Health informatics develops methods and tools that should, when applied to health care, contribute to a high-quality, efficient care of individuals and populations [1]. The translation of health informatics research into practice can be seen as a “continuum” from IT development to healthcare problem solving [2], starting with developing and validating early solutions (tools, algorithms, technol...

International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and European Federation of Medical Informatics are scientific associations which represents Health/Medical informatics as scientific and profesional disciplines. Those associations have long tradition in spreading knowledge, experiences and strategies in organization, practical applications and education within Health, Medical and Biomedical ...

OBJECTIVES To summarize current outstanding research in the field of Personal Health and Consumers Informatics. METHODS A selection of excellent research articles published in 2011 in the field of Personal Health Informatics and Consumer Informatics. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS This selection of articles shows that Personal Health Informatics is changing. Indeed, the different solutions tended ...

This chapter gives an educational overview of: * The need for a systematic evaluation of health information systems * How to plan and execute an evaluation study * How to select adequate quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods * How to judge the quality of an evaluation study * The idea of evidence-based health informatics.

It took decades for the work of enlightened pioneers in biomedical informatics to reach the mainstream in hospitals and outpatient care. Initial successful projects, those that were able to demonstrate impact on quality and efficiency of care, relied on locally-developed systems, painstakingly tuned to the socio-technical specificities of their organizations. It took two additional decades to r...

This editorial is part of a For-Discussion-Section of Methods of Information in Medicine about the paper "Evidence-based Health informatics: How do we know what we know?", written by Elske Ammenwerth [1]. Health informatics uses and applications have crept up on health systems over half a century, starting as simple automation of large-scale calculations, but now manifesting in many cases as ru...

Health information management graduates are employed across health, education, corporate and other sectors. Common to all health information management professionals are foundational skills and knowledge in health sciences, information and management. Unique to each individual is their ongoing education and professional development; professional growth motivated by interest, change and/or oppor...

We report on a course for medical informatics students on hospital information systems, especially on its strategic information management. Starting as course at the Medical Informatics Program of the University of Heidelberg/University of Applied Sciences Heilbronn, it is now organized as international course in the framework of the International Partnership for Health Informatics Education (h...

Although the biomedical informatics field is small relative to others in the life and health sciences, the breadth of subject domains, types of research, and occupations is vast. The biomedical informatics program at Oregon Health & Science University exemplifies the breadth in the field. At the center of our full spectrum of activities in informatics, however, is a core philosophy of the disci...

In considering a ‘history’ of Health Informatics it is important to be aware that the discipline encompasses a wide array of activities, products, research and theories. Health Informatics is as much a result of evolution as planned philosophy, having its roots in the histories of information technology and medicine. The process of its growth continues so that today’s work is tomorrow’s history...