Reflections Towards the Future of Medical Informatics.

OBJECTIVE: To provide guidance on the future development and role of medical informatics, or biomedical and health informatics, in form of reflections. METHOD: To report on the author's previous activities as a medical informatician, which spans almost half a century. It began in 1973 when he started to study medical informatics. In 1978, more than four decades ago, his professional work started. He retired at the end of summer semester 2021. This was the occasion to prepare this farewell lecture. RESULTS: In twenty reflections, thoughts are presented on professional careers (R1 - 'places'), on medical informatics as discipline (R2 - 'interdisciplinarity', R3 - 'focuses', R4 - 'affiliations'), on research (R5 - 'duality', R6 - 'confluences', R7 - 'correlations', R8 - 'collaboration'), on education (R9 - 'community', R10 - 'competencies', R11 - 'approaches'), on academic self-governance (R12 - 'autonomy'), on engagement (R13 - 'Sisyphos', R14 - 'professional societies', R15 - 'respect', R16 - 'tightrope walk'), and on good scientific practice (R17 - 'time invariants', R18 - 'Zeitgeist', R19 - 'knowledge gain', R20 - 'exercising'). CONCLUSIONS: It has been a pleasure for me to participate in medical informatics activities for almost fifty years. During that time, there have been significant advances, including in medicine and in informatics, and also in medical informatics itself. And now it is the turn of others. While keeping in mind that tradition is not preserving the ashes, but passing on the fire, this report with its reflections may be of some help.

Trans-O-MIM-An International Research Project on Open Access Transformation: Outcomes and Lessons Learned.

BACKGROUND: During the last decades, the Open Access paradigm has become an important approach for publishing new scientific knowledge. From 2015 to 2020, the Trans-O-MIM research project was undertaken with the intention to identify and to explore solutions in transforming subscription-based journals into Open Access journals. Trans-O-MIM stands for strategies, models, and evaluation metrics for the goal-oriented, stepwise, sustainable, and fair transformation of established subscription-based scientific journals into Open-Access-based journals with Methods of Information in Medicine as an example. OBJECTIVES: To present an overview of the outcomes of the Trans-O-MIM research project as a whole and to share our major lessons learned. METHODS: As an approach for transforming journals, a Tandem Model has been proposed and implemented for Methods of Information in Medicine. For developing a metric to observe and assess journal transformations, scenario analysis has been used. A qualitative and a two-tier quantitative study on drivers and obstacles of Open Access publishing for medical informatics researchers was designed and conducted. A project setup with a research team, a steering committee, and an international advisory board was established. Major international medical informatics events have been used for reporting and for receiving feedback. RESULTS: Based on the Tandem Model, the journal Methods of Information in Medicine has been transformed into a journal where, in addition to its subscription-based track, from 2017 onwards a Gold Open Access track has been successfully added. An evaluation metric, composed of 5 scenarios and 65 parameters, has been developed, which can assist respective decision makers in assessing such transformations. The studies on drivers and obstacles of Open Access publishing showed that, while most researchers support the idea of making scientific knowledge freely accessible to everyone, they are hesitant about actually living this practice by choosing Open Access journals to publish their own work. Article-processing charges and quality issues are perceived as the main obstacles in this respect, revealing a two-sided evaluation of Open Access models, reflecting the different viewpoints of researchers as authors or readers. Especially researchers from low-income countries benefit from a barrier-free communication mainly in their role as readers and much less in their role as authors of scientific information. This became also evident at the institutional level, as Open Access policies or financial support through funding bodies are most prevalent in Europe and North America. CONCLUSION: With Trans-O-MIM, an international research project was performed. An existing journal has been transformed. In addition, with the support of the International Medical Informatics Association, as well as of the European Federation for Medical Informatics and of the German Association for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology as European and German medical informatics organizations, we did run an international experiment on Open Access incentives. Both together are, as far as the authors know, unique. We therefore expect that this research could add new knowledge on Open Access transformation.

Health Information Systems: Past, Present, Future - Revisited.

