Collaboration--a new IT-service in the next generation of regional health care networks

During the past 10-15 years, Regional Health Care Networks have been established in many regions throughout the world. Regional Health Care Networks build on well-known techniques, methodologies and appropriate standards. Most of the European Countries have today set up IT strategic plans, with focus on establishment of Regional Health Care Networks. The benefits of having access to all relevant information are tremendous and provide a more cost-effective and coherent health service. By the rapid spread and use of Internet the technology have made it possible to interconnect all kinds of applications. The most experienced regions in Europe have joined a European project PICNIC to develop the Next Generation Regional Health Care Networks to support their new ways of providing health and social care. The previous generation of Regional Health Care Networks, developed in the past 10-15 years, supported the interconnection of applications by transfer of messages. This service will also continue to be one of the most important services in the future health care networks. Messaging is an effective means of integration of isolated high-specialised systems that only needs to exchange data. Tighter coupling may be desirable in some instances to avoid replicating the same functionality in several applications. In other words, certain services can be common and used by a number of applications instead of building that service inside each application. These common services are called middleware services. In PICNIC a new middleware Collaboration IT-service has been identified. This service allows the end users to perform real time clinical Collaboration, with exchange of text, structured data, voice and images.