Review SUMMARY In recent years impressive progress is happening in information and telecommunication technologies. The application of computers in medicine allows permanent data storage, data transfer from one place to another, retrieving and data processing, data availability at all times, monitoring of patients over time, etc. This can significantly improve the medical profession. Medicine is one of the most intensive users of all types of information and telecommunication technology. Quickly and reliably store and transfer data (text, images, sounds, etc.) provides significant assistance and improvement in almost all medical procedures. In addition, data in locations far from medical centers can be of invaluable benefit, especially in emergency cases in which the decisive role has anesthesiologists.

Summary Introduction: XXII European Congress of Medical Informatics (MIe 2009) took place in Sarajevo from August 30th to September 2nd 2009. Assessment of quality of papers presented at MIe 2009 was a process of observation, measurement, comparison and evaluation of the quality of orally presented papers. Methodology: For this study, and for the first time since EFMI founding (1976) and MIE congresses, the authors introduced a specially created quality assessment form with five relevant paper quality variables (methodological approach, international influence, scientific content, language quality, technical features) which the first author of this article used in peer-review process of papers submitted for publication in the journal Acta Informatica Medica (as Editor-in-Chief for last 18 years). The survey was conducted on the principle of random sampling of participants of MIE 2009 Conference in Sarajevo, where specially trained interviewers (final year students of medicine and engineering at the University of Sarajevo) interviewed 33 session’s chairs and 110 participants/listeners of MIE 2009 paper presentations in 33 sessions (of total 40). Data was collected, entered into a specially created database, analyzed and presented. Results: From the total of 150 oral presentations at the MIE 2009, 110 oral presentations were graded by both chairs and participants/ listeners. Grading results were compared and we found that in 60% of cases (66 papers) session chairs gave higher ratings than other participants of the congress. The highest rating was 10, and the lowest 3. Only 3 of the papers received all four grades 10 from the session chairs. The most common grade given by chairs of the session was 8 (26.36%), followed by 7 (20%), 9 (19.32%), 6 (13.18%), 10 and 5 (7.50%), 4 (5%) and 3 (1.14%). Significant differences in quality assessment of papers done by chairs and those done by other participants/listeners are observed. Conclusion: This work should demonstrate the importance of introducing universal (uniform) scale for assessment of articles at conferences that would provide objective and relevant assessment, which has not been the practice. Results obtained using a single standardized scale can be compared to each other and thus improve the quality of the articles and the congress. Future congresses can be organized in this manner and become leading events in certain fields of medical science.

In Mostar, at the Hotel Ero, on December 4th 2009 by the Medical Chamber of Herzegovina - Neretva Canton, was organized the symposium on “Medicine and Media.” At the symposium was presented 13 papers divided into two sessions. Papers were multidisciplinary in character and exhibitors were from several faculties of the University in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina that on one place meet and exchange their opinions teachers, researchers and professionals of several disciplines that deal with topics from medicine and the media - two important areas in the life of every man, which are in daily contact and mutual dependence.

Summary Introduction: In recent decades, the development and improvement of technology is rapidly advancing. The development of science, new materials, information technology, new procedures and other modern achievements were his first confirmation sought to improve living conditions, particularly in achieving better health conditions. In an effort to improve living conditions, solve the problem of severe diseases and to facilitate treatment, new technologies, almost always find its first application in medicine. In such conditions of general pressure of new modern technologies, health professionals often succumb to uncritically use these technologies. Methodology: Analyzing data collected from 30,000 research papers that have done 30 doctors of family medicine and 30 doctors of general medicine, and from interviews conducted with all 60 doctors who participated in the research. Results: a) Teams of family medicine have a significantly higher professional education, and it should be noted that there was no significant difference in length of service of employees; b) Teams of family medicine have significantly less committed population on which the care; c) Teams of family medicine in an average have fewer visits per day than the teams in general medicine; d) Information diagnostic technologies are more accessible to family medicine teams. Conclusion: It is necessary to introduce a technology assessment as a standard scientific methods in decision making and the creation of the health system. In fact, it is necessary to establish and enable institutions to assess health technologies and join the developed world in creating better health care.

Summary Family medicine physicians in their daily practice meet with a number of diseases and conditions that are the result of stress and physical trauma. One of the most frequent is post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome, which in our terms is a result of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina and in total morbidity occupies more than 30% of all mental illnesses. This paper describes one such case in our practice. Timely diagnosis means the establishment of adequate therapy and relatively successful treatment.

