Abstract: Information systems and artificial intelligence have plenty applications on the medical field and they are wide and common. Computer support has shown that can improve the quality of general medical care. It can improve the efficiency and optimize the management of the sanitary system and the clinical practice; and can reduce errors. Most countries are using electronic health records for the primary care system and hospitals. Electronic drug prescribing has significantly
reduce drug errors. Telemedicine (including robotics) had delivered specialized medicine regardless the distance where the patients or physicians are located. Digital imaging management has facilitated the availability of images throughout the whole healthcare system, dramatically reducing film-developing and other costs while making them immediately available to the practitioner. Informatics management is fundamental to health care delivery. These are just a few examples among several other applications. Our laboratory, in Venezuela, has developed several expert systems and information systems that have been particularly designed for educational purposes; and recently we have developed some that also have applications on management. The plenary session includes the features and applications of the systems as well as their limitations in a developing country like ours. The trends and possible future for these systems are also discussed.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Carlos Rivas-Echeverria, MD, PhD, FACP. Specialist in Internal Medicine and in Critical Care. Has a Master Degree on Sleep Medicine and a Diplomate on Franchising Systems Management. Is the Head of the SLEEPCARE Sleep Clinics. Is Full Professor at the University of Los Andes, Head of the Department of Pharmacology. He is cofounder and active Member of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory. Over 60 publications in high level conferences and journals: the main topics of his papers are: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, sleep disorders, traffic accidents and artificial intelligence.