Interoperability Of Information Systems Research Articles

A Practitioner Centred Assessment on Health Information Systems Interoperability Readiness in Zimbabwe: Mixed Study Approach

Contemporary health information systems have moved to become electronically supported. This has presented the need for these eHealth systems to exist as an ecosystem that allows for healthcare service collaboration amongst service practitioners. In this research paper, the aim is to form an understanding of the healthcare practitioner readiness for Health Information Systems (HIS) interoperability in Zimbabwe. Some qualitative interview and quantitative 5 point Likert scale questionnaires were used to gather the data concurrently before the data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The HIS interoperability readiness survey was captured from responses made by 71 practitioners. The assessment was aimed at assessing factors which were healthcare practitioner readiness, technological infrastructure ownership readiness, policy readiness, core readiness and financial readiness. The findings presented indicate that healthcare practitioners and patients are ready to exist and function as part of an interoperable HIS although some enabling factors were identified in terms of policies needed to support its existence and functionality. Recommendations towards interoperability of HISs achievement were suggested.

Information System Interoperability Strategy to Support Command and Control of Border Security Operations in the North Natuna Sea

In order to maintain the superiority of effective control over the entire territory of Indonesia, especially in disputed areas, Indonesia through the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) conducts Border Security Operations between countries. The purpose of this study was to analyze the interoperability of the TNI information system in the Border Security Operation in the North Natuna Sea and the TNI information system interoperability strategy to support the Border Security Operation code in the North Natuna Sea. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative data through observation, interviews and documentation. The findings of this study are that the information system, both software, hardware, and brainware is not optimal in responding to threats at the border. Regulations at the technical level are not yet precise, flexible, interoperable, besides that there are different regulatory perceptions between forces, there is no standardization of regulations, as well as sectoral egos. Blueprints and grand strategies are mandatory, as well as knowledge management in determining priorities, coupled with the use of artificial intelligence in the TNI information system to realize the efficiency of TNI information system personnel.

A framework for selection of health terminology systems: A prerequisite for interoperability of health information systems

Health terminology systems (HTS) serve as the backbone for the interoperability of health information systems (HIS). Selecting appropriate terminologies is a universal concern for HTS stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for HTS selection. To do this, the study was designed in two stages: I) Developing an initial framework by running a systematic literature review (reviewing 100 articles selected based on the criteria from 10886 articles retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE), and II) Validation of the initial framework by the use of a modified Delphi Method (2 rounds). The proposed framework comprised four dimensions: terminology main group (TMG), important related terminologies (IRTs), message exchange standards (MES), and architecture of terminology standards (ATS). TMG includes “the committee for terminology selection”, “determination of the scope coverage”, and “requirement evaluation”. IRTs used during the creation and maintenance of terminologies for mapping purposes are classified into two groups: 1) administrative, financial and legal terminologies, and 2) clinical terminologies. The steps for applying MES for TMG include 1) need assessment for MES based on the objectives and scope of TMG, 2) reviewing MES at the national and international level, 3) choosing/developing the MES standard(s). Finally, the proposed ATS includes TMG, IRTs, health information systems, and standard-based programs like registries, and data-warehouses. The framework could be used as a foundation for policy-makers, and vendors to: 1) attain the goals of semantic interoperability, 2) ensure high-quality data exchange, and 3) increase data reusability.

Heterogeneity and Interoperability in Local Public Health Information Systems.

Heterogeneity and Interoperability in Local Public Health Information Systems.

Is South Africa closing the health gaps between districts? Monitoring progress towards universal health service coverage with routine facility data

BackgroundSouth Africa is committed to advancing universal health coverage (UHC). The usefulness and potential of using routine health facility data for monitoring progress towards UHC, in the form of the 16-tracer WHO service coverage index (SCI), was assessed.MethodsAlternative approaches to calculating the WHO SCI from routine data, allowing for disaggregation to district level, were explored. Data extraction, coding, transformation and modelling processes were applied to generate time series for these alternatives. Equity was assessed using socio-economic quintiles by district.ResultsThe UHC SCI at a national level was 46.1 in 2007–2008 and 56.9 in 2016–2017. Only for the latter period, could the index be calculated for all indicators at a district level. Alternative indicators were formulated for 9 of 16 tracers in the index. Routine or repeated survey data could be used for 14 tracers. Apart from the NCD indicators, a gradient of poorer performance in the most deprived districts was evident in 2016–2017.ConclusionsIt is possible to construct the UHC SCI for South Africa from predominantly routine data sources. Overall, there is evidence from district level data of a trend towards reduced inequity in relation to specific categories (notably RMNCH). Progress towards UHC has the potential to overcome fragmentation and enable harmonisation and interoperability of information systems. Private sector reporting of data into routine information systems should be encouraged.

