The next generation of interoperability agents in healthcare.
Interoperability in health information systems is increasingly a requirement rather than an option. Standards and technologies, such as multi-agent systems, have proven to be powerful tools in interoperability issues. In the last few years, the authors have worked on developing the Agency for Integration, Diffusion and Archive of Medical Information (AIDA), which is an intelligent, agent-based platform to ensure interoperability in healthcare units. It is increasingly important to ensure the high availability and reliability of systems. The functions provided by the systems that treat interoperability cannot fail. This paper shows the importance of monitoring and controlling intelligent agents as a tool to anticipate problems in health information systems. The interaction between humans and agents through an interface that allows the user to create new agents easily and to monitor their activities in real time is also an important feature, as health systems evolve by adopting more features and solving new problems. A module was installed in Centro Hospitalar do Porto, increasing the functionality and the overall usability of AIDA.
Computer Science and Technology Center, Department of Informatics, University of Minho, Campusde Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal. a55524@alunos.uminho.pt.
Luciana
L
Cardoso
Computer Science and Technology Center, Department of Informatics, University of Minho, Campusde Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal. a55561@alunos.uminho.pt.
Fernando
F
Marins
Algoritmi Center, Department of Information Systems, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal. cfp@dsi.uminho.pt.
Filipe
F
Portela
Algoritmi Center, Department of Information Systems, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal. mfs@dsi.uminho.pt.
Manuel
M
Santos
Computer Science and Technology Center, Department of Informatics, University of Minho, Campusde Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal. abelha@di.uminho.pt.
António
A
Abelha
Computer Science and Technology Center, Department of Informatics, University of Minho, Campusde Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal. jmac@di.uminho.pt.
José
J
Machado
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration*; D063005:Health Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods*; D011174:Portugal; D018511:Systems Integration