Self-Organized Scheduling in Hospitals by Connecting Agents and Mobile Devices

This chapter describes the conceptualization and realization of a real-time managed mobile information system in healthcare that implements a negotiation-based schedule system to enable a dynamic planning process.

Abstract

This chapter describes the conceptualization and realization of a real-time managed mobile information system in healthcare. The particular application addressed is a dynamic, self-organized scheduling of the treatment of patients. Building blocks for this project are locatable, interactive Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to connect medical staff and patients; physical resources are connected by locatable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips. These physical objects are represented in the information system by software agents. The multi-agent platform EMIKA implements a negotiation-based schedule system to enable a dynamic planning process. The EMIKA-System has been developed to prototype level and functionally tested in a real-time laboratory [SaEM2002]. Lessons learned from the realization pertain to technical functionality and to privacy and security issues.