A unified multimedia database system to support telemedicine

A unified approach to managing multimedia medical databases in a telemedicine system is proposed. In order to manage search and display patient information more efficiently we define a patient information package (PIP) as a concise data set of a patient's medical information from each visit. By means of PIP's both patient-oriented and problem-oriented query strategies which are most frequently used in daily clinical practice and medical education can be accommodated. We also provide a unified methodology for accessing various types of patient medical records as well as design two types of user interfaces high-quality data display and web-based interface for different medical service purposes. The PIP-based management of databases has been successfully implemented between the National Taiwan University (NTUH) Taipei and the Chinshan health care center Chinshan Taiwan for teleconsultation telediagnosis and tele-education.