As in the industrial field, but probably with much less maturity, the Health Cyber-Physical Systems (HCPS) are a key element in the evolution and modernization of the health system. However, it is delicate and risky to imagine a direct transposition of the Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS) without taking into account the specificities of the health system, presented in this chapter. The term “health system” refers to all the organizations, institutions, resources, and people whose main objective is to identify and satisfy the health needs of the population.
Three major classes of actors constitute it: (1) the producers of care, (2) the institutions in charge of the administrative and financial organization, and (3) the population as users. In this chapter, we are mainly interested in the production of care. It takes place in healthcare structures (public and private health establishments), home care networks, private practices, and preventive structures (maternal and child protection, school medicine, occupational health services), including pharmaceutical industries and analysis laboratories.
