User Guidelines (v. 33) (Studies in Health Technology and Informatics)

The efficiency of modern health care relies increasingly upon a computerized infrastructure. It provides easy processing and communication of images, sound and texts, but its very ease of use can threaten patient privacy, accountability and health care professional secrecy. Developments in community care are also considered responsible for the fact that many aspects of patient care are delivered outside the closed walls of a hospital, and hence patient records must also be accessible and updated throughout the community. Therefore, the introduction of health care technology should focus primarily on the improvement of the health of patients, or at least should avoid putting patients' health at risk. The need for the right information to be available to the right person at the right time is therefore vital. The contributors to this study argue that information technology deeply affects the confidential relationship between patient and doctor, since it increasingly surrounds and mediates it. Information systems in health care establishments are developing towards an integrated system where various users can interact and communicate. The contributers predict that this process of integration will cross the borders of local health care establishments, and that it will progressively expand into patients' homes, for example. Thus a European health care community will be formed, in order to support the mobility of patients, the exchange of medical and administrative data, and the transfer of bills and money. The study addresses the movement towards an integrated health care system. This is Volume 33 in the series "Health, Technology and Informatics". The volumes are available separately or as a complete set.