Aamir Zakaria
Archive-name: medical-informatics-faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2003/05/10
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Medical Informatics,
sci.med.informatics
This document is intended to answer some frequently asked
questions about medical informatics and the newsgroup
sci.med.informatics. It is posted each month. It is
periodically updated and all comments and contributions
are welcome.
Recent changes:
5/10/03: Updated all links.
5/10/04: Resumed posting with my working e-mail address
(sorry for 8-yr delay).
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Contents:
6) What is medical informatics?
7) What is the purpose of the sci.med.informatics
newsgroup?
8) Where can I train in medical informatics?
9) What do people trained in Medical Informatics do?
10) How do I learn more about medical informatics?
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
11) What is medical informatics?
Simplistic definition: Computer applications in medical
care Better definition: Biomedical Informatics is an
emerging discipline that has been defined as the study,
invention, and implementation of structures and algorithms
to improve communication, understanding and management of
medical information. The end objective of biomedical
informatics is the coalescing of data, knowledge, and the
tools necessary to apply that data and knowledge in the
decision-making process, at the time and place that a
decision needs to be made. The focus on the structures and
algorithms necessary to manipulate the information
separates Biomedical Informatics from other medical
disciplines where information content is the focus. Even
better: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/dbmi/informatics.html
12) What is the purpose of the sci.med.informatics
newsgroup?
As stated in the Charter: The focus of this newsgroup will
be the discussion of the grand challenges facing medical
informatics today (and tomorrow). Appropriate topics
include, but are not limited to:
* Medical Information Standards
* Medical Informatics Training
* IAIMS (Integrated Academic Information
Management Systems)
* Computerized Medical Records
* Clinical Information Systems (including radiology,
laboratory, pharmacy, nursing, etc.)
* Physician Order Entry Systems
* Computer-Aided Instruction
* Medical Expert Systems
* Nursing Informatics
* Announcements of Interest, e.g. conferences,
journals, societies
* National Library of Medicine
* Health Information Networks
* Medical Software Reviews
* Research Funding Opportunities
* Policy Making (including procurement and
certification of medical software)
* Medical Software Engineering
* Cultural/Sociologic Changes
* Medical Software Security
* Telemedicine
* Veterinary Informatics
3) Where can I train in medical informatics?
National Library of Medicine training sites in U.S.:
Harvard, New England Medical Center, Pittsburgh,
Stanford, Yale, Duke-UNC, Oregon Health Sciences U.,
Rice-Baylor, U.Missouri, Columbia, U. Minnesota Some
other U.S. programs: Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins,
Utah, Alabama,
U.Washington, Harvard/Center for Clinical
Computing, U.Penn/ Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Outside U.S.: Victoria (Canada), Geneva
(Switzerland), Heidelberg/ Heilbronn (Germany),
Hildesheim (Germany), Luebeck (Germany),
Manchester (UK), Campinas (Brazil)
Many others exist, some of which are catalogued in the
following site:
http://www.amia.org/resource/acad&training/f1.html
4) What do people trained in Medical Informatics do?
Many people who train in medical informatics have
professional degrees in a health related area. Nurses,
physicians, medical librarians, and computer scientists
will each find their professional niche in a different
area: Consultants with management consulting firms,
hospital record managers, data analysts, librarians,
senior staff in state health departments, programmer/
analysts in industry, and just good old family doctors.
Different educational programs have varying expectations
for their students future careers. It is best to contact
each program to explore the range of career opportunities
their graduates are prepared for.
5) How do I learn more about medical informatics?
Popular textbook: Medical Informatics by Shortliffe and
Perreault. Popular journals: Journal of the American
Medical Informatics Association,
M.D. Computing, Methods of Information in Medicine,
Computers and Biomedical Research Other
sources: Yearbook of Medical Informatics,
Proceedings of Symposium on Computer
Applications in Medical Care, MEDINFO
Proceedings Good Review article: Greenes RA.
Shortliffe EH. Medical informatics. An emerging
academic discipline and institutional priority.
JAMA.263(8):1990 Feb 23. A Few WWW Home-Pages:
American Medical Informatics Association
(AMIA): http://www.amia.org/index.html
Vanderbilt: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/dbmi/
Stanford: http://www-camis.stanford.edu/ Duke:
http://dmi-www.mc.duke.edu/
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
Acknowledgements: Dean Sittig, Robin Lake, Al Stone, Oliver
Niedung, Joseph Hales.
