From hospital information systems to health information systems

With the current development of Hospital Information Systems in Public Hospitals and Private Clinics, and the general informatization of family doctors, it is obvious that the electronic communication of medical data is the next step for a more rapid and efficient communication in the medical sector. Many of the available solutions are rarely generalizable. Some are simple to install for instance: securized medical e-mail; shared patient records, medical portals. Other solutions are more flexible, and can integrate the previous ones. It is the case of Inter-Mediation Platforms, assuring the communication of messages between hospitals, private doctors, labs, and Homecare organizations. But this solution is technically complex and the organization of such a network is not obvious in the French Healthcare System, where the cooperation between the private and public organizations would need to be reinforced.