Health and Medical Informatics Education

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (03) ◽  
pp. 246-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Haux ◽  
F. J. Leven ◽  
J. R. Moehr ◽  
D. J. Protti

Abstract:Health and medical informatics education has meanwhile gained considerable importance for medicine and for health care. Specialized programs in health/medical informatics have therefore been established within the last decades.This special issue of Methods of Information in Medicine contains papers on health and medical informatics education. It is mainly based on selected papers from the 5th Working Conference on Health/Medical Informatics Education of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), which was held in September 1992 at the University of Heidelberg/Technical School Heilbronn, Germany, as part of the 20 years’ celebration of medical informatics education at Heidelberg/Heilbronn. Some papers were presented on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the health information science program of the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Within this issue, programs in health/medical informatics are presented and analyzed: the medical informatics program at the University of Utah, the medical informatics program of the University of Heidelberg/School of Technology Heilbronn, the health information science program at the University of Victoria, the health informatics program at the University of Minnesota, the health informatics management program at the University of Manchester, and the health information management program at the University of Alabama. They all have in common that they are dedicated curricula in health/medical informatics which are university-based, leading to an academic degree in this field. In addition, views and recommendations for health/medical informatics education are presented. Finally, the question is discussed, whether health and medical informatics can be regarded as a separate discipline with the necessity for specialized curricula in this field.In accordance with the aims of IMIA, the intention of this special issue is to promote the further development of health and medical informatics education in order to contribute to high quality health care and medical research.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Elham Nazari ◽  
Mehran Aghemiri ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Tabatabaei ◽  
Sayyed Mostafa Mostafavi ◽  
Shokoufeh Aalaei ◽  
...  

Introduction: One of the challenges of multidisciplinary disciplines such as Medical Informatics, health information technology, etc., especially for those who have just started research in this field, is the lack of familiarity with research fields in this field. Medical Informatics has various research fields related to the use of technology in the field of health care with the aim of reducing costs, improving the quality of health care and reducing possible medical errors. Iran is a country where medical informatics is a fledgling field and few universities in This field is accepted by students. Due to the specializations and clinical facilities concentrated in each university, research is being done differently and with variety. At the same time, some important fields related to the field may be missed. Therefore, in this study, in order to identify the most researched fields in this field and the neglected fields of research, the dissertations done in the field of medical informatics in Iranian universities were reviewed based on the health informatics framework.Materials and methods: Defended dissertations available to master and doctoral students in medical informatics in the years 2001 to 2018 in the universities of Tehran, Iran, Tarbiat Modares, Shahid Beheshti, Shiraz, Tabriz and Mashhad were collected in this study. Three medical informatics graduates from different universities assigned dissertation titles to a competency and an area of skill based on the Health Informatics Competencies Framework. The second stage of the study was performed by two other experts (different from the previous three experts). At this stage, the opinions of three experts on thesis were compared. Each dissertation title was assigned to a specific competency and a specific area of skill by the majority opinion method. Results: The results showed that most of the master's and doctoral dissertations in medical informatics were in the field of information science and methods, in which area of skill (data analysis and visualization) and decision support systems and informatics for participatory health were more than others. PhD students and the area of skill (decision support system) and (Architecture of health IS) are more popular with postgraduate students, while PhD students at the University of Mashhad, Tehran and Shahid Beheshti in the field of methods and basic principles of activities More than other areas, information and communication technology, biomedical science and health were not considered. Shahid Beheshti University had the most activity in the skill (Realization of benefits from IS) in the master's degree and in the degree PhD in skill (Application Mathematical concepts) has the most activity, in total, the most Competencies in which dissertations have been done in the country Competency (information science and core principles and method s) have been. In the universities of Iran, Tehran and Mashhad, the frequency of dissertations in competency (core principles and methods) and in other universities in competency (information science) has been higher. Most research in the doctoral program in 2017 was related to the University of Mashhad. Most of the research in master's degree in 2014 was related to Iran University. Most of the research in the doctoral program in 2017 was related to Mashhad University.Conclusion: The results of this research can help field researchers in conducting new research in the field and can help in useful, scientific and effective design of research projects of researchers, university professors, educational planners and health care service providers. Also, due to the interdisciplinary nature of medical informatics, the use of professors in various fields and specialties in Iranian universities can be effective in defining topics for research for theses.


