Classification of Architectural Styles based on the Dimensions of the Integration of Hospital Information Systems

Introduction: Hospital information system (HIS) is a comprehensive software for integrating patient information for sending and exchanging health information between wards and other medical centers in order to accelerate the process of patient care and treatment, improve quality, and increase patient satisfaction. The advent of diverse and heterogeneous health care information systems in the field of e-health has led to interoperable problems. In this regard, this study aimed to provide the necessary architectural styles, to achieve an integrated HIS architecture, classified into six main categories, including distributed, dataflow, and modern systems. Method: In this strategic applied study, first, different types of HIS architectural models, their requirements, the concept of interoperability and its dimensions, and different types of architectural styles and their categories were examined. Then, according to HIS requirements and interoperability dimensions, the classification of architectural styles was proposed. Results: The results showed that the use of appropriate architectural styles facilitates the achievement of integrated architecture. The proposed classification of architectural styles is formed of six categories of systems including system of systems, shared memory, dataflow, calling, distributed, and modern systems. Conclusion: Integration in HIS subsystems is one of the essentials in health systems. Applying the proposed classification supports architects in selecting interoperable requirements properly with the help of different architectural styles and placing them in the integrated HIS architectural design.