A framework for the development of ubiquitous patient support systems

Ubiquitous healthcare systems can provide advantages to patients, enabling them to access medical information and support systems independent of their current place and time. However, due to specific requirements regarding security and usability standard mechanisms for enabling terminal and application mobility are not acceptable for healthcare information systems. We propose a service architecture framework (the CONNECT framework) that enables content adaptation and session management for ubiquitous patient support systems and addresses requirements specific for healthcare systems. The CONNECT framework provides support for terminal and application mobility, and enables easier implementation, maintenance and adaptation of patient support systems for different types of terminals, networks and services. Additionally, it addresses security and usability requirements that are of high importance for healthcare systems. Based on the proposed framework the testing environment is implemented; and as a result, we conclude that the system's scalability and performance is not significantly affected.