Underreporting of mesothelioma, asbestosis and pleural plaques in Brazil

Abstract Background Brazil has a long history of heavy asbestos consumption. However, the number of asbestos-related diseases (ARDs) falls far below the one expected compared with other asbestos consumer countries. Aims To examine underreporting of ARDs, that is mesothelioma, asbestosis and pleural plaques, in Brazil’s Mortality Information System (SIM). Methods Health information systems (HIS) were mapped, datasets retrieved and records of ARD deaths extracted. Records were pair-matched using anonymous linkage to create a single database. ARD-reported cases missing in SIM were considered unreported. The study’s period ranged from 2008 to 2014, when every HIS contributed to the ARD records pool. Results A total of 1298 registered ARD deaths were found, 996 cases of mesothelioma (77%) and 302 (23%) of asbestosis and pleural plaques. SIM was the major single data source of ARD but 335 mesothelioma deaths were missing, an average underreporting of 33%, with no clear time trend. For asbestosis and pleural plaques, underreporting of ARD oscillated from 55% in 2010 to 25% in 2014, a declining trend. ARD underreporting was not associated with sex or age. Conclusions One-third of underreported ARD deaths in the universal SIM is unacceptably high and, apparently, it has not been improving substantially over time. After recoveries from multiple databases, the number of cases is still below, which could be expected based on asbestos consumption. Interoperability of multiple information systems could enhance case detection and improve the precision of mortality estimates, which are crucial for surveillance and for evaluation of remedial policies.

Interoperability of Health Digitalization

: Introduction : Maternal and child health (MCH) is a global priority as health care innovation continues to evolve, including the use of information and communication technology. Studies showed that interoperable information systems can improve the quality of health services and at the same time facilitate the integration of data for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the performance of health services, especially MCH. Aims : This study aims to identify various maternal and child health information systems used in Indonesia and opportunity of interoperability between systems to support continuum of care services. Methodology: Qualitative descriptive research was conducted in Yogyakarta Province from November to December 2020. This study assessed MCH applications that have been used in public and private primary health care, hospitals, health offices and in the community by identifying their functions and mapped data elements used by each application to assess potential interoperability between systems. The online focus group discussions with various application providers was conducted to explore the challenges of interoperability between digital systems. Results and Discussion : There were 18 maternal and child health information systems have been developed by the government (central and local), health facilities and private sector. The initiation of interoperability between systems has not yet occurred, except to support regular reporting at the health office and Ministry of Health level. Interoperability between information systems required efforts to improve information technology facilities and infrastructure, development of health data standards, strengthening governance and regulation and utilization of data as an effort to monitor, evaluation and continuity of interoperability between systems to support the digitalization of services and routine reporting. Conclusions and Recommendations : Digitalization of MCH services in Indonesia has the opportunity to support the continuum of care through an interoperable system. However, several enabler factors need to be prepared to support interoperability between information systems.

Supply Chain Ontology: Model Overview and Synthesis

Supply chain ontology as an important medium for solving information system interoperability problems. To inform future supply chain ontology research, this paper sets out to review and analyze existing supply chain ontology models. An extensive literature review was conducted which identified six supply chain ontology models together with the three criteria that form the framework for comparison. After applying a framework has been identified which should provide insight into potential future research. The general conclusion is that we are far from using ontologies to solve information system interoperability problems. Our analysis has shown that too much emphasis is placed on the organization and structure of human knowledge of supply chains than on understanding supply chain realities. Seen from a 'philosophy of science' perspective, all the models reviewed have ontological flaws. More rigorous and theoretical analysis is needed if a more realistic and robust supply chain system is to be developed.

Maturity assessment of Kenya’s health information system interoperability readiness

BackgroundThe use of digital technology in healthcare promises to improve quality of care and reduce costs over time. This promise will be difficult to attain without interoperability: facilitating seamless health...

Current Status of e-Health in Burkina Faso.

The term e-health refers to all areas where information and communication technologies (ICT) are used for health. E-health appears more and more as a relevant solution to meet the challenges health systems are facing. However, despite its interest, e-health has long remained underexploited in Burkina Faso even if many softwares have been the subject of investments in hospitals as part of a modernization of administrative operations, which does not directly contribute to the quality of care. Hospital information systems (HIS) are the foundation on which e-health is based. They organize, at the IT level, the exchange of information between departments within the same hospital. It is on those systems that the shared medical record (SMR) is based. In this paper, we present an inventory of the implementation of e-health in Burkina Faso. We collected data on hospital information systems deployed in major hospitals in Burkina Faso. Then we analyzed the level of interoperability of those hospital information systems and we finally proposed an interoperability approach adapted to Burkina Faso.

