall, and f-measure, Falcon-AO++ and eFalcon-AO perform better by 18.1 percent, 20.2 percent, and 18.6 percent, respectively.