The Implementation of Federated Digital Identifiers in Health Care: Rapid Review.

BACKGROUND: Federated digital identifiers (FDIs) have been cited to improve the interoperability of data and information management while enhancing the privacy of individuals verifying their identity on the web. Many countries around the world have implemented FDIs in various sectors, such as banking and government. Similarly, FDIs could improve the experience for those wanting to access their health care information; however, they have only been introduced in a few jurisdictions around the world, and their impact remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this environmental scan was to describe how FDIs have been established and implemented to enable patients' access to health care. METHODS: We conducted this study in 2 stages, with the primary stage being a rapid review, which was supplemented by a targeted gray literature search. Specifically, the rapid review was conducted through a database search of MEDLINE and Embase, which generated a list of countries and their services that use FDIs in health care. This list was then used to conduct a targeted gray literature search using the Google search engine. RESULTS: A total of 93 references from the database and targeted Google searches were included in this rapid review. FDIs were implemented in health care in 11 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan) and exclusively used with a patient-accessible electronic health record system through a single sign-on interface. The most common FDIs were implemented nationally or provincially, and establishing them usually required individuals to visit a bank or government office in person. In contrast, some countries, such as Australia, allow individuals to verify their identities entirely on the web. We found that despite the potential of FDIs for use in health care to facilitate the amalgamation of health information from different data sources into one platform, the adoption of most health care services that use FDIs remained below 30%. The exception to this was Australia, which had an adoption rate of 90%, which could be correlated with the fact that it leveraged an opt-out consent model. CONCLUSIONS: This rapid review highlights key features of FDIs across regions and elements associated with higher adoption of the patient-accessible electronic health record systems that use them, like opt-out registration. Although FDIs have been reported to facilitate the collation of data from multiple sources through a single sign-on interface, there is little information on their impact on care or patient experience. If FDIs are used to their fullest potential and implemented across sectors, adoption rates within health care may also improve.

Formación de competencias informacionales en Bioinformática desde los estudios de pregrado en la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas / Development of information competencies in bioinformatics since undergraduate training at the Information Sciences University

El objetivo de este trabajo fue implementar un modelo didáctico para formar competencias informacionales en estudiantes de la Ingeniería Bioinformática pertenecientes a la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas. Se realizó un estudio de caso en el que se aplicó la prueba no paramétrica Dócima de Wilcoxon, así como métodos, técnicas y procedimientos investigativos. Se obtuvo como resultado un modelo didáctico en la asignatura Ingeniería de Software, centrado en los proyectos de investigación que realizan los estudiantes en el Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología. Se concluye que el modelo aplicado es adecuado al lograrse niveles de formación de competencias informacionales en estudiantes de Ingeniería en Bioinformática(AU)

The purpose of the study was to implement a didactic model for the development of information competencies in bioinformatics engineering students from the Information Sciences University. A case study was performed based on the Wilcoxon non-parametric test as well as other research methods, techniques and procedures. The result obtained was a didactic model for the Software Engineering course, centered on the research projects conducted by students at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, in Cuba. It is concluded that the model applied is appropriate, since Bioinformatics Engineering students achieve satisfactory information competence levels(AU)

Communication in Theory and Research on Transactive Memory Systems: A Literature Review.

Transactive memory systems (TMS) theory has attracted considerable attention in the scholarly fields of cognitive, organizational, and social psychology; communication; information science; and management. A central theme underlying and connecting these scholarly fields has been the role of interpersonal communication in explaining how members of dyads, groups, and teams learn "who knows what," specialize in different information domains, and retrieve information from domain experts. However, because theoretical and empirical evidence is scattered across related, yet distinct scholarly fields, it is difficult to determine how and why communication influences TMS and related outcomes. Thus, this paper reviews literature on the relationships between communication, TMS, and outcomes in dyads, groups, and teams, and proposes avenues for future research.

