In order to establish OFFIS as a regional center of competence in the public health sector, the doctor`s offices play a major role in integrating both electronic and traditional forms of patient records. All pieces of information collected during the medical attendance of patients may be efficiently integrated by means of so-called Software Agents. This type of software with its unique characteristics of autonomy, reactivity, proactivity and sociability appears to be the most promising technology for the described scenario.

The goal of the research project MEDUSA is to initially evaluate the useability of Software Agents for the public health sector and then to model an adequate agent architecture possibly as a predecessor of a standardized future electronic health record. As proof-of-concept for this architecture it is planned to implement a software prototype for a typical scenario in doctor`s offices. The large number of about 8,000 doctor`s offices solely in the area of Lower-Saxony/Northern Germany offer great opportunities for developping and selling agent-based software like MEDUSA.