Medical support system for continuation of care based on XML web technology.

In this paper, the implementation of an Internet-based telematic service for medical support is presented, which was developed and operated in pilot form within the INTRANET HEALTH CLINIC project--a 2-year project supported by the European Commission under the Health Telematics Programme. The aim of the application is to offer high quality care to users of health services over inexpensive communication pathways, using Internet-based, interactive communication tools, like remote access to medical records and transmission of multimedia information. The XML technology was employed to achieve customised views on patient data, according to the access rights of different user profiles. Strict security and access control policy were implemented to ensure secure transmission of medical data through the Internet. The system was designed to collaborate with existing clinical patient record systems and to be adjustable to different medical applications. Current implementations include the fields of Oncology, Lupus Erythrematosis, Obstetrics and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease. The results of the pilot operation with oncological patients in Greece were encouraging, so that the refining of the system and its expansion to a large number of patients is already in progress.