Specifications and needs assessment - The RICH project: a network of information and communication for hospitals [1]
1 - INTRODUCTION
1.1 Reason
The project presented below reflects the desire to offer the profession and, in particular the chain STAF, Association of some 75 large hospitals, the range of management products which complement or replacement of current products. The establishments are equipped with chain STAF products SIGMA TAGE, Eleanor (whose initials make up part of the acronym FASD). These products will face a competing offer national, but especially international, based on widely accepted standards: in fact, the contributions of technology will overcome the problems of French language and adapt to contexts. It is by others, in this perspective that STAF started to propose the project to RICH Commission of European Communities, under the ESPRIT program 2 and a consortium was formed at the initiative of STAF. The RICH project aims to achieve an information system Hospital care production management and management of patient records, which is independent of national regulations.
The target product is formed by the supporting institutions of a certain production activity acts For example, in France, the lower limit could be the area hospitals from 400 to 500 active beds, with a external activity of about 50,000 consultations per year and characterized by an operating budget of about 200 MF.
In the terminology MIND, this is a demonstration project. This is not a research project information technology, but a concrete, applied to a particular area, to integrate existing products but innovative or ESPRIT results already achieved. After experimenting with two prototypes, including one in a STAF facility, it must be realized by the availability of ready industrialized to a broadcast.
1.2 History
The first steps to form the Consortium occurred at the end of 1987. RICH has been
a proposal to the Commission April 12, 1988. After negotiations, the consortium has presented the project with a budget of 10 million ECU, about 70 million francs, funded to the tune of 50 per project with the Commission then confirmed. The accepted proposal is a phase 1 of a larger project ambitious. The Consortium is requested to submit a proposed Phase 2 to complete the results of Phase 1.
1.3 Organization of the project
Consortium formed to achieve RICH comprises nine partners, three representatives of the occupations, two manufacturers, four service companies. They are presented in the order of the proposal:
1. BULL, France, partner manufacturer
2. IC., Britain, partner manufacturer
3. STAF, France, principal partner,
4. IIRIAM (International Institute of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence of arseilles), France, partner Associate STAF
5. SIG (Dutch Centre for Health Care Information), Netherlands, partner
6. Bazis (association of hospitals), the Netherlands, an associate partner of GIS
7. IMS (Irish Medical Systems), Ireland, Partner,
8. UCSC (Catholic University of Sacred Heart Gemelli Hospital and the Vatican), Italy, partner,
9. LOMBARDIA INFORMATICA, Italy, Partner of UCSC.
The development team is multidisciplinary and includes doctors, nurses, managers and engineers.
Great importance is given to the study of care in European countries to identify common characteristics. A particular task of the project is to verify the accuracy of selection specializations with working groups representing each country in Europe.
