ABSTRACT
China has been implementing regional collaborative medical service (also known as e-health) for >5 years, but is still facing the challenges of bridging different community health information systems (CHISs). The fact that different communities have different systems makes it difficult to share information and data between different CHISs. To explore a solution for addressing this problem, we constructed a demonstration CHIS in Beijing's Dongcheng District. This system is based on the Software-as-a-Service model, in which a central data center is used to store users' health records and to provide different services. This system provides a comprehensive platform combining disease prevention, health protection, medical care, rehabilitation, health education, and family planning. In this article, we first show the challenge of implementing e-health-oriented CHIS in China, then we briefly introduce our solution, and finally we share our experience learned from the modern CHIS implementation practice.
Subject(s)
Information Systems/standards , Medical Records Systems, Computerized/standards , Systems Integration , Telemedicine , China , HumansABSTRACT
China started to pay more attention to the construction of a regional and national health information network after the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. The construction of a public health system is considered the most important part of national medical reform, with information and computer technology serving as the key to deploying regional collaborative medical service, also known as e-health. In this paper, we analyze the difficulties in carrying out e-health projects in China, a discussion of ongoing projects, and a case presentation representing current progress.
Subject(s)
Computer Communication Networks/organization & administration , Medical Informatics/organization & administration , Regional Health Planning/organization & administration , Regional Medical Programs , China/epidemiology , Humans , Medical Record Linkage , Public Health Administration , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Data sharing and information exchange among medical institutions is a requirement for convenient and effective data availability for both healthcare professionals and patients. In this paper, the characteristics of medical data are studied; two mainstream technologies of data storage for medical information are compared, and three strategies of medical documents storage are described with detailed advantages and disadvantages. Semi-structured storage technology is easier to deploy and much more promising to promote in a wider range than all-structured methods. The combination of central and distributed data storage is more practical for regional data sharing. This analysis suggests that semi-structural data storage technology and the combination of central and distributed data storage are efficient and fit well the current situation in China.