Gestión de información y percepción organizacional en el Centro Nacional de Información de Ciencias Médicas de Cuba / Information management and organizational perception in the National Information Center of Medical Sciences, Cuba

El presente artículo tuvo como objetivo identificar los elementos de la gestión de información que contribuyen a generar capacidades para una adecuada percepción organizacional. Con este propósito, se contextualizó la investigación al Centro Nacional de Información de Ciencias Médicas (Infomed) por su desarrollo y principales resultados en el sector de la salud desde el ámbito de las Ciencias de la Información. Entre los métodos y técnicas se utilizó el análisis documental y de contenido para la caracterización de la institución, y la encuesta a directivos y especialistas de nivel estratégico. Entre los principales resultados del estudio se encontraron el carácter informacional de la percepción organizacional y sus procesos específicos. Se identificaron los elementos informacionales de la gestión de información que incidían en el desarrollo de las capacidades perceptivas, enfocados principalmente hacia el análisis y el uso de la información estratégica, su monitoreo y la vigilancia sistemática, los escenarios de construcción de significados compartidos, los procesos informacionales y gerenciales que se desarrollaban en el proceso, y la cultura informacional. El estudio concluyó que la gestión de información incide directamente en la percepción organizacional, y presenta elementos informacionales que -articulados de forma estratégica- pueden favorecer las capacidades de percepción de una organización(AU)

The objective of this article was to identify what elements of information management contribute to generating capacities for an adequate organizational perception. With this purpose, the research was contextualized to the National Information Center of Medical Sciences (Infomed) for its development and main results in the health sector from the field of information sciences. Among the methods and techniques, documentary and content analysis was used for the characterization of the institution, and the survey of managers and specialists at the strategic level. Among the main results of the study were the informational nature of the organizational perception and its specific processes. The informational elements of information management that influenced the development of perceptual capacities were identified, focused mainly on the analysis and use of strategic information, its monitoring and systematic surveillance, the settings for the construction of shared meanings, the informational and managerial processes that were developed in the process, and informational culture. The study concluded that information management directly affects the organizational perception, and presents informational elements that, strategically articulated, can favor the perception capacities of an organization(AU)

[Medicine 4.0, the importance of electronics, information technology and microsystems in modern medicine - the case of customized chemotherapy]. / « Médecine 4.0 ¼ ou de l'importance des nouvelles technologies dans la médecine moderne - Le cas de la chimiothérapie personnalisée.

A paradigm shift seems to emerge, not only in industrial engineering ("Industry 4.0") but also in medicine: we are on the threshold to "Medicine 4.0". For many years, molecular biology had a leading position in life sciences, but today scientists start realizing that microelectronic systems, due to an increasing miniaturization, are reaching the scale of human cells and consequently can be used for therapeutic approaches. This article shows how microelectronics can play a major role in modern medicine, through the example of customized chemotherapy. This consists in determining, before the beginning of the treatment, what kind of chemotherapy or drug combination will be most effective for a given patient, and at which dose. This of course allows the lessening of a patient burden during treatment, but also to be more efficient and, in the long run, to save money. In order to do this, we have developed the Intelligent Microplate Reader (IMR), which allows us to accurately test different drugs on living cells by mimicking part of their usual environment.

Materials Informatics: Statistical Modeling in Material Science.

Material informatics is engaged with the application of informatic principles to materials science in order to assist in the discovery and development of new materials. Central to the field is the application of data mining techniques and in particular machine learning approaches, often referred to as Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) modeling, to derive predictive models for a variety of materials-related "activities". Such models can accelerate the development of new materials with favorable properties and provide insight into the factors governing these properties. Here we provide a comparison between medicinal chemistry/drug design and materials-related QSAR modeling and highlight the importance of developing new, materials-specific descriptors. We survey some of the most recent QSAR models developed in materials science with focus on energetic materials and on solar cells. Finally we present new examples of material-informatic analyses of solar cells libraries produced from metal oxides using combinatorial material synthesis. Different analyses lead to interesting physical insights as well as to the design of new cells with potentially improved photovoltaic parameters.

The information science of microbial ecology.

A revolution is unfolding in microbial ecology where petabytes of 'multi-omics' data are produced using next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry platforms. This cornucopia of biological information has enormous potential to reveal the hidden metabolic powers of microbial communities in natural and engineered ecosystems. However, to realize this potential, the development of new technologies and interpretative frameworks grounded in ecological design principles are needed to overcome computational and analytical bottlenecks. Here we explore the relationship between microbial ecology and information science in the era of cloud-based computation. We consider microorganisms as individual information processing units implementing a distributed metabolic algorithm and describe developments in ecoinformatics and ubiquitous computing with the potential to eliminate bottlenecks and empower knowledge creation and translation.