4,606 research outputs found

    Integrated, reliable and cloud-based personal health record: a scoping review.

    Get PDF
    Personal Health Records (PHR) emerge as an alternative to integrate patient’s health information to give a global view of patients' status. However, integration is not a trivial feature when dealing with a variety electronic health systems from healthcare centers. Access to PHR sensitive information must comply with privacy policies defined by the patient. Architecture PHR design should be in accordance to these, and take advantage of nowadays technology. Cloud computing is a current technology that provides scalability, ubiquity, and elasticity features. This paper presents a scoping review related to PHR systems that achieve three characteristics: integrated, reliable and cloud-based. We found 101 articles that addressed thosecharacteristics. We identified four main research topics: proposal/developed systems, PHR recommendations for development, system integration and standards, and security and privacy. Integration is tackled with HL7 CDA standard. Information reliability is based in ABE security-privacy mechanism. Cloud-based technology access is achieved via SOA.CONACYT - Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

    Analyzing recommender systems for health promotion using a multidisciplinary taxonomy: A scoping review

    Get PDF
    Background: Recommender systems are information retrieval systems that provide users with relevant items (e.g., through messages). Despite their extensive use in the e-commerce and leisure domains, their application in healthcare is still in its infancy. These systems may be used to create tailored health interventions, thus reducing the cost of healthcare and fostering a healthier lifestyle in the population. Objective: This paper identifies, categorizes, and analyzes the existing knowledge in terms of the literature published over the past 10 years on the use of health recommender systems for patient interventions. The aim of this study is to understand the scientific evidence generated about health recommender systems, to identify any gaps in this field to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3) (namely, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”), and to suggest possible reasons for these gaps as well as to propose some solutions. Methods: We conducted a scoping review, which consisted of a keyword search of the literature related to health recommender systems for patients in the following databases: ScienceDirect, PsycInfo, Association for Computing Machinery, IEEExplore, and Pubmed. Further, we limited our search to consider only English-lan-guage journal articles published in the last 10 years. The reviewing process comprised three researchers who filtered the results simultaneously. The quantitative synthesis was conducted in parallel by two researchers, who classified each paper in terms of four aspects—the domain, the methodological and procedural aspects, the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories, and the technical aspects—using a new multidisciplinary taxonomy. Results: Nineteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the data analysis, for which thirty-three features were assessed. The nine features associated with the health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories were not observed in any of the selected studies, did not use principles of tailoring, and did not assess (cost)-effectiveness. Discussion: Health recommender systems may be further improved by using relevant behavior change strategies and by implementing essential characteristics of tailored interventions. In addition, many of the features required to assess each of the domain aspects, the methodological and procedural aspects, and technical aspects were not reported in the studies. Conclusions: The studies analyzed presented few evidence in support of the positive effects of using health recommender systems in terms of cost-effectiveness and patient health outcomes. This is why future studies should ensure that all the proposed features are covered in our multidisciplinary taxonomy, including integration with electronic health records and the incorporation of health promotion theoretical factors and behavior change theories. This will render those studies more useful for policymakers since they will cover all aspects needed to determine their impact toward meeting SDG3.European Union's Horizon 2020 No 68112

    Model-driven engineering techniques and tools for machine learning-enabled IoT applications: A scoping review

    Get PDF
    This paper reviews the literature on model-driven engineering (MDE) tools and languages for the internet of things (IoT). Due to the abundance of big data in the IoT, data analytics and machine learning (DAML) techniques play a key role in providing smart IoT applications. In particular, since a significant portion of the IoT data is sequential time series data, such as sensor data, time series analysis techniques are required. Therefore, IoT modeling languages and tools are expected to support DAML methods, including time series analysis techniques, out of the box. In this paper, we study and classify prior work in the literature through the mentioned lens and following the scoping review approach. Hence, the key underlying research questions are what MDE approaches, tools, and languages have been proposed and which ones have supported DAML techniques at the modeling level and in the scope of smart IoT services.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Enhancing pharmaceutical packaging through a technology ecosystem to facilitate the reuse of medicines and reduce medicinal waste