BACKGROUND: Health information systems (HIS) represent an essential part of the infrastructure for the delivery of good health care. OBJECTIVES: To present the author's personal views on HIS developments over the last decades and on the opportunities and priorities for future HIS developments. METHODS: Reflecting on his views, the author identified relevant semantic dimensions, which are denoted as development paths, and searched for appropriate periods to characterize HIS development leaps. RESULTS: HIS developments were divided into the periods past (1961-2016), present (2017-2022), and future (the next decades). Eight development paths for HIS were considered as being relevant to presenting the author's views: life situations related to health care, entities for health care, health care facilities, settings of health care, data to be processed, features for functions, architectures of HIS, and management of HIS. For each of these paths, the past and present states as well as challenges and opportunities for future HIS developments were outlined. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The presented views on HIS developments and the selected development paths and periods are by nature subjective 'avant la lettre'. The views were, however, formed over almost half a century during which the author has been engaged with HIS developments, and thus may be worth reporting and discussion. If past is prologue, the tremendous HIS developments in the past and in the present may predict a similar development intensity in the future. Present HIS are significantly better than HIS of the past, however they leave room for continued improvement with an end of HIS developments far from sight.

The International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics: 2021 Update.

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the activities of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) in 2021 and welcome its 2021 Class of Fellows. METHODS: Report on governance, strategic directions, newly elected fellows, plenary meetings, and other activities of the Academy. RESULTS: As in 2020, all of the Academy's activities were carried out virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, new Board members were elected. Strategic activities in data standards and interoperability and in mentorship moved forward. A new class of 26 Fellows was elected, bringing the total membership of the Academy to 204 Fellows from all regions of the world. In addition, a virtual plenary meeting was held. CONCLUSIONS: The Academy has continued to pursue its role as the honorific society globally for biomedical and health informatics. Expansion of strategic activities and membership will continue moving forward.

Applied Clinical Informatics Journal: A Brief History.

In 2009, Schattauer Verlag in Stuttgart, Germany first published the Applied Clinical Informatics (ACI) Journal. ACI has served since its inception as an official journal of the International Medical Informatics Association. Later, the American Medical Informatics Association and the European Federation for Medical Informatics named ACI as an official journal. This manuscript describes the history of the journal from its inception to present day including publication measures, challenges, and successes.

On Appropriate Evaluation Methodologies in the Context of Using Both Accident and Health Record Data.

Accident and emergency informatics has become a new approach to accident research in the era of digitization, where it has become realistic to integrate data recorded at accident sites with data in electronic health records of patients. This chapter deals with the question on whether the existing and well-established evaluation methodologies used in accident-centered research as well as in patient-centered research within clinical medicine are sufficient and should also be used for such integrated data or whether they have to be modified or extended. Based on the Gaus-Muche-Nomenclature on studies in clinical medicine, it will be outlined which types of studies are appropriate here. In addition to observational studies and registers, controlled trials using randomization are also be regarded as an important approach for gaining new knowledge. In order to appropriately access data from health records and from accidents, standards for representing and communicating data for such studies will be of importance. Another criterion is referential integrity. Here and with respect to accidents the International Standard Accident Number (ISAN) may be of importance.

Development of a Role Model for the Use of Smart Home Based Data in Medical Care.

Smart home systems create new opportunities for patient care. In this paper, a role model is created for the different groups of people involved in the care process of an occupant. Based on a systematic literature review seven roles were identified. A second literature review deals with the topic Feedback of Smart Home Systems. Combining both reviews visualization proposals were created and are presented for two of the roles. The role model is adapted to German health system but could be transformed for different countries. To confirm the results an evaluation of role model and visualization proposal should be done in collaboration with possible users of smart homes.

Mobile Health Applications for Rehabilitation of Musculoskeletal Diseases of the Shoulder: A Systematic Analysis.

Rehabilitation of musculoskeletal diseases (MSD) of the shoulder is a multifaceted long-term process, which is often not transparent to affected patients. Mobile health applications (apps) have the potential to support this complex process by improving patients' self-management skills. However, there seems to be a lack of apps providing a holistic approach to motivate and guide patients during the whole rehabilitation process. Therefore, a systematic analysis of apps on Google Play Store was conducted by two independent reviewers. A total of 3227 apps were identified, of which 64 met the eligibility criteria for the qualitative analysis. The majority of analyzed apps were developed generally for patients with MSD of the shoulder, rarely for specific diseases (individual needs of patients). The majority of apps focus on the provision of information, exercise training, and alternative medicine. Apps for diagnostics, inpatient treatment, and self-management, especially for multiple rehabilitation phases, are rare or even not existent. Game design elements are seldom used. If there are any, then simple to implement ones, e.g. messages and progress bars. The (psychological) effects of individual game design elements on patients seem to be neglected, when selecting and implementing game-components.

