title: X-PAT: a multiplatform patient referral data management system for small healthcare institution requirements.
abstract: We present X-PAT, a platform-independent software prototype that is able to manage patient referral multimedia data in an intranet network scenario according to the specific control procedures of a healthcare institution. It is a self-developed storage framework based on a file system, implemented in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and PHP Hypertext Preprocessor Language, and addressed to the requirements of limited-dimension healthcare entities (small hospitals, private medical centers, outpatient clinics, and laboratories). In X-PAT, healthcare data descriptions, stored in a novel Referral Base Management System (RBMS) according to Health Level 7 Clinical Document Architecture Release 2 (CDA R2) standard, can be easily applied to the specific data and organizational procedures of a particular healthcare working environment thanks also to the use of standard clinical terminology. Managed data, centralized on a server, are structured in the RBMS schema using a flexible patient record and CDA healthcare referral document structures based on XML technology. A novel search engine allows defining and performing queries on stored data, whose rapid execution is ensured by expandable RBMS indexing structures. Healthcare personnel can interface the X-PAT system, according to applied state-of-the-art privacy and security measures, through friendly and intuitive Web pages that facilitate user acceptance.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, I-20133 Milan, Italy. masseroli@elet.polimi.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masseroli
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchente
mesh_terms: D003628:Database Management Systems; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D007558:Italy; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface