Presented and coordinated by the Tuscany Region, its objective is to provide the National Healthcare Service and the Healthcare Services of the Regions and of the Autonomous Provinces with an integrated system, capable of creating continuous, efficient and effective services of Tele-medicine (Tele-consultation, Tele-diagnosis, Tele-assistance and Tele-aid).

LEGAL RESPONSIBLE:     Dr. Giorgio Almansi

SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBLE:     Dr. Bruno Cravedi

The project aims to provide the National Healthcare Service and the Healthcare Services of the Regions and of the Autonomous Provinces with an integrated system, capable of creating continuous, efficient and effective services of Tele-medicine.

The project will define the methodology, the managerial model, the experimentation and the evaluation of telemedicine products and services in order to classify, organize, release and transfer them in specific geographical areas. In particular, the project aims to:

  • To reduce the quantitative load of the assistance, above all the nursing assistance;
  • To reduce the access to the institutionalising services developing advanced forms of home-care integrated with all the healthcare and territorial specialist resources;
  • To allow a fast diffusion of specialist information among research and therapy centres, especially concerning fixed images or images in sequence of anatomic-metabolic activities manageable through special systems of guided interfacing;
  • To support the emergency/urgency systems reducing the time during which  patients can have access to medical services and facilitating the pre-definition of personalized intervention protocols;
  • To widen the range of services of the healthcare system and monitor its effectiveness exploiting already structured connection channels (networks, Sole Reservation Centre, systems of control).

As a result of the analysis of experiences carried out in the field of Information Technology and of some specific applications in the healthcare system, it appears that a wide standardization of procedures and protocols is not easily applicable to the complex healthcare system.

The use of "Middleware" technologies on the net, the individualization of the minimum information units in a standardized format for each application field, the wide use of databases on a geographical scale, allows to maintain procedures and protocols already experimented and suitable for each single activity.

The architectural base of the reference model is constituted by "Middleware" aspects, "Minimum Information Unities" seen as the product of various functional “isles” of the healthcare system and by the creation of “Medical Providers”. All these elements represent a crucial part of the project.

 

A part of  the integration problem can be caused by the definition of the technical and functional unity, which should connect to the central system. Such system should be present both on a unitary and on a wider spread basis. The peripheral units are defined as Functional “Isles”, and are integrated in the clinical system. The system is accessible via technical middleware (with interfaces which allow the communication between the local users, who own specific software, and the central system archive) safeguarding the investments and the autonomy of the Functional “Isles”.

The WEB can be exploited to consult the data from a remote site (HTML or Application-Server in Java) using any computer equipped with a browser regardless of the type, the distance or the platform.

 

As the administrative management system (detailing patients’ personal data) is present in the majority of cases, a functional “isle” is easily identifiable. The “isle” can be integrated in the central system as the first stone in the constitution of a system that follows the patient/citizen in his/her moves and allows access to his/her data in case of necessity.

The concept of Medical Providers represents the evolution of  the above described architecture: it is service hosting data and procedures relative to specific and well tested applications of Tele-medicine, accessible through the net. The Medical Providers offer on connections " web " " based " the half technicians to level of Server, special hardware, software and know-how, specific for the application.

The expected results of the project are:
  • Definition and creation of the catalogue
  • Detection and transfer of the pilot experiences
  • Detection of Methods for the exchange of information between the varied Operational Units involved
  • Extension on a territorial base of specific and well tested Tele-medicine applications
  • Results validation and diffusion

1.   APSS - Provincial Enterprise for Healthcare Servicies - Trento  

Legal responsible:             Dr. Carlo Favaretti

Scientific responsible:        Dr. Carlo Favaretti  

 

2.   Hospital Cannizzaro - Catania

Legal responsible:             Dr. Giuseppe Navarria    

Scientific responsible:        Dr. Angelo Pellicanò 

 

3.   Hospital S. Filippo Neri - Roma

Legal responsible:              Dr. Alessandro Correani

        Scientific responsible:         Dr. Massimo Santini

 

4.   IFC Institute of Clinical Physiology of CNR 

Legal responsible:              Prof. Luigi Donato

Scientific responsible:          Ing. Remo Bedini

 

5.   ISBEM (Euro Mediterranean Scientific Biomedical Institute)

Legal responsible:              Prof. Mario Campa

Scientific responsible:         Ing. Vincenzo Rizzo

 

6.   ISS - Advanced Healthcare Institute 

Legal responsible:              Dr. Giuseppe Benagiano

Scientific responsible:         Prof. Velio Macellari

 

7.   ITC Istituto Trentino di Cultura  

Legal responsible:                Dr. Gianni Bonvicini

        Scientific responsible:          Dr. Stefano Forti

 

8.   Basilicata Region  - Department of Social Safety and Policy

Legal responsible:             Arch. Filippo Bubbico

Scientific responsible:         Dr. Giuseppe Montagano

 

9.   Lombardia Region - Healthcare General Direction-Organizational Unit

Legal responsible:              Dr. Ranato Botti

Scientific responsible:         Dr. Maurizio Amigoni

 

10.  Valle D'Aosta Region 

Legal responsible:              Dr. Roberto Vicquery

Scientific responsible:         Dr. Piero Gaillard

 

11.   Toscana Region - Regional Coordination Group

Legal responsible:              Dr. Paola Salvi

Scientific responsible:        Ing. Angelo Marcotulli

for further information please contact:

Dr. Elena Gianicolo

tel.  +39-0831/507338

email:  gianicolo@isbem.cnrsm.it
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