OnTARi: an ontology for factors influencing therapy adherence to rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Adherence and motivation are key factors for successful treatment of patients with chronic diseases, especially in long-term care processes like rehabilitation. However, only a few patients achieve good treatment adherence. The causes are manifold. Adherence-influencing factors vary depending on indications, therapies, and individuals. Positive and negative effects are rarely confirmed or even contradictory. An ontology seems to be convenient to represent existing knowledge in this domain and to make it available for information retrieval. METHODS: First, a manual data extraction of current knowledge in the domain of treatment adherence in rehabilitation was conducted. Data was retrieved from various sources, including basic literature, scientific publications, and health behavior models. Second, all adherence and motivation factors identified were formalized according to the ontology development methodology METHONTOLOGY. This comprises the specification, conceptualization, formalization, and implementation of the ontology "Ontology for factors influencing therapy adherence to rehabilitation" (OnTARi) in Protégé. A taxonomy-oriented evaluation was conducted by two domain experts. RESULTS: OnTARi includes 281 classes implemented in ontology web language, ten object properties, 22 data properties, 1440 logical axioms, 244 individuals, and 1023 annotations. Six higher-level classes are differentiated: (1) Adherence, (2) AdherenceFactors, (3) AdherenceFactorCategory, (4) Rehabilitation, (5) RehabilitationForm, and (6) RehabilitationType. By means of the class AdherenceFactors 227 adherence factors, thereof 49 hard factors, are represented. Each factor involves a proper description, synonyms, possibly existing acronyms, and a German translation. OnTARi illustrates links between adherence factors through 160 influences-relations. Description logic queries implemented in Protégé allow multiple targeted requests, e.g., for the extraction of adherence factors in a specific rehabilitation area. CONCLUSIONS: With OnTARi, a generic reference model was built to represent potential adherence and motivation factors and their interrelations in rehabilitation of patients with chronic diseases. In terms of information retrieval, this formalization can serve as a basis for implementation and adaptation of conventional rehabilitative measures, taking into account (patient-specific) adherence factors. OnTARi also enables the development of medical assistance systems to increase motivation and adherence in rehabilitation processes.

The International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI): 2020 Report.

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the major activities of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) in the 2020 time period and to welcome its 2020 Class of Fellows. METHOD: Report from the members of the Academy's Board. RESULTS: Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, both Plenary meetings in 2020 had to be organized as virtual meetings. Scientific discussions, focusing on mobilizing computable biomedical knowledge and on data standards and interoperability formed major parts of these meetings. A statement on the use of informatics in pandemic situations was elaborated and sent to the World Health Organization. A panel on data standards and interoperability started its work. 34 Fellows were welcomed in the 2020 Class of Fellows so that the Academy now consists of 179 members. CONCLUSIONS: There was a shift from supporting to strategic activities in the Academy's work. After having achieved organizational stability, the Academy can now focus on its strategic work and so on its main objective.

Acceptance Study on the Usage of Health-Enabling Technologies in Therapy and Diagnostics for People with Mental Disorders.

Mental disorders are widespread among the world's population and place a high burden on both the people affected and the economy. In this area of health care and prevention major deficits can be found. Health-enabling technologies are being developed in order to provide support in the therapy and diagnostics of mental disorders. However, it is not clear whether patients are open to these technologies and what they expect from a suitable usage. The main goal of this study is to find out what opinions, hopes and fears mentally ill persons have towards a supporting treatment with health-enabling technologies. Personal interviews were conducted with psychiatric patients for that purpose. The evaluation of the interview data revealed a predominantly positive mindset of the participants. In addition to the general question according to the acceptance, requirements and expectations for the use of health-enabling technologies were acquired. In this context the concern of an invasion of privacy was exposed as a major barrier.

International Comparison of Six Basic eHealth Indicators Across 14 Countries: An eHealth Benchmarking Study.

