Progress of information technology in healthcare, current state, outlook toward future

� Brief summary of reasons for development of Hospital Information Systems (HIS) is described. We mention different concepts of HIS development. Primary negative attitude of physicians to the invasion of information technology to hospitals has been slowly changed. Extended teaching of fundamentals of computer science at medical universities is very important for a new generation of physicians. Modern methods of e-learning allow using websites and medical atlases including presentations of surgical interventions in different branches of surgical medicine, physiotherapeutic methods, etc. Medical staff in hospitals may also profit from electronic tools used for education in medical informatics or for obligatory postgraduate courses. Software producing companies are obliged to teach potential users how to use implemented information systems effectively. E-learning is a good method how to teach new employees who need to start using the system. Telematics in health service and use of Internet data storages may be a trend in future development of information systems. Large amount of patient data in current databases is a big encouragement for expanded use of data mining and application of artificial intelligence methods in medical expert systems. REASONS FOR MEDICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT There were several good reasons for genesis and development of healthcare information systems. In the beginning it was necessary to make patient medical record more precise, to store large amount of data and to accelerate data transmission. It was difficult to obtain in short time medical data from earlier treatments that were archived in paper form. It was tiring to wait for laboratory and other diagnostic results when they were prepared in laboratory and were just waiting for manual transport to demanding site. Laboratory practice was expecting rationalization of daily routine by implementation of specialized laboratory information systems connected to laboratory analyzers. Digital representation of images implied storing of those bulk data in high capacity storage with subsequent access to necessary images directly from medical departments [1]. Great attention was consequently paid to homogeneity and coding of data. Information systems started to be responsible for automatic billing to insurance companies. Existence of databases allowed fast access to stored data and have accelerated extended scientific research. Large databases became good source of data for medical publishing, e-learning material and excellent base for statistics. Building of decision support systems with well arranged outputs for medical decision making helped not only to clinicians [2] but also to healthcare managers to keep cost control in desired limits [3,23]. Special algorithms with elements of artificial intelligence may help to interpret laboratory data to physicians and to propose possible treatment. Systems are well prepared to help with calculations and sorting of patients to predefined categories. Their use for calculation of many different indicators like for example Glasgow Coma Scale [4], acute physiology score SAPS II [5], disease classification system APACHE II [6] or TISS score for patients treated on intensive care units [7] are well known among physicians. Implementation of information systems has increased substantially productivity of many departments – laboratories, imaging methods, functional examinations and consequently it increased competitive ability of those departments. artiClE history Received 31 March 2013 Revised 12 June 2013 Accepted 26 June 2013 Available online 2 July 2013