Communications--future needs and present solutions

The paper is linked with what was already stated at the 1993 working conference about the healthcare professional workstation. The present and future needs about sharing and communication facilities are reviewed: telemedicine and hence telematics. Then it appears that detailed computerized patient records (CPRs) are needed. Gathering and retrieving are network dependent. CPRs constitute the necessary basis for clinical epidemiology, quality assessment, multi-centre meta-analysis. A molecular biology server is described as well as the integrated PACS. For solutions, special emphasis is given to the explosive Internet culture and to the high-speed communication networks, and the 'open systems movement'. The final discussion attempts to match 'needs' with 'solutions'.