BACKGROUND: Many countries adopt eHealth applications to support patient-centered care. Through information exchange, these eHealth applications may overcome institutional data silos and support holistic and ubiquitous (regional or national) information logistics. Available eHealth indicators mostly describe usage and acceptance of eHealth in a country. The eHealth indicators focusing on the cross-institutional availability of patient-related information for health care professionals, patients, and care givers are rare. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to present eHealth indicators on cross-institutional availability of relevant patient data for health care professionals, as well as for patients and their caregivers across 14 countries (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States) to compare our indicators and the resulting data for the examined countries with other eHealth benchmarks and to extend and explore changes to a comparable survey in 2017. We defined "availability of patient data" as the ability to access data in and to add data to the patient record in the respective country. METHODS: The invited experts from each of the 14 countries provided the indicator data for their country to reflect the situation on August 1, 2019, as date of reference. Overall, 60 items were aggregated to six eHealth indicators. RESULTS: Availability of patient-related information varies strongly by country. Health care professionals can access patients' most relevant cross-institutional health record data fully in only four countries. Patients and their caregivers can access their health record data fully in only two countries. Patients are able to fully add relevant data only in one country. Finland showed the best outcome of all eHealth indicators, followed by South Korea, Japan, and Sweden. CONCLUSION: Advancement in eHealth depends on contextual factors such as health care organization, national health politics, privacy laws, and health care financing. Improvements in eHealth indicators are thus often slow. However, our survey shows that some countries were able to improve on at least some indicators between 2017 and 2019. We anticipate further improvements in the future.

AGT-Reha-WK study: protocol for a non-inferiority trial comparing the efficacy and costs of home-based telerehabilitation for shoulder diseases with medical exercise therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Shoulder lesions rank among the top 15 diagnoses accounting for days of incapacity to work. Inpatient or full-day outpatient rehabilitation are some of the standard therapies. For sustainable rehabilitation, continuation of rehabilitation after discharge from a rehabilitation centre is vital. Besides medical exercise therapy (MET), home-based physical exercise programmes are used. To monitor exercise quantity and quality, AGT-Reha, a health-enabling technology for home rehabilitation, has been developed and evaluated in a pilot study for technical feasibility and acceptance. To integrate the digital therapeutic AGT-Reha into regular healthcare processes, an efficacy evaluation is required. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: AGT-Reha-WK is a prospective, monocentric, non-randomised, unblinded non-inferiority trial. Primary objective is to investigate whether AGT-Reha enhanced home-based exercise training is non-inferior to MET as standard aftercare. Secondary objective is to compare the costs of both therapies. Efficacy as medical success (primary outcome) is examined with regard to ability to work, return to work and sustainability of training (secondary outcomes). The outcome measure for non-inferiority is shoulder function (pain and disability) assessed by the standardised Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). The non-inferiority margin is set to 10 points on SPADI score using a 95% CI. Subjects will be recruited at the Rehabilitation Center Bad Pyrmont, Germany. The total number of subjects should be 84 (42 per group). Treatment takes 6 months per patient. Subjects will be assessed at four time points: pre-baseline (admission to rehabilitation centre), baseline (discharge from rehabilitation centre), post-therapy and follow-up (3 months post-therapy). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Hannover Medical School (ethics approval no: 7313). Results of the trial are planned to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00011596. Registered 2 June 2017. Recruitment started on 3 March 2017, and it is expected to continue until December 2020. PROTOCOL VERSION: V2.0, 23 May 2018, Amendment 01: improved risk analysis, clarification of exclusion criteria to increase reproducibility, additional documentation with OpenClinica; these changes have no effect on structural equality.

A Metric for Evaluating a Transformation of Subscription-Based Journals into Open-Access Journals.

Open Access is an upcoming paradigm to communicate scientific knowledge. The Trans-O-MIM Project works on strategies, models, and evaluation metrics for the goal-oriented, stepwise, sustainable, and fair transformation of established subscription-based scientific journals into open-access-based journals. This research intends to present an evaluation metric and the associated identified appropriate parameters for such transformations. To develop the evaluation metric, it has been implemented in the context of a business management method for planning, steering and controlling action and corporate strategies. The central element was a 3-step procedure for developing the metric. In stage 1 necessary preconditions for a transformation were considered. Stage 2 is the actual elaboration of the evaluation metric by means of a scenario analysis and stage 3 comprises the exemplary testing at the journal Methods of Information in Medicine. The three methodological steps have primarily resulted in 5 scenarios with 9 different final states from the scenario analysis. Thus, the metric is now composed of these 5 scenarios, which can be used to evaluate the success or failure of a transformation. A list of 65 suitable parameters to measure changes in scenario were compiled. So, it is possible to evaluate the transformation and to find the current final state. Parameters like submissions, publications, and time as well as the scenario states could be applied to the transformation process of the Methods of Information in Medicine journal. The proposed evaluation metric can be used to evaluate the transformation processes of subscription-based journals into open-access-based journals.

