Health information systems: between shared care and body area networks. Findings from the Section on health Information Systems.

OBJECTIVES To summarize current excellent research in the field of health information systems (HIS). METHODS Synopsis of the articles selected for the IMIA Yearbook 2006. RESULTS Current research in the field of HIS is focused on supporting transinstitutional health care processes including health record systems, integration of new data types and knowledge based decision support, patient empowerment, the utilization of new technologies like wearable systems or ubiquitous computing in home and personal care, and methods and tools for the analysis, development, management, and evaluation of HIS. CONCLUSIONS The best paper selection of articles on HIS comprises examples of excellent research on integration of HIS based on standards for electronic health records, methods and tools for HIS oriented change management, the use of wearable systems for telemedical surveillance of chronically ill patients, technology driven home care concepts for the elderly and physically disabled, and data privacy issues arising from the emergence of new clinical data types in the context of biomedicine. Besides successful research concerning important aspects of HIS, achieving interoperability and integration of health information subsystems and technology remains an important field of work.