The electronic health card and the telematics infrastructure are widely discussed in the German public. However, the applications which aim at improving the healthcare system by utilizing the capabilities of the service oriented healthcare telematics have hardly been addressed so far. The article discusses the potential of such value-added applications that are not subject to the limitations of current information systems in medical institutions and open up new potentials. To this end, overall requirements of value-added applications based on the architecture are illustrated by implementing a collaborative application for referral and appointment management. The issues security, interoperability, patient orientation, and system integration are of major interest.     «

The electronic health card and the telematics infrastructure are widely discussed in the German public. However, the applications which aim at improving the healthcare system by utilizing the capabilities of the service oriented healthcare telematics have hardly been addressed so far. The article discusses the potential of such value-added applications that are not subject to the limitations of current information systems in medical institutions and open up new potentials. To this end, overall r...     »