The Challenge of Ubiquitous Computing in Health Care: Technology, Concepts and Solutions

O. J. Bott; E. Ammenwerth; B. Brigl; P. Knaup; E. Lang; R. Pilgram; B. Pfeifer; F. Ruderich; A. C. Wolff; R. Haux; C. Kulikowski

doi:10.1055/s-0038-1633996

Methods of Information in Medicine, Table of Contents

Methods Inf Med 2005; 44(03): 473-479
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1633996

Original Article

Schattauer GmbH

The Challenge of Ubiquitous Computing in Health Care: Technology, Concepts and Solutions

Findings from the IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics 2005

Authors

O. J. Bott

¹Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Medical Informatics, Braunschweig, Germany
E. Ammenwerth

²UMIT – University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Innsbruck, Austria
B. Brigl

³University of Leipzig, Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, Leipzig, Germany
P. Knaup

⁴University of Heidelberg, Department of Medical Informatics, Heidelberg, Germany
E. Lang

⁵University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, Information and Knowledge Management, Darmstadt, Germany
R. Pilgram

²UMIT – University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Innsbruck, Austria
B. Pfeifer

²UMIT – University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Innsbruck, Austria
F. Ruderich

⁶University of Applied Sciences Heilbronn, Department of Medical Informatics, Heilbronn, Germany
A. C. Wolff

⁴University of Heidelberg, Department of Medical Informatics, Heidelberg, Germany
R. Haux

¹Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Medical Informatics, Braunschweig, Germany
C. Kulikowski

⁷Rutgers University, Department of Computer Science, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America

Abstract

Summary

Objectives: To review recent research efforts in the field of ubiquitous computing in health care. To identify current research trends and further challenges for medical informatics.

Methods: Analysis of the contents of the Yearbook on Medical Informatics 2005 of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA).

Results: The Yearbook of Medical Informatics 2005 includes 34 original papers selected from 22 peer-reviewed scientific journals related to several distinct research areas: health and clinical management, patient records, health information systems, medical signal processing and biomedical imaging, decision support, knowledge representation and management, education and consumer informatics as well as bioinformatics. A special section on ubiquitous health care systems is devoted to recent developments in the application of ubiquitous computing in health care. Besides additional synoptical reviews of each of the sections the Yearbook includes invited reviews concerning E-Health strategies, primary care informatics and wearable healthcare.

Conclusions: Several publications demonstrate the potential of ubiquitous computing to enhance effectiveness of health services delivery and organization.

But ubiquitous computing is also a societal challenge, caused by the surrounding but unobtrusive character of this technology. Contributions from nearly all of the established sub-disciplines of medical informatics are demanded to turn the visions of this promising new research field into reality.

Keywords

Medical informatics - health informatics - International Medical Informatics Association - ubiquitous computing - pervasive computing - mobile computing - yearbook

Full Text

References

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