О некоторых параметрах поиска и обработки информации при обеспечении технической интероперабельности сетецентрических систем.

In the situation of transition from information and control systems to a net-centric architecture and development of net-centric information and control system, the relevance of interoperability assurance in such systems is increasing. An approach to estimation of the parameters of generation, search, transmission, storage, processing and presentation of information, to work with information resources and services in the net-centric information and control system is proposed in this paper. The approach and the parameters are a part of developing a model of technical interoperability of net-centric information and control system based on Russia's state standard no. 55062-2012. The current study takes place as a part of Russian Foundation for basic research finance project no. 19-07-00774.

Criminal data management –relevant sources of EU law, interoperability of EU information systems

Interoperability of information systems on Justice and Home Affairs is not just a vision anymore. In 2019 two regulations were adopted in order to create the legal framework of interoperability. The purpose of this study is to present how the idea and concept of interoperability of JHA information systems appeared in different EU legal documents as an objective and to give an overview about the core elements of the current interoperability framework.

Open data formats in building information modeling

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology is one of the most actively developing approaches to the digital representation of the design of buildings and structures, which makes it possible to ensure the relationship of both geometric and functional characteristics of a designed object. The organization of information exchange within the framework of the development of IM during various stages of the life cycle is a rather difficult task, since the historical development of software products used for the design of IM elements has led to the use of various data presentation formats for solving specialized design and calculation problems. In the documents analyzed in the work, two formats with an open specification — IFC and XML — are mentioned as a means of information exchange in the development of IM. In addition to the undoubted advantages of using the IFC using the EXPRESS data specification language as a means of ensuring the interoperability of information systems, there are currently difficulties with the practical application of this format in information modeling, including for organizing joint work. XML-schema can be used as an alternative to the representation of IM in the IFC for organizing data exchange between various information systems, including when implementing joint work on IM through web applications. The use of alternative to EXPRESS schemes for the definition of IM data makes it possible to simplify the organization of information transfer between participants in the information exchange, as well as to unify the presentation of design information.

Enterprise information systems interoperability for asset lifecycle management to enhance circular manufacturing

Abstract The present work considers information and data as a cornerstone for an effective Circular Manufacturing (CM). Focusing on complex industrial assets it also postulates the relevance to develop CM strategies having both the perspective of the Original Equipment Manufacturer, or asset provider, and the asset user. In this scope, a particular emphasis is given on enterprise information systems interoperability as enabler: for CM strategies to be effective, data are required to be exchanged between various enterprise information systems (EIS) hold by the two parties. Therefore, the mapping of data required for each CM strategy along the product/asset lifecycle is performed, and an overview of the EIS interoperability for CM enhancement is discussed, leveraging on ontologies concept.

The reshaping of the administrative procedure through technology as an opportunity to reinforce subjects’ rights

The digital transformation of public administrations is visible in the way several services are being delivered, in the communication tools that are being used and on access to administrative information. Technology intervenes more deeply in decision-making procedures. The administrative decisions are increasingly based on automated processing, either partially or fully. Automated decision-making can facilitate the correctness of decisions, insofar as computing and algorithms potentially make the application of law less conducive to errors of fact and errors of law, and to motivations beyond the protected legal interests. It, however, poses interesting challenges: it redefines the very concept of executive application of the law (e.g., creating or making use of an administrative intermediate rationality), of procedural information gathering, of the duty to give reasons for decisions and of the way of reviewing them. Regardless of the automatization of decision-making, the administrative information systems interoperability conciliated with the data portability right redefine the gathering of information and evidence, reinforcing the principle of investigation, which can mean a higher accuracy of fact-finding with less burden on individuals. In both cases, the use of technology in the administrative procedure demands rethinking the meaning of central values of the exercise of administrative powers.

МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ЛОГІСТИЧНИХ БІЗНЕС-ПРОЦЕСІВ У СІЛЬСЬКОМУ ГОСПОДАРСТВІ

У статті розглянуті сільськогосподарські підприємства, що беруть участь у ланцюгах поставок, які здатні гнучко адаптуватися до змін на ринку. Зазначено, що підвищений інтерес до ланцюгів поставок також був спричинений розвитком інформаційних та комунікаційних технологій, що дають змогу часто обмінюватися величезними обсягами інформації серед учасників ланцюга для координації. Встановлено, що управління процесами ланцюга поставок можна додатково класифікувати за моделлю життє-здатної системи, що складається з п’яти взаємодіючих підсистем. Узагальнено перелік конкретних характеристик бізнес-процесу ланцюгу поставок, де кожна характеристика впливає на спосіб організації логістичних процесів. Через специфічні характеристики харчових продуктів важливо укладати контракти з постачальниками, щоб гарантувати постачання сировини зі встановленими обсягом, кількістю, якістю, у визначеному місці та в потрібний час.