Summary On World Press Freedom Day (3rd of May 2009) details of the Frida Haus ranking list of press freedom in countries around the world were officially disclosed. Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked at 98 place, and in the region better ranked is only Montenegro, which is located between 78 and 80 place along with Botswana and Eastern Timor. Top rated is Iceland with 9 points and on the last place is North Korea, with 98 points. Almost every profession has its deontology/ethical principles. However, medicine and the media are specifically targeted by public controversy with regard to the consequences of their responsibilities for the individual and the overall population. Until twenty years ago, the media were the main social system or a reflection of the social system and dominated the field of public communication, which implicitly reflected in the organization, operation and effects of companies, corporations, etc. as the overall social system, increasing the gross national product and its various categories enabled boom. Medicine and health represent to a wide range of people, perhaps, the most interesting source of information, and probably there isn’t a person that once was not interested in quality professional and verified information regarding some of their medical condition or overall health status. It is estimated that today there are more than a million Web sites on health and diseases, which means that the availability of health information for users is better today than ever before. However, it is important to patients and users of web sites with health information to learn how to properly use them, and learn to assess whether the information published on this site are of reliable quality, which depends on the authors who put the information on the web site, their topicality, simplicity in use and especially the diversity of the medical content of these web pages. It is the Internet that allows the revolution in relation patient-health care- health services provider. First look is at the symptoms and other health information on the Internet before patients actually go to the doctor. In response to this there is change in the relation patient- doctor, there are attempts to allow the patient to make a test, for example, cholesterol in the blood prior to scheduling the examination by the doctor. The vision of the future is Web-based and secure health record (Medical Record) that can be maintained in some kind of health plan or supervised by a physician. Such a site can be used when the patient is traveling or when he or she goes to the pharmacy or doctor of any specialty. Access to appropriate information may strengthen patients to express their demands and medical professionalism in order to improve clinical decision making. Information on support of patients and their involvement in prevention, alternative treatments and their care should be a central part of quality improvement strategies. Improving the quality of information and helping people use the most of what is offered have to be realized by implementing the strategies. Governments should invest in public education programs to encourage people to critically evaluate health information. For their share, they will have to be aware of the scope and quality of information sources that can be used by patients, so that they can get advice from them in an appropriate manner.

Summary There are four types of responsibilities that arise on the basis of medical errors: a) Disciplinary (Punishment of the competent Association for restriction or revocation of the license); b) Civil liability (compensation); c) Criminal responsibility (protection of individual interests to protect the interests of the society); d) Violation (fine for minor damage) To increase the number of criminal proceedings mostly influenced the lack of compensation system for harm because the injured party considered that after the positive completion of criminal proceedings can easily make a claim. Therefore they do not address the local Association or Ministry of Health to investigate a case, but to the criminal proceedings to try to get compensation. It turned out that this is a dispute that is usually long lasting, with an uncertain outcome, which does not bring satisfaction to the plaintiff, and had a series of negative consequences in the general approach to the treatment of patients known as “defensive medicine”. As a result of the increased number of lawsuits due to medical errors are caused the following negative consequences: a) Great vigilance of physicians in communicating with patients, who must sign a 2-3 statements when entering the hospital, and that sometimes are not really familiar with the nature of illness and required treatment; b) Significant increase in the number of unnecessary tests which are required by doctors to insure themselves from the potential liability, which at a given moment are not really necessary; c) Lack of medical error reporting system allows individuals to avoid their reporting, which affects the course of treatment and prognosis; d) Often avoidance by the doctors to perform some necessary procedures that are risky, with increasingly open refusal to cure a poor prognosis case which they left to the next level of treatment. Disappears so called “heroic approach” to the treatment in the B&H health system known from the war period and gives way to extreme caution, because the doctors expect that their every procedure will be under scrutiny; e) All of these factors create a mode known worldwide as “defensive medicine”, which increases the cost of treatment and lower level of health care; f) Reduced volume of education, because older physicians are reluctant to let residents decide on specific work procedures and operations; g) There is already a critical shortage of some medical specialties, and inevitably follows increase in price from these service areas and increase of the waiting list.

Summary Public health is a broad field that touches several different medical disciplines such as epidemiology, public health informatics, health statistics, environmental protection (ecology), sociology, health promotion, disease prevention and organization of health care for nosological groups of the population. In Europe and the world today is developed a fairly extensive network of scientific and professional institutions engaged in research projects, studies, organization of scientific conferences and publishing scientific and professional articles from the field of public health. Their goal is to promote scientific advances in the field of public health through the exchange of experiences of public-health professionals, training, demonstration of appropriate research models, simulation and application in medical practice.

