European prototype for integrated care.

Describes the EPIC (European prototype for integrated care) project which was set up in 1992 with the aim of ¿improving the quality of care provided to vulnerable people living in the community through the development of a prototype information system for integrated care capable of supporting the sharing of information between health and social care professional¿s. The main application was for care of the elderly with pilot sites in Northern Ireland, Finland, and Spain. The prototype supports multidisciplinary assessment, care planning, and delivery of care. The project ended in 1994 and further development of the prototype as a generic community information system is being undertaken in the ITHACA project, within the European Commission Fourth Framework Health Telematics Programme.