Ontology-Based Holonic Event-Driven Architecture for Autonomous Networked Manufacturing Systems

The current trends in personalized products drive the paradigms of production systems toward autonomous networked manufacturing systems. This article proposes an ontology-based holonic event-driven architecture for implementing loosely coupled, holonic, autonomous distributed systems. The event-driven architecture (EDA) enables the services provided by different organizations and their suborganizations to be autonomously configured and integrated, while ensuring that the predefined organizational event access rules are compulsorily followed. This is realized by organizing the event services in a holonic manager and modeling the knowledge of services via the ontology developed in this study. The ontology model and the corresponding autonomous configuration mechanism are introduced. We developed a demonstration case to elaborate our approach and implemented a testbed using Java-based technology for testing the effectiveness, efficiency, scalability, and reliability of the proposed approach. Note to Practitioners —The ever-changing customer demands, the volatile market, and the trend of mass personalization require manufacturing systems to be smart in the event of uncertainties. To this end, information sharing in the supply chain is a key factor. However, there are several barriers in implementing a cross-organizational information system, including security, access privileges, and system interoperability. To lift these barriers, this article proposes an ontology model and a hierarchical EDA. Compared with conventional architectures, our approach facilitates the management of access privileges, integration of interorganizational information systems, and their interoperation. Moreover, our approach is competitive compared with the conventional service-oriented architecture in terms of both scalability and reliability of the system. Before the proposed approach can be practically applied, the ontology model needs to be further extended, and the event registration and message exchange protocol need to be standardized.

Аспекты совместимости сетевых протоколов, интерфейсов и требований по качеству обслуживания в рамках оценки интероперабельности сетецентрических информационно-управляющих систем.

In the situation of transition from information and control systems to a network-centric architecture and development of net-centric information and control system, the relevance of interoperability assurance in such systems is increasing. An approach to interoperability of network protocols and interfaces, quality of service architectures is proposed as a part of developing a model of technical interoperability of network-centric information and control system based on Russia's state standard no. 55062-2012. It is shown that capabilities of technical interoperability for network protocols and interfaces, quality of service architectures include dimensions of network bandwidth, speed of traffic flows, timeliness of transmission, jitter, probability of packet loss. The current study takes place as a part of Russian Foundation for basic research finance project no. 19-07-00774.

An integrated information systems architecture for the agri‐food industry

AbstractAs information systems and technologies grow in usage in the agri‐food industry, the same has happened to the relevance of Information Systems (IS) that allow for a parallel control, monitoring and management of the organizations' activities and business processes. As the literature proves, the benefits of implementing adequate and interoperable IS are very numerous and tend to represent a significant determinant regarding the organizations' overall success. Despite this, to the best of our knowledge there currently is no IS architecture designed to serve the specificities of the agri‐food industry. With this study a novel information systems architecture for the agri‐food sector is proposed. The artefact is composed by 12 integrated main components and a set of subcomponents aimed at supporting all the monitoring, control and management activities. In order to validate the proposed architecture a case study was implemented at a mushroom production organization. This allowed us to perceive the ability of our artefact to serve as the basis for the development of IS that address all of the organization's business and environmental needs.

Mobile Medical Applications and Cloud Federation Challenges

Abstract Issue Given the importance, of cloud environments for mobile telemedicine information systems, focus is given in this paper on the challenges rising. We discuss the pros of the access to computing services and resources on demand without having own infrastructures, and the need of advanced interoperability data formats and application program interfaces (APIs) to facilitate the usage of the infrastructure. Description of the problem Cloud-Oriented Architecture (COA) describes the architecture, where applications act as services and serve other applications in the cloud environment. The aim is IT infrastructure and software applications to be optimized for their use in cloud computing environments. But what happens in the specific field of health as data interoperability for mobile telemedicine information systems? Results Two architectures were presented using a patient's compliance and engagement solution. A simple Representational State Transfer (REST) based architectural style was implemented in a three-layered architecture first and then compared to a cloud federation model. In the second the interaction goes through the federation via a middleware layer. Internal operations of cloud providers in the federation are still transparent to the cloud users. The middleware layer aims to coordinate the interaction with cloud users and providers in the federation. But, to avoid delays in those interactions interoperability of data formats and APIs. Lessons A Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) based application was developed. Mobile telemedicine information systems are a strong instrument in patients' compliance. Many systems have proved that the used resources combined can solve clinical and administrative problems in a secure environment. Key messages The use of cloud is wide spread in the health sector. The challenge is to combine this infrastructure into one federated platform and maximize the added value by using advanced interoperability data formats and APIs.