Password Magazine - Issue 21: Healthcare
Medical IT enhances clinical decisions+ Download + Useful links + Binding software implementations to business objectives + More Information
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Longer life expectancy and an aging population have put greater demands
on medical services. Heightened public awareness of healthcare issues
has increased patient expectations. Doctors and nurses are under increasing
pressure but cannot be expected to hold everything in their heads. They
do, however, need up-to-the-minute patient information and expert knowledge
at their fingertips to help them make the right clinical decisions.
Thanks to recent advances in Medical Information Technology being made
by Philips Research, that information is becoming increasingly accessible. |
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DownloadPDF file of complete article (98 kb) + Medical ITUseful links+ Grid Computing
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Binding software implementations to business objectives Clinical Decision Support Systems are software intensive applications in which software architectures create the crucial bridge between business objectives and technical implementations. On the business side, the chosen architecture must take into account proposed business models, customer requirements and product features. On the implementation side it must accommodate the proposed enabling technologies and system development methods.
Everyone knows that business models, in particular, are extremely difficult to predict, which is why the software architecture group in Philips Research concentrates on what it calls ‘required variation points’. These are points in the software architecture where change is likely to occur, either because of changing business models and customer requirements on the business side of the equation, or changes such as the shift from hardware to software solutions on the implementation side. |
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The ability of an architecture to accommodate change is then tested against possible future scenarios. And to ensure maximum relevance for these scenarios, they are developed by Philips Research scientists that are embedded three days a week within Philips Medical Systems.
One architectural component that is likely to have a significant impact on clinical decision support systems is grid computing (often referred to as ‘next-generation Internet’). By making the sharing of distributed computer resources much more seamless and transparent than it is today, grid computing will not only provide better access to patient data. It will also provide access to the knowledge databases needed to interpret that data. Grid computing is even capable of bringing together widely distributed individuals into cohesive groups in order to pool their expertise. As such, it is an ideal way of accessing all the different types of clinical information needed to ensure the highest quality of patient care.
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Clinical guidelines and patient information integrated and prioritized
to support the next needed care decision.
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For more information
Head of the Healthcare Systems & IT group at Philips Research USA E-mail: helen.routh@philips.com |