International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI): Strategy and Focus Areas, 1st Version.

BACKGROUND: The International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) is the Academy of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA). As an international forum for peers in biomedical and health informatics, the Academy shall play an important role in exchanging knowledge, providing education and training, and producing policy documents. OBJECTIVES: A major priority of the Academy's activities in its inaugural phase was to define its strategy and focus areas in accordance with its objectives and to prioritize the Academy's work, which can then be transferred to respective taskforces. METHOD: This document reflects the major outcomes of intensive discussions that occurred during 2019. It was presented at the Academy's 3rd Plenary on August 25th, 2019, in Lyon, France. RESULTS: Regardless of the 'living nature' of the strategy and focus areas document, it was concluded during the Plenary that the first version, which will be used as a base for decisions on the Academy's future activities, should be made available to a broad audience. Three out of eight 'Visions for IAHSI', presented in the IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics 2018, were identified as central for developing, implementing, and evaluating the Academy's strategic directions: (1) advise governments and organizations on developing health and health sciences through informatics, (2) stimulate progress in biomedical and health informatics research, education, and practice, and (3) share and exchange knowledge. Taskforces shall be implemented to work in the following areas, which were considered as priority themes: (1) artificial intelligence in health: future collaboration of entities with natural and with artificial intelligence in health care, and (2) current landscape of standards for digital health. CONCLUSIONS: Taskforces are now being established. Besides specific key performance indicators, suggested for monitoring the work of theses taskforces, the strategy to monitor the progress of the Academy itself has to be measured by relevant and acceptable metrics.

Health-Enabling Technologies for Telerehabilitation of the Shoulder: A Feasibility and User Acceptance Study.

BACKGROUND: After discharge from a rehabilitation center the continuation of therapy is necessary to secure already achieved healing progress and sustain (re-)integration into working life. To this end, home-based exercise programs are frequently prescribed. However, many patients do not perform their exercises as frequently as prescribed or even with incorrect movements. The telerehabilitation system AGT-Reha was developed to support patients with shoulder diseases during their home-based aftercare rehabilitation. OBJECTIVES: The presented pilot study AGT-Reha-P2 evaluates the technical feasibility and user acceptance of the home-based telerehabilitation system AGT-Reha. METHODS: A nonblinded, nonrandomized exploratory feasibility study was conducted over a 2-year period in patients' homes. Twelve patients completed a 3-month telerehabilitation exercise program with AGT-Reha. Primary outcome measures are the satisfying technical functionality and user acceptance assessed by technical parameters, structured interviews, and a four-dimensional questionnaire. Secondary endpoints are the medical rehabilitation success measured by the active range of motion and the shoulder function (pain and disability) assessed by employing the Neutral-0 Method and the standardized questionnaire "Shoulder Pain and Disability Index" (SPADI), respectively. To prepare an efficacy trial, various standardized questionnaires were included in the study to measure ability to work, capacity to work, and subjective prognosis of work capacity. The participants have been assessed at three measurement points: prebaseline (admission to rehabilitation center), baseline (discharge from rehabilitation center), and posttherapy. RESULTS: Six participants used the first version of AGT-Reha, while six other patients used an improved version. Despite minor technical problems, all participants successfully trained on their own with AGT-Reha at home. On average, participants trained at least once per day during their training period. Five of the 12 participants showed clinically relevant improvements of shoulder function (improved SPADI score > 11). The work-related parameters suggested a positive impact. All participants would recommend the system, ten participants would likely reuse it, and seven participants would have wanted to continue their use after 3 months. CONCLUSION: The findings show that home-based training with AGT-Reha is feasible and well accepted. Outcomes of SPADI indicate the effectiveness of aftercare with AGT-Reha. A controlled clinical trial to test this hypothesis will be conducted with a larger number of participants.

Detection of Psychomotor Agitation Pattern from Motion Sensor Data in a Living Environment of a Patient with Dementia.

