Summary
Objectives:
Interoperability of applications in health care is faced with various needs by patients,
health professionals, organizations and policy makers. A combination of existing and
new applications is a necessity. Hospitals are in a position to drive many integration
solutions, but need approaches which combine local, regional and national requirements
and initiatives with open standards to support flexible processes and applications
on a local hospital level.
Methods:
We discuss systems architecture of hospitals in relation to various processes and
applications, and highlight current challenges and prospects using a service-oriented
architecture approach. We also illustrate these aspects with examples from Finnish
hospitals.
Results:
A set of main services and elements of service-oriented architectures for health
care facilities are identified, with medium-term focus which acknowledges existing
systems as a core part of service-oriented solutions. The services and elements are
grouped according to functional and interoperability cohesion.
Conclusions:
Atransition towards service-oriented architecture in health care must acknowledge
existing health information systems and promote the specification of central processes
and software services locally and across organizations. Software industry best practices
such as SOA must be combined with health care knowledge to respond to central challenges
such as continuous change in health care. A service-oriented approach cannot entirely
rely on common standards and frameworks but it must be locally adapted and complemented.
Keywords
Health information systems - interoperability - service-oriented architecture
