Health Care Informatics

The department for Software Engineering is involved in several aspects of health informatics. The group focus on using and integrating new technology in health care. New technology gives new possibilities to rethink flow of information, work procedures and information integration. We believe new technology merged with proficient personnel is one way to solve some of the challenges in modern health care. The use of new technology involves new challenges, especially concerning system security and safety. These challenges must be considered at early stages in development and utilisation of new health care systems.

Advanced homecare systems
Advanced homecare systems utilize new technology combined with mobile health care personnel to monitor patients in their own home. Studies establish that this method for treatment can save large resources in health care, and patients are happy to get home earlier. Department of Software Engineering have participated in development of new work processes and supporting technology in projects involving Karolinska Hospital Stockholm and The University hospital in Barcelona.

Individual care plans
Modern healthcare usually involves the effort of more than one specialist. The specialists involved in the treatment of a patient have to cooperate to give the patient the best possible medical treatment. A plan for the care and treatment of each individual patient is designed to guarantee each patient the best possible treatment. The plan is also supposed to make relevant information concerning the patient available to the health care personnel involved in the treatment. Department of Software Engineering focus on developing architecture and security solutions to support cooperation among health care workers, independent of profession and part in the treatment.

Telemedicine services
We use the term Telemedicine regarding tele-consultation. The term tele-consultation is defined as patient-to-caretaker or caretaker-to-caretaker communication using different technology over telecommunication or broadband infrastructure. Integration of technology and organisation pose important challenges. Department of Software
Engineering develop solutions in telemedicine with focus on how this integration works and can be handled efficiently.

Problem oriented EPR
EPR is widely used in hospitals and general practice. The EPR systems in use today are related to the earlier version of patient record on paper and patient administrative tools. This relation to earlier patient records is the main reason modern EPR does not utilize the full range of possibilities for improving work processes and efficiency using IT. The department for Software Engineering is focusing on development of problem oriented EPR. In the problem oriented EPR the information in the journal is indexed according to problem, this indexing gives the opportunity for fast retrieval of information relevant for one particular problem regarding the patient.

Mobile health informatics systems
Health care workers need information about the patient they are treating regardless of geographic location. The different locations can range from inside a hospital, in an ambulance or at the patients home. Department for Software Engineering develop systems for simple, secure and safe access to information by mobile healthcare personnel. The department have experience on systems for both military and civilian prehospital acute medicine. These scenarios have extreme requirements regarding efficiency and adaptability, this is one reason it is imperative to utilize established methods for user requirement collection and evaluation in this work.