From Legacy Systems via Client/Server to Web Browser Technology in Hospital Informatics in Finland

The majority of hospital information system installations in Finland are based on a legacy technology from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This paper presents an architecture and a tool set which provide a migration path from terminal-based to client/server technology, conserving much of the investments in existing applications. It is argued, though, that a new technological revolution is required in the form of extending the web browser/server technology to operational information systems in hospitals. A blueprint is presented for a further migration path from client/server to browser/server technology. The browser technology is regarded as a major challenge to hospital information systems in the next few years. Keywords: Hospital Information Systems, Computer Systems Development, Software Design Introduction The majority of the hospital information system installations in Finland make use of the Musti family of patient information systems. These systems originate fr..