In the past, technology in healthcare delivery was challenged by limitations in dealing
with fundamental physics, e.g., in radiology in the attempts to improve image quality and
resolution while simultaneously reducing radiation exposure to patients and medical professionals.
Today, the handling of rapidly increasing medical data is the challenge in modern medicine,
which is why most applications of medical technology heavily rely on sophisticated
information technology. And also the global challenges of the future - highest possible
quality of healthcare, accessible for a growing and aging population at a cost level that
can be afforded either by the individual patient or a social community - can only be
mastered by innovative concepts. Information technology to streamline processes along the
whole healthcare continuum plays a crucial role in this effort, thus increasing efficiency
in healthcare. A significant contribution in this context is knowledge driven medicine, i.e.,
the integration of available information per individual patient and per clinically relevant
reference group. By using powerful data mining technologies, this information can be
transformed into relevant knowledge to support clinical decision making within disease
oriented, yet patient centric workflows.
Examples of today's leading edge IT deployment in healthcare and scenarios on future use
cases will illustrate challenges and solutions from the perspective of the world's first
integrated diagnostics company Siemens Medical Solutions.