    Get PDF
    The idea of reusing dispensed medicines is appealing to the general public provided its benefits are illustrated, its risks minimized, and the logistics resolved. For example, medicine reuse could help reduce medicinal waste, protect the environment and improve public health. However, the associated technologies and legislation facilitating medicine reuse are generally not available. The availability of suitable technologies could arguably help shape stakeholders’ beliefs and in turn, uptake of a future medicine reuse scheme by tackling the risks and facilitating the practicalities. A literature survey is undertaken to lay down the groundwork for implementing technologies on and around pharmaceutical packaging in order to meet stakeholders’ previously expressed misgivings about medicine reuse (’stakeholder requirements’), and propose a novel ecosystem for, in effect, reusing returned medicines. Methods: A structured literature search examining the application of existing technologies on pharmaceutical packaging to enable medicine reuse was conducted and presented as a narrative review. Results: Reviewed technologies are classified according to different stakeholders’ requirements, and a novel ecosystem from a technology perspective is suggested as a solution to reusing medicines. Conclusion: Active sensing technologies applying to pharmaceutical packaging using printed electronics enlist medicines to be part of the Internet of Things network. Validating the quality and safety of returned medicines through this network seems to be the most effective way for reusing medicines and the correct application of technologies may be the key enabler

    The OCarePlatform : a context-aware system to support independent living

    Get PDF
    Background: Currently, healthcare services, such as institutional care facilities, are burdened with an increasing number of elderly people and individuals with chronic illnesses and a decreasing number of competent caregivers. Objectives: To relieve the burden on healthcare services, independent living at home could be facilitated, by offering individuals and their (in)formal caregivers support in their daily care and needs. With the rise of pervasive healthcare, new information technology solutions can assist elderly people ("residents") and their caregivers to allow residents to live independently for as long as possible. Methods: To this end, the OCarePlatform system was designed. This semantic, data-driven and cloud based back-end system facilitates independent living by offering information and knowledge-based services to the resident and his/her (in)formal caregivers. Data and context information are gathered to realize context-aware and personalized services and to support residents in meeting their daily needs. This body of data, originating from heterogeneous data and information sources, is sent to personalized services, where is fused, thus creating an overview of the resident's current situation. Results: The architecture of the OCarePlatform is proposed, which is based on a service-oriented approach, together with its different components and their interactions. The implementation details are presented, together with a running example. A scalability and performance study of the OCarePlatform was performed. The results indicate that the OCarePlatform is able to support a realistic working environment and respond to a trigger in less than 5 seconds. The system is highly dependent on the allocated memory. Conclusion: The data-driven character of the OCarePlatform facilitates easy plug-in of new functionality, enabling the design of personalized, context-aware services. The OCarePlatform leads to better support for elderly people and individuals with chronic illnesses, who live independently. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

    Information and communication technology-based interventions for chronic diseases consultation: Scoping review

    Get PDF
    Background: Medical consultations are often critical meetings between patients and health personnel to provide treatment, health-management advice, and exchange of information, especially for people living with chronic diseases. The adoption of patient-operated Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) allows the patients to actively participate in their consultation and treatment. The consultation can be divided into three different phases: before, during, and after the meeting. The difference is identified by the activities in preparation (before), the meeting, conducted either physically or in other forms of non-face-to-face interaction (during), and the follow-up activities after the meeting (after). Consultations can be supported by various ICT-based interventions, often referred to as eHealth, mHealth, telehealth, or telemedicine. Nevertheless, the use of ICTs in healthcare settings is often accompanied by security and privacy challenges due to the sensitive nature of health information and the regulatory requirements associated with storing and processing sensitive information. Objective: This scoping review aims to map the existing knowledge and identify gaps in research about ICT-based interventions for chronic diseases consultations. The review objective is guided by three research questions: (1) which ICTs are used by people with chronic diseases, health personnel, and others before, during, and after consultations; (2) which type of information is managed by these ICTs; and (3) how are security and privacy issues addressed? Methods: We performed a literature search in ACM, IEEE, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science and included primary studies published between January 2015 and June 2020 that used ICT before, during, and/or after a consultation for chronic diseases. This review presents and discusses the findings from the included publications structured around the three research questions. Results: Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Only five studies reported the use of ICTs in all three phases: before, during, and after consultations. The main ICTs identified were smartphone applications, webbased portals, cloud-based infrastructures, and electronic health record systems. Different devices like sensors and wearable devices were used in 23 studies to gather diverse information. Regarding the type of information managed by these ICTs, we identified nine categories: physiological data, treatment information, medical history, consultation media like images or videos, laboratory results, reminders, lifestyle parameters, symptoms, and patient identification. Security issues were addressed in 20 studies, while only eight of the included studies addressed privacy issues. Conclusions: This scoping review highlights the potential for a new model of consultation for patients with chronic diseases. Furthermore, it emphasizes the possibilities for consultations besides physical and remote meetings