Agitation is a symptom of many mental illnesses such as dementia. The aim of this work is to detect psychomotor agitation pattern in the living environment of a patient with dementia. To reach this goal, we built a smart home environment to collect the motion data of our patient. These data can be used to show the single movements of a person between different rooms in this apartment. The interpretation of these movements allows us to conclude if movements are normal or look like psychomotor agitation, in particular wandering around. This information might be useful for further analysis and interpretation. Additionally, it might be possible that the movement can give an indication of possible mood and behavioural changes in the patient. So it should be possible to create a long-term living environment that enables residents to live a long and independent life in their own home.

The International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI): IMIAs Academy is Now Established and on Track.

OBJECTIVES: To summarize the major activities of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (IAHSI) from 2018 until 2019, and to provide an outline of actions planned for 2020. METHOD: Reporting about these activities and actions by the members of the Academy's first Board. RESULTS: Academy bylaws were accepted by the Academy Plenary and the IMIA General Assembly on August 25th, 2019 and August 26th, 2019, respectively. Academy's strategy and focus areas were developed. Based on the Academy's eligibility criteria, the 2018/2019 Class made of 26 new Academy Fellows was elected. Future activities will concentrate on building taskforces for developing and implementing major Academy focus areas. CONCLUSIONS: We are glad to report that the Academy is strong and thriving.

CASEPLUS-SimPat: An Intersectoral Web-Based Case Management System for Multimorbid Dementia Patients.

One main challenge of health care systems in future will be the care and treatment of dementia patients. To their advanced age, dementia patients do not only have limitations in cognition, perception, and articulation, but also suffer from several other diseases (multimorbidity). These patients have sophisticated needs for assistance, care, and treatment relying on different health care sectors. Well-known communication and coordination deficits between sectors are intensified in the case of dementia, to the above described limitations. Coordination processes concerning the transition of patients from hospitals to inpatient or outpatient aftercare pose particularly difficult. To show a possible future direction for improving intersectoral care of dementia patients, we developed the web-based case management system CASEPLUS-SimPat as part of the project SimPat "Securing Integrated Care for Multi-morbid Patients with Dementia using an IT-based Service Concept". CASEPLUS-SimPat allows health care professionals, hospital employees and general practitioners, to jointly access patient data and exchange information about the treatment of patients. The case management system was implemented in a three-tier architecture with a role-based authorization concept. A portal for relatives complements the system. By providing precise information and e-learning services, caring relatives are integrated into the care process. In a pilot test, CASEPLUS-SimPat shows a good usability. Adapting aspects, such as keywords used to structure entries will make it easier to find required information, and thus will increase usability. Next steps comprise integration of further health care professionals and care facilities as well as real-life testing in terms of feasibility and effectiveness.

Analysing the Scientific Publications of Peter Reichertz: Reflections from the Perspective of Medical Informatics Knowledge Today.

Professor Peter L. Reichertz is one of the most significant pioneers in the field of medical informatics worldwide. In 1969, 50 years ago, he became Professor at the Hannover Medical School. On the occasion of this anniversary an attempt was made to report on the scientific work of Peter Reichertz and to reflect on this work in the light of medical informatics knowledge today. The aim of this study was to search publications listings in the Peter L. Reichertz Archive, in Pubmed/Medline, and in the Web of Science. As well as to analyse contents and communication approaches to help in classifying Peter Reichertz's scientific publications. Three comprehensive publication lists were identified: the Print Bibliography (384 publications), the Disc Bibliography (285 publications) and the Selected Publications Bibliography (111 publications). Based on the last bibliography, a classification was built along the semantic dimensions of (1) major topics, (2) fields of publication, and (3) publication languages. Major contents of Peter Reichertz's research in informatics were medical informatics as a field (including education), informatics applications in medicine and health care, and health information systems. Clear shifts over time were observed. To his research on informatics applications, in the 1970s health information systems was added as topic, which then became a major part of his research. While in the 1960s and earlier German was a major publication language, from the 1970s onwards this shifted to English as the major language. Peter Reichertz very early identified the potential of computers in medicine and health care. He did not just use information and communication technology and information processing methodology as if they were other technology, such as microscopes or ultrasonic devices, for improving diagnosis and therapy. He was visionary enough to very early see the revolutionary potential of informatics for biomedicine and health care, with consequential impact on research and education.