A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for a high throughput genetic platform aimed at candidate gene mutation screening.

UNLABELLED: High throughput mutation screening in an automated environment generates large data sets that have to be organized and stored reliably. Complex multistep workflows require strict process management and careful data tracking. We have developed a Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) tailored to high throughput candidate gene mutation scanning and resequencing that respects these requirements. Designed with a client/server architecture, our system is platform independent and based on open-source tools from the database to the web application development strategy. Flexible, expandable and secure, the LIMS, by communicating with most of the laboratory instruments and robots, tracks samples and laboratory information, capturing data at every step of our automated mutation screening workflow. An important feature of our LIMS is that it enables tracking of information through a laboratory workflow where the process at one step is contingent on results from a previous step. AVAILABILITY: Script for MySQL database table creation and source code of the whole JSP application are freely available on our website: http://www-gcs.iarc.fr/lims/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: System server configuration, database structure and additional details on the LIMS and the mutation screening workflow are available on our website: http://www-gcs.iarc.fr/lims/

Smartcard--a vehicle of access to the health care services.

This paper presents an outline of the Slovenian national project of introduction of the health insurance card system: the background, the grounds for its launching and benefits anticipated, system design, project phases, and interoperability with international healthcard systems. The system promises to simplify appreciably the administrative procedures currently required in the patient's daily encounters with the health care system, to benefit both the patient, the health care professionals and the insurance providers; as well as to provide the health care professionals with a new tool of accessing the networked information technology resources. In addition, the system cost-benefit analyses indicate significant economic benefits, which is a significant contribution to the containment of health care service. In the present environment of trans-border mobility, the significance of international interoperability of any social service system is equally significant as its internal efficiency. Consequently, the issues of compliance to international technology and interoperability standards have been assigned the same high priority as the issues of technological features of the proposed solution in the system design and implementation phase.

Introducing cards into Slovenian health insurance and health care.

This paper presents an outline of the Slovenian project of introducing card systems into health insurance and health care: bases for its launching; scope, system design, development phases, benefits, and issues of interoperability with the other card systems. The card system will induce distinct simplifications of the procedures now performed in the health care system, improve the quality of medical administrative services to the patients. The introduction of the card technology is under way in several European countries. With the Health insurance card system project, Slovenia is joining the EU projects, and can either test in practice and implement the concepts, as well as contributes particular original solutions.