    Investigating Cloud Access Security Broker In A Healthcare Service : Creating A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) Discussion Frame-work For Evaluating Security in Cloud Healthcare Services

    Get PDF
    Master's thesis in Cyber security (IKT523)Covid-19 accentuated the importance of accessible services, causing a major increase in the adoption of cloud services for enterprises. Cloud computing is a new paradigm that promises significant benefits for organizations in healthcare services. However, cloud computing also transforms enterprise architectures and introduces new problems of information security. Decision-makers in a large healthcare service provider need to justify decisions on cloud adoption, but such a task is convoluted given the different views on cloud computing and the potential impact of cyberthreats on critical infrastructures. As a consequence, cloud security controls need to be selected and implemented to complement cloud services. Our research focuses on the decision-making process for selecting a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) in a large public healthcare ICT provider in Norway. This thesis applies Action Design Research (ADR) to design a decision support tool for cloud security control selection in healthcare organizations. The result is a framework for evaluating cloud security controls that facilitates the decision-making process by considering multiple aspects of enterprise security architectures. Participants in the decision-making process can achieve a common understanding of cloud security control and a tailored assessment of how the cloud will impact information security in the organization. We present the design process and apply the framework to the CASB selection problem. As a practical implication, our findings suggest that selecting a cloud security control in a healthcare service provider is an ill-structured or “wicked” problem that requires a unique problem-solving approac

    Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in health care: where are we? A scoping review

    Get PDF
    Purpose (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves for data collection and transfer, so data is captured efficiently, automatically and in real time without human intervention. This technology, alone or in addition to other technologies has been considered as a possible solution to reduce problems that endanger public health or to improve its management. This scoping review aims to provide readers with an up-to-date picture of the use of this technology in health care settings. Methods This scoping review examines the state of RFID technology in the healthcare area for the period 2017-2022, specifically addressing RFID versatility and investigating how this technology can contribute to radically change the management of public health. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) have been followed. Literature reviews or surveys were excluded. Only articles describing technologies implemented on a real environment or on prototypes were included. Results The search returned 366 results. After screening, based on title and abstract, 58 articles were considered suitable for this work. 11 articles were reviewed because they met the qualifying requirements. The study of the selected articles highlighted six matters that can be profitably impacted by this technology Conclusion The selected papers show that this technology can improve patient safety by reducing medical errors, that can occur within operating rooms. It can also be the solution to overcome the problem of the black market in counterfeiting drugs, or as a prevention tool. Further research is needed, especially on data management, security, and privacy, given the sensitive nature of medical information

