Ali Sunyaev develops a method for the organizational and technical analysis of security issues in health care. He identifies security problems in the current concept of German health-care telematics and derives recommendations for future developments in the health-care sector.

The study "European and International Perspectives on Telematics in Healthcare" was written by Stephan H. Schug on behalf of the Association for Social Security Policy and Research (GVG). The work of the author was accompanied by a team of the Health Telematics Action Forum for Germany (ATG). The ATG team members represent self-governing organizations from German Healthcare and the German Ministry of Health. Starting from an analysis of the international status quo, the study identifies up-to-date trends and strategies in e-Health. Building on this evidence, top priorities of health telematics policy and strategies for German healthcare are highlighted. The present document was written in two languages in order to facilitate international communication relating to the priorities of health telematics.

The Information Society is bringing about radical changes in the way people work and interact with each other and with information. In contrast to previous information processing paradigms, where the vast majority of computer-mediated tasks were business-oriented and executed by office workers using the personal computer in its various forms (i. e. , initially alphanumeric terminals and later on graphical user interfaces), the Information Society signifies a growth not only in the range and scope of the tasks, but also in the way in which they are carried out and experienced. To address the resulting dimensions of diversity, the notion of universal access is critically important. Universal access implies the accessibility and usability of Information Society technologies by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Universal access aims to enable equitable access and active participation of potentially all citizens in existing and emerging computer-mediated human activities by developing universally accessible and usable products and services, which are capable of accommodating individual user requirements in different contexts of use and independently of location, target machine, or run-time environment. In the context of the emerging Information Society, universal access becomes predominantly an issue of design, pointing to the compelling need for devising systematic and cost-effective approaches to designing systems that accommodate the requirements of the widest possible range of end-users. Recent developments have emphasized the need to consolidate progress by means of establishing a common vocabulary and a code of design practice, which addresses the specific challenges posed by universal access.

Title page -- Preface: Prof. Dr. Herbert Burkert -- Preface: Prof. Dr. Heyo Eckel -- Table of Contents -- Executive Summary -- Zusammenfassung -- Resume -- Resumen -- Sammanfattning -- The Editors, Key Authors, and Experts -- 1. Digital Signatures and Encryption as Key Elements of Security in Health Telematics -- 2. Methodologies Used in the Legal Studies -- 3. Liability Reference Model -- 4. Strategic Reference Model -- 5. Specific Issues in Health Care -- 6. Outlook -- 7. Materials -- Index of Subjects and Names

Electronic communications are already revolutionizing the delivery of health care in homes and communities. The medium will have increasing impact on the delivery of health care in response to the pressure to use limited resources cost-effectively. To date much of telematics in health care has focused on hospital-based bio-medicine. In this book a case is made for reorientation of telematic activity towards the use of "low tech" (social) technologies supported by "Health for All" philosophies. This book uses several case studies of pilot schemes to illustrate how the models can be applied in a variety of settings. Experience of telematics in America, Canada, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Wales is shared for an international readership of innovators in health care management.