Health information systems are now widely used around the world to raise the quality of healthcare, reduce medical error rates and improve access to health information and services, and health informatics is now recognized as a separate and unique area of disciplinary study and professional practice. This book presents the proceedings of the 2011 Information Technology and Communications in Health (ITCH) conference, in Victoria, BC, Canada in February 2011. Health informatics issues are not unique to one country or one organization and with its theme of International Perspectives, this conference provides a unique opportunity to share the lessons learned by both developed and developing countries. Effective use of scarce healthcare resources, ensuring the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems and moving the science of health informatics forward are discussed, and the conference also addresses key issues at the intersection of technology and healthcare such as; privacy, ethics, patient safety, efficiency and effectiveness, which are common to healthcare providers worldwide. The improvement of healthcare systems which employ health informatics technology is dependent upon such international exchanges and solution-sharing, and this book will be of interest to all those involved in providing better healthcare worldwide.

This new edition of the classic textbook on health informatics provides readers in healthcare practice and educational settings with an unparalleled depth of information on using informatics methods and tools. However, this new text speaks to nurses and - in a departure from earlier editions of this title - to all health professionals in direct patient care, regardless of their specialty, extending its usefulness as a textbook. This includes physicians, therapists, pharmacists, dieticians and many others. In recognition of the evolving digital environments in all healthcare settings and of interprofessional teams, the book is designed for a wide spectrum of healthcare professions including quality officers, health information managers, administrators and executives, as well as health information technology professionals such as engineers and computer scientists in health care. The book is of special interest to those who bridge the technical and caring domain, particularly nurse and medical informaticians and other informaticians working in the health sciences. Nursing Informatics: An Interprofessional and Global Perspective contains real-life case studies and other didactic features to illustrate the theories and principles discussed, making it an ideal resource for use within health and nursing informatics curricula at both undergraduate and graduate level, as well as for workforce development. It honors the format established by the previous editions by including a content array and questions to guide the reader. Readers are invited to look out of the box through a dedicated global perspective covering health informatics applications in different regions, countries and continents. .

This book presents innovative research works to demonstrate the potential and the advancements of computing approaches to utilize healthcare centric and medical datasets in solving complex healthcare problems. Computing technique is one of the key technologies that are being currently used to perform medical diagnostics in the healthcare domain, thanks to the abundance of medical data being generated and collected. Nowadays, medical data is available in many different forms like MRI images, CT scan images, EHR data, test reports, histopathological data and doctor patient conversation data. This opens up huge opportunities for the application of computing techniques, to derive data-driven models that can be of very high utility, in terms of providing effective treatment to patients. Moreover, machine learning algorithms can uncover hidden patterns and relationships present in medical datasets, which are too complex to uncover, if a data-driven approach is not taken. With the help of computing systems, today, it is possible for researchers to predict an accurate medical diagnosis for new patients, using models built from previous patient data. Apart from automatic diagnostic tasks, computing techniques have also been applied in the process of drug discovery, by which a lot of time and money can be saved. Utilization of genomic data using various computing techniques is another emerging area, which may in fact be the key to fulfilling the dream of personalized medications. Medical prognostics is another area in which machine learning has shown great promise recently, where automatic prognostic models are being built that can predict the progress of the disease, as well as can suggest the potential treatment paths to get ahead of the disease progression.

Numerous studies suggest that people with a variety of health concerns are increasingly turning to online networks for social support. As a result, the number of online support communities has risen over the past two decades. Global Perspectives on Health Communication in the Age of Social Media is a critical scholarly resource that examines the illness and pain-and-suffering narrative of health communication. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as social networks, patient empowerment, and e-health, this book is geared towards professionals and researchers in health informatics as well as students, practitioners, clinicians, and academics.

Global Health Informatics: How Information Technology Can Change Our Lives in a Globalized World discusses the critical role of information and communication technologies in health practice, health systems management and research in increasingly interconnected societies. In a global interconnected world the old standalone institutional information systems have proved to be inadequate for patient-centered care provided by multiple providers, for the early detection and response to emerging and re-emerging diseases, and to guide population-oriented public health interventions. The book reviews pertinent aspects and successful current experiences related to standards for health information systems; digital systems as a support for decision making, diagnosis and therapy; professional and client education and training; health systems operation; and intergovernmental collaboration. - Discusses how standalone systems can compromise health care in globalized world - Provides information on how information and communication technologies (ICT) can support diagnose, treatment, and prevention of emerging and re-emerging diseases - Presents case studies about integrated information and how and why to share data can facilitate governance and strategies to improve life conditions

Challenges in the design, development, and implementation of health information systems, particularly in low and middle income countries, and examines approaches to addressing these.

This revised edition covers all aspects of public health informatics and discusses the creation and management of an information technology infrastructure that is essential in linking state and local organizations in their efforts to gather data for the surveillance and prevention. Public health officials will have to understand basic principles of information resource management in order to make the appropriate technology choices that will guide the future of their organizations. Public health continues to be at the forefront of modern medicine, given the importance of implementing a population-based health approach and to addressing chronic health conditions. This book provides informatics principles and examples of practice in a public health context. In doing so, it clarifies the ways in which newer information technologies will improve individual and community health status. This book's primary purpose is to consolidate key information and promote a strategic approach to information systems and development, making it a resource for use by faculty and students of public health, as well as the practicing public health professional. Chapter highlights include: The Governmental and Legislative Context of Informatics; Assessing the Value of Information Systems; Ethics, Information Technology, and Public Health; and Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security. Review questions are featured at the end of every chapter. Aside from its use for public health professionals, the book will be used by schools of public health, clinical and public health nurses and students, schools of social work, allied health, and environmental sciences.