    The Future of Healthcare is in the Cloud

    Get PDF
    "Cloud" is a symbolic definition of Internet storage that can be accessed everywhere. This technology is swiftly gaining fame.1 Cloud computing is the state-of-the-art modernization in Information Technology (IT) and has provided a substitute mode for managing and accessing health data. It caters to various computing services such as intelligence, servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics. Cloud computing administers fast modernization, flexible resources, and a range of economies. It is a colossal change from the traditional method due to its cost-effectiveness, high speed, security, global scale, performance, productivity, and reliability.2 Nowadays, hospitals/clinics successfully address patients needs through the cloud, and tech-savvy healthcare professionals are switching to this advancement for its benefits.3 Furthermore, it is an important step to move health systems and data to the cloud as it has achieved popularity during the pandemic. Cloud computing is accomplishing innovative systems to attain patient portals, offering interoperability and a protective way for important data to be transmitted quickly and efficiently anytime and everywhere. 4 Moreover, experts have predicted that cloud computing can improve services in healthcare and assets in healthcare research that have changed the appearance of information technology (IT).5 Because of these gains, there is a boost in the adoption of cloud computing to establish more satisfaction among patients and healthcare providers with low costs.6 Many healthcare systems still rely on old software systems. Healthcare workers' access to data such as electronic health records (EHR), patients' prescriptions, test results, and images/scans are more equipped to diagnose and identify the good management course. Decisions regarding large amounts of information help researchers and healthcare professionals identify patterns, and clues, uncover insights and provide evidence-based management.7 As a result of the cloud, the healthcare industry is regulated, and it makes sense that the first wave of moves to the cloud is those that have no direct impact on patient care. Healthcare providers are now comfortable with the impressive benefits of the cloud. The next wave of migration of information seems to be quicker and easier. Furthermore, telemedicine is the next strong contender for modernization in the future. A survey estimated that approximately 70 per cent of face-to-face interactions with the medical care provider did not require a routine appointment. A fraction of these interactions, telemedicine, would end in significant cost-effective healthcare delivery. It is a key objective for healthcare providers as insurers, and consumer costs would continue to arise. Another significant rise is patient empowerment tools which are cloud benefits as cloud-based applications (CBA) on smartwatches that help those with health-related chronic diseases, regular monitoring, and daily management. These are nutrition, exercise, medication reminders, and blood glucose monitoring that can be easily tracked through CBA, providing a platform for doctors to improve patient’s management further. Bettering outcomes, increased efficiency, and cost-effectiveness via CBA are important components that impact the healthcare system.8 Compliance and security are the main barriers to implementing community cloud in Pakistan’s healthcare system, and the challenges are fat.9 Pakistan’s medical system is still in the initial stages of shifting to this new technology. Healthcare information, X-Rays, medications, and patient history of government and non-government health services are increasing significantly in size, diversity, and rate in this country. 10 The demand for cloud services in Pakistan is improving daily.11 To sharpen and enhance the healthcare model of the health system, cloud-based solutions provide flexibility. Today, hospitals and physicians are gathering more information from patients and places due to this advancement. Virtual care services have grown over the past year when and where patients receive care. Doctors and physicians now have regular access to patient’s information from smartwatches that help update a patient’s treatment. Health information systems (HIS) and Health Management systems (HMS) have all the data for improving patient healthcare delivery connected across the healthcare continuum, and almost all healthcare providers have moved to the cloud. Historically it was a challenging process. The command of the cloud in healthcare is innovative in storing health information. It regards permission for the right care at the right time and place. CBS also provides a secure, integrated, and scalable foundation that supports a patient's health information within healthcare premises to develop the changes needed for tomorrow. HMS will provide a cost-effective and secure platform that will be important for data integrity and high-performance data replication for evidence-based decision and management

    Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in health care: where are we? A scoping review

    Get PDF
    Purpose: (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves for data collection and transfer, so data is captured efficiently, automatically and in real time without human intervention. This technology, alone or in addition to other technologies has been considered as a possible solution to reduce problems that endanger public health or to improve its management. This scoping review aims to provide readers with an up-to-date picture of the use of this technology in health care settings. Methods: This scoping review examines the state of RFID technology in the healthcare area for the period 2017-2022, specifically addressing RFID versatility and investigating how this technology can contribute to radically change the management of public health. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) have been followed. Literature reviews or surveys were excluded. Only articles describing technologies implemented on a real environment or on prototypes were included. Results: The search returned 366 results. After screening, based on title and abstract, 58 articles were considered suitable for this work. 11 articles were reviewed because they met the qualifying requirements. The study of the selected articles highlighted six matters that can be profitably impacted by this technology Conclusion: The selected papers show that this technology can improve patient safety by reducing medical errors, that can occur within operating rooms. It can also be the solution to overcome the problem of the black market in counterfeiting drugs, or as a prevention tool. Further research is needed, especially on data management, security, and privacy, given the sensitive nature of medical information. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.
    corecore