title: Facilitation of health care delivery through enhanced communications.
abstract: To realize the advantages of advanced computing technology in medicine we will have to blend computing and communications facilities into a seamless entity that can support ubiquitous computing for medical use. Work-group computing applications, high speed networks linking a multiplicity of servers, and mobile computing platforms can provide the next generation of devices and services for the physician. Ultimately, the biggest challenge for communications and computing in medicine will be found in the requirement for standards in semantics and syntax in the highest levels of the OSI model. We present here our view of the functional requirements for physician communications and computing to meet standard medical practice in Western societies.
authors.affiliation: Office of Information Technology, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Medical Center, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Buffone
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004501:Education, Medical; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D016490:Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013597:Systems Analysis; D013685:Telecommunications; D014584:User-Computer Interface