Collaboration Technology for Real-time Treatment of Patients

Collaboration Technology for Real-time Treatment of Patients

Artemis Home Page | Project Summary | Technical Reports & Viewfoils | Artemis Team

Phase 1 Quarterly Report

January 1 - March 31, 1994

Task 1 Demonstration of Computer-assisted Collaboration in Specialty Areas

The objective of this task is to demonstrate the usefulness of computer-assisted collaboration technologies in patient care, where the general practitioner in charge of a patient's care is not physically collocated with an appropriate expert consultant. This task will demonstrate remote consultation in two specific instances: 1) between a primary care obstetrician and a tertiary care perinatologist and 2) between a primary care provider and a tertiary care radiologist.

A. Current Status:

This project leverages the work done under the ARPA DICE program. Under that program, a multimedia conference system and a MIME-compliant multimedia mail (ZEN) system were developed. These softwares are being augmented with such features as privacy-enhanced mail (PEM) as needed in this project. In addition, these softwares are being integrated with public-domain modules, such as Mosaic. As a result of interactions with physicians at Valley Health Systems (VHS) and Cabell-Huntington Hospital, we have identified the hardware and software systems requirements for the proposed scenarios. We have completed the preliminary system design and are in the detailed design phase.

B. Work Accomplished During this Period:

During this phase, the major work included:

completion of a design document for a multimedia conferencing system based on ideas from MBONE and other relevant developments in the field to meet the needs of this task;
identification of the system requirements for the following collaborative tasks:

collaboration between an obstetrician/gynecologist at a rural clinic and a perinatologist at Cabell-Huntington hospital. The asynchronous collaboration involves the exchange of prenatal flow-sheets, ultrasound images, and ultrasound reports using multimedia mail. The synchronous collaboration involves remote consultation using a multimedia conferencing system; and
collaboration between a primary care physician (PCP) at a rural clinic and a radiologist at Cabell-Huntington hospital. The asynchronous collaboration involves the exchange of referral information, X-ray images, and radiology reports using multimedia mail. The synchronous collaboration involves remote consultation using a multimedia conferencing system.

For the above two collaborative tasks, we also completed the high-level design, the patient-care process model, and the required interfaces.

Task 2 Collaboration Technology for Community Care Networks

Community health care primarily involves preventive and primary health care for community residents through the participation of individual practices, group practices, federally-funded clinics, community centers, and hospitals. Collaboration and cooperation among these multiple parties is essential for effective healthcare delivery. Limited resources and medical staff, coupled with the lack of proper health education and awareness among the population, make it difficult to provide healthcare in rural areas. The objective of this task is to develop a community care network that will allow a community of healthcare professionals to provide quality care to a rural population.

A. Current Status:

Three trips to Huntington have solidified our understanding of what needs to be done to build a Community Care Network. We have identified requirements for providing Obstetric Care, our initial focus in this study, and have determined the patient care process model for Valley Health Systems (VHS). We have developed a mockup in Mosaic that captures these ideas and have received preliminary confirmation from our collaborators at VHS that our goals are on track.

B. Work Accomplished This Period:

The following work was completed in this reporting period:

rescoping of our involvement with Cabell-Huntington Hospital. We are now envisioning the type of integration originally proposed with TDS and West Virginia University Hospitals;
identification of Wayne Clinic and Fort Gay clinics as the initial sites that will be connected to Cabell-Huntington Hospital;
identification of the users of the proposed system at these sites; and
identification of the requirements and concept of operations for our Phase 1 effort.

Task 3 Open Systems Architecture for Collaboration in Health Care

The objective of this task is to develop a domain-specific reference architecture for statewide collaboration in the health care domain that can serve as a model for promoting the use of such technology. Through direct experience with the experimental tasks, Tasks 1 and 2, we expect the architecture to evolve in its construction over the course of the project.

A. Current Status:

This task is progressing as planned toward the definition of a reference architecture for collaboration in health care. We have made progress in understanding both the particular requirements of a community care network serving Valley Health Systems and the generic requirements which these specifics represent. A number of candidate approaches are under consideration for several architectural details. Plans for infrastructure deployment are nearing completion.

B. Work Accomplished This Period:

The major work during this period included:

development of draft versions of documents that will be combined into the Reference Architecture Report. These are working documents and are not intended for distribution until Month 12;
participation in site visits to Valley Health Systems (VHS) and Cabell-Huntington Hospital and contribution to the requirements definition and analysis efforts of Tasks 1 and 2. Although severe winter storms made travel impossible and delayed these efforts, they are now well under way; and
selection of specific clinics at VHS for initial participation in the study. Fielded systems at Cabell-Huntington Hospital were surveyed for their potential as information sources and for their impact on infrastructure and architecture design.

Task 4 Integration of Patient Care Information Legacy Systems

The objective of this task is to demonstrate open and easy access to patient information from legacy hospital information systems. This task is now focusing on integration at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH).

A. Current Status:

This task has not begun as of this reporting period. The statement of work to be performed is being revised because negotiations with TDS Healthcare Systems Corporation did not converge due to reasons beyond our control. Since February, we have focused on identifying what can be done instead with Cabell-Huntington Hospital. Three trips to Cabell-Huntington Hospital have given us insight into what needs to be done to integrate information sources at Cabell-Huntington Hospital with those of Valley Health Systems. We have proposed changes to this task to focus on Cabell instead of TDS and West Virginia University Hospitals.

B. Work Accomplished This Period:

None

http://www.cerc.wvu.edu/nlm/artemis/project_reports/p1q2.html
September 3, 1997, by Mary Carriger