Summary
This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on the
German Medical Informatics Initiative. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research with about 150 million Euro in its currently starting development and
networking phase this initiative has already a significant impact on the development
of health information systems in Germany. In this Focus Theme two editorials introduce
this initiative, one from the viewpoint of its funding institution and one from the
initiative’s accompanying institutions. Then the initiative’s four consortia DIFUTURE
(Data Integration for Future Medicine), HiGHmed (Heidelberg-Göttingen-Hannover Medical
Informatics), MIRACUM (Medical Informatics in Research and Care in University Medicine),
and SMITH (Smart Medical Information Technology for Healthcare) present their concepts
and plans. For better readability their manuscripts all contain three major sections
on governance and policies, on architectural framework and methodology, and on use
cases. As the German Medical Informatics Initiative is a large national experiment,
we are convinced that communicating on this initiative already at this early stage
to an international audience is of importance.
Keywords
Health information systems - medical informatics - biomedical and health informatics
- patient care - research