Integration and communication of medical patient data are the principal aims of a long-term project set up at the Division of Cardiology at the German Heart Institute and the University Hospital Rudolf Virchow in close collaboration with the Functional and Logical Programming Group at the Technical University of Berlin. In order to achieve these aims, a project group has been established in which scientists and experts from various disciplines co-operate with other institutions on research and development. This project is mainly supported by the DeTeBerkom, Company for Research and Application in Telecommunication, which is funded by the German national telecommunications service TELEKOM. In addition the group has participated in several projects of the European Community: the TELEMED project (CEC RACE program), the AIMS project (CEC ESPRIT II program), and FEST project (CEC AIM program). It maintains cooperative links with companies and research and development groups in Germany, England, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands.

This book provides a snapshot describing intermediate results, steps for solutions and further directions of developments on the way to an integrated electronical medical record as a basis for complete fulfilment of all tasks in health care. It is obvious that an enterprise of such an extent has many cooperators and collaborations which cannot be completely cited. We wish to give our special thanks to all in the past and in the future who have helped in their individual context to bring about a functioning system, which will help for more rational access and handling to the problem of health care.

E. Fleck

Berlin, September 1994