Further submissions, corrections, updates to
<zakaria@verizon.net>
(N) 1995,2003 Aamir M. Zakaria
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 2003/05/10
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Medical Informatics,
sci.med.informatics
This document is intended to answer some frequently asked
questions about medical informatics and the newsgroup
sci.med.informatics. It is posted each month. It is
periodically updated and all comments and contributions
are welcome.
Recent changes:
5/10/03: Updated all links.
5/10/04: Resumed posting with my working e-mail address
(sorry for 8-yr delay).
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
Contents:
6) What is medical informatics?
7) What is the purpose of the sci.med.informatics
newsgroup?
8) Where can I train in medical informatics?
9) What do people trained in Medical Informatics do?
10) How do I learn more about medical informatics?
------------------------------------------------------------
---------------
11) What is medical informatics?
Simplistic definition: Computer applications in medical
care Better definition: Biomedical Informatics is an
emerging discipline that has been defined as the study,
invention, and implementation of structures and algorithms
to improve communication, understanding and management of
medical information. The end objective of biomedical
informatics is the coalescing of data, knowledge, and the
tools necessary to apply that data and knowledge in the
decision-making process, at the time and place that a
decision needs to be made. The focus on the structures and
algorithms necessary to manipulate the information
separates Biomedical Informatics from other medical
disciplines where information content is the focus. Even
better: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/dbmi/informatics.html
12) What is the purpose of the sci.med.informatics
newsgroup?
As stated in the Charter: The focus of this newsgroup will
be the discussion of the grand challenges facing medical
informatics today (and tomorrow). Appropriate topics
include, but are not limited to:
* Medical Information Standards
* Medical Informatics Training
* IAIMS (Integrated Academic Information
Management Systems)
* Computerized Medical Records
* Clinical Information Systems (including radiology,
laboratory, pharmacy, nursing, etc.)
* Physician Order Entry Systems
* Computer-Aided Instruction
* Medical Expert Systems
* Nursing Informatics
* Announcements of Interest, e.g. conferences,
journals, societies
* National Library of Medicine
* Health Information Networks
* Medical Software Reviews
* Research Funding Opportunities
* Policy Making (including procurement and
certification of medical software)
* Medical Software Engineering
* Cultural/Sociologic Changes
* Medical Software Security
* Telemedicine
* Veterinary Informatics
3) Where can I train in medical informatics?
National Library of Medicine training sites in U.S.:
Harvard, New England Medical Center, Pittsburgh,
Stanford, Yale, Duke-UNC, Oregon Health Sciences U.,
Rice-Baylor, U.Missouri, Columbia, U. Minnesota Some
other U.S. programs: Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins,
Utah, Alabama,
U.Washington, Harvard/Center for Clinical
Computing, U.Penn/ Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Outside U.S.: Victoria (Canada), Geneva
(Switzerland), Heidelberg/ Heilbronn (Germany),
Hildesheim (Germany), Luebeck (Germany),
Manchester (UK), Campinas (Brazil)
Many others exist, some of which are catalogued in the
following site:
http://www.amia.org/resource/acad&training/f1.html
4) What do people trained in Medical Informatics do?
Many people who train in medical informatics have
professional degrees in a health related area. Nurses,
physicians, medical librarians, and computer scientists
will each find their professional niche in a different
area: Consultants with management consulting firms,
hospital record managers, data analysts, librarians,
senior staff in state health departments, programmer/
analysts in industry, and just good old family doctors.
Different educational programs have varying expectations
for their students future careers. It is best to contact
each program to explore the range of career opportunities
their graduates are prepared for.
5) How do I learn more about medical informatics?
Popular textbook: Medical Informatics by Shortliffe and
Perreault. Popular journals: Journal of the American
Medical Informatics Association,
M.D. Computing, Methods of Information in Medicine,
Computers and Biomedical Research Other
sources: Yearbook of Medical Informatics,
Proceedings of Symposium on Computer
Applications in Medical Care, MEDINFO
Proceedings Good Review article: Greenes RA.
Shortliffe EH. Medical informatics. An emerging
academic discipline and institutional priority.
JAMA.263(8):1990 Feb 23. A Few WWW Home-Pages:
American Medical Informatics Association
(AMIA): http://www.amia.org/index.html
Vanderbilt: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/dbmi/
Stanford: http://www-camis.stanford.edu/ Duke:
http://dmi-www.mc.duke.edu/
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
Acknowledgements: Dean Sittig, Robin Lake, Al Stone, Oliver
Niedung, Joseph Hales.
Further submissions, corrections, updates to
<zakaria@verizon.net>
(N) 1995,2003 Aamir M. Zakaria
