An object-oriented information model for a patient definition and management system

The management of information related to clinical activities is a complex task. In fact, patient related information reported in patient folders comes from heterogeneous sources and may be rendered by means of different modalities. Data can originate from direct observations made by physicians like in the case of objective examination. In other cases physiologic phenomena are captured by means of the involved electrical activity (like in the case of heart or brain activity), whereas anatomical structure details are obtained by means of radiologic techniques, in this paper we propose an object-oriented model of a multimedia patient folder. This model has an adequate flexibility for adapting the most different clinical environment. It allows the physician to structure the information needed for his/her patient folder without employing a programming language. Finally we show some features of the CADMIO system, a tool for designing patient folder management systems, based on this model.