Summary Introduction: Affective disorders were known even in ancient times. Today is the official name of the ICD-10 bipolar affective disorder (F31) and represent sub category of mood disorders (affective disorders) with code F30-F39. Goal: The aim of this study was to examine and display the frequency of bipolar disorders in the total number of patients at the Psychiatric Clinic in the period 2006-2008, in order to examine the demographic profile of patients and to determine the length of hospitalization. One of the goals is also to show the number of patients with bipolar disorder compared to all other patients in the group F30-39, with respect to the research period. Patients and methods: During the research is used a retrospective-prospective study of clinical-epidemiological character. The study included all 3713 patients with different diagnoses, which were hospitalized at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Clinical Center in Sarajevo in the period from January 1st 2006 to December 31st 2008. From the total number of 3713 respondents selected are those with bipolar affective disorder, 63 (1.7%). The diagnosis was set according to ICD-10 Classification (F30-39). Results: Of the total number of patients 3713, there were 63 (1.7%) subjects with BD. From this number in 2006 was 21 (1.6%); in 2007–20 (1.7%), and in 2008–22 (1.7%) Patients with F31.1 was present in 2006 year as 5 (23.9%) cases and in 2007 the dominant group consists of respondents with F31.2–8 (40%), while in 2008 patients with F31.2 had 7 cases (31, 8%). The average duration of hospitalization in 2006 amounted to 43.7 days in 2007 to 40.9 and in 2008 to 37 days. Conclusion: Bipolar disorder is often incorrectly diagnosed as is also possible in this study given the small percentage of the disorder in relation to the total number of patients. Bipolar disorder has a direct impact on the quality of life of patients. Because of these facts, timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment are very important, and as a result, their suicide prevention.

Summary Computer technology is a reality of our modern world. It gives us a tool which can be used to help us cope with the complexity and efficiency which is often required in many areas of work. It is an erroneous assumption that it robs a situation of its human qualities. No one would deny that the use of a word processor denies the possibility of highly creative writing being produced or that computerized checkouts make the interaction skills of the checkout person irrelevant to the process of struggling with the week’s shopping once more. In many ways, the use of the computer frees the person from the drudgery of repetitive labour to allow more time and effort to be available for the more personal skills to find expression. Recording assessment data using a computer keyboard allows just as much caring communication between nurse and clients as writing it down on a form. The critical factor is not the method of recording but the interpersonal skills and motivation of the nurse. The nursing profession is at last beginning to appreciate the role which the new technology can have in improving the service provided to patients. Only by taking an active role now in the implementation of computers to clinical practice can nurses maintain control of their own professional contribution to the large complex systems at present being implemented in many health care settings. Knowledge based systems are set to become a major component in the nurse’s ability to take on this role.

Summary Medicine and the media are two areas important in the life of every man, which are in almost daily contact with each other and in dependence. Their relations in BiH are currently elemental, focused on direct, immediate needs, without defined rules, with a lot of disorientation, incompetence and irresponsibility, often without respect for at least the minimum rules of conduct and respect, often with a lot of conflict and hostility. The goal of our work is based on the analysis of newspaper articles, TV programs and Web sites in the period of one year and was to assess the current situation and suggest solutions. In order to acquire objective insight into the current situation, in the preparation of the symposium “Medicine and Media” in Mostar, we analyzed all stories related to medicine in two daily newspapers, two weekly, three TV stations in the period from September 1st 2008 to August 31st 2009, and the web sites of hospital institutions, Department of Health Insurance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ministries of Health which were available online on 1st and 2nd September 2009. In total we managed to process 402 contents as written content, TV shows or stories in TV shows and 28 web pages, and we believe that our sample is representative. We have found the following characteristics of the current situation in BiH that have to be changed: Topics in the press, web sites or programs on health services should have some kind of certification, i.e. licensing so that is clear that the contents of the announcement is made under control of health care professionals, i.e., licensed or of optional entertainment content; In cases of professional accusation of any specific person, usually a doctor, not to state full name of the before the existence of binding court decisions, or in case of possible litigation not to allow favoring of any party of the dispute; In addition to the interest in the work of health institutions it is necessary to direct media attention towards the work of the Institute and the ministries of health insurance, because very few reports deal with their work and activities; It is necessary to emphasize investigative reporting with good topics covered by professionals and annual prizes awarded to the authors of such content about medicine in BiH should be considered.