Informatics for the Modern Intensive Care Unit

Advanced informatics systems can help improve health care delivery and the environment of care for critically ill patients. However, identifying, testing, and deploying advanced informatics systems can be quite challenging. These processes often require involvement from a collaborative group of health care professionals of varied disciplines with knowledge of the complexities related to designing the modern and "smart" intensive care unit (ICU). In this article, we explore the connectivity environment within the ICU, middleware technologies to address a host of patient care initiatives, and the core informatics concepts necessary for both the design and implementation of advanced informatics systems.