1989 ◽  
Vol 28 (04) ◽  
pp. 285-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anglin

Abstract:The graduates and students of the School of Health Information Science (HIS) at the University of Victoria (UVic) have pioneered the Canadian sphere in health informatics since 1982. After six years of growth this co-operative education program has matured and establishment of a research base and graduate school has become a recent focus. In this context an evaluation of the HIS curriculum and co-op work experience from the student perspective was undertaken. Eighty-five persons, including 50 upper level students were surveyed. Thirty-five graduates were tracked and queried regarding their present employment, job satisfaction, future goals and perception oftheir professional status. In particular, students were queried on the retrospective value and/or shortcomings of the HIS co-op program. Their perceptions on the training that they have had or that they observe as leading to successful careers is documented. The student view on the ascribed role of ´change agent´ and concerns regarding the lack of professional identity are noted. The implications ofthese findings on the future form ofthe Health Information Science curriculum and the direction of its educational model are subsequently discussed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 135-139
Author(s):  
P. Fisher ◽  
D. Protti

AbstractThe University of Victoria has the only program in Canada offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Information Science. To meet the requirements of the degree, students must complete 60 units of course work (normally 40 courses) and 4 CO-OP work terms over 4.3 years. The School admits approximately 30 students each year. Seventy-five percent of the students come from British Columbia, ranging in age from 18 to 50 years with the average age being 26 years. In addition to recent high school graduates, over 40% have previous degrees or diplomas, and 65% have over 5 years of work experience. The School’s teaching team consists of 4 full-time faculty, 2 professional staff, 2 clerical staff, 7 adjunct faculty and a variable number of sessional teaching staff. The majority of the faculty have health backgrounds, totalling 150 person-years of health care experience. As of November 1995, the School had 168 graduates 75% of whom are employed in British Columbia, 17% in other parts of Canada and 8% outside the country. Sixty-five percent of the graduates work in government departments including community health agencies; 10% work in hospitals, 20% work for management consulting firms, software houses, or computer hardware firms, and 5% are otherwise employed. Almost 100% of the graduates are gainfully employed in professional positions in which their health information science degree is valued. They work as systems analysts, system designers/developers, consultants, research assistants, health-care planners, information system-support staff/trainers and client-account representatives. Some are already in senior management positions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 159-165
Author(s):  
F. Lau ◽  
E. Borycki ◽  
D. Protti ◽  
A. Kushniruk

SummaryThere is an increasing need for well qualified health informatics practitioners and for educational programs that produce them. Since 1981, the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria has delivered a range of educational programs in health informatics. The School’s objective has been to produce graduates who can assume a range of roles in health informatics, including managers, developers, researchers and evaluators of health care systems.The approach taken by the School has been to provide an integrated “holistic” approach to health informatics education that balances both theory and practice. The curriculum has emphasized interdisciplinary skills and has been based on a process of consultation with key stakeholders in both industry and academia. In addition, several new distance collaborative models for health informatics education (including a distributed MSc degree program) have been recently initiated through the University of Victoria with collaborating Canadian universities.To date, graduates of the programs offered have become highly sought after, with the demand for graduates of the programs continually exceeding the number of graduates.The core undergraduate curriculum has recently been undergone refinement to include training in new emerging areas of health informatics. In addition, a distributed MSc program has been successfully initiated by the School, currently with 23 students participating from dispersed geographical locations across Canada. The School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria has been involved in providing unique interdisciplinary education in health informatics for over twenty years. The School continues to maintain its emphasis on integrated education, refining its curriculum and moving into new areas such as distance education and cross-Canadian collaborations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (03) ◽  
pp. 294-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ammenwerth ◽  
A. Häber ◽  
G. Hübner-Bloder ◽  
P. Knaup-Gregori ◽  
G. Lechleitner ◽  
...  

Summary Objectives: To report about the themes and about experiences with practicums in the management of information systems in health care settings (health information management) for medical informatics students. Methods: We first summarize the topics of the health information management practicums/projects that the authors organized between 1990 and 2003 for the medical informatics programs at Heidelberg/ Heilbronn, Germany, UMIT, Austria, as well as for the informatics program at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Experiences and lessons learned, obtained from the faculty that organized the practicums in the past 14 years, are reported. Results: Thirty (of 32) health information management practicums focused on the analysis of health information systems. These took place inside university medical centers. Although the practicums were time-intensive and required intensively tutoring students with regard to health information management and project management, feedback from the students and graduates was mainly positive. Discussion: It is clearly recommended that students specializing in medical informatics need to be confronted with real-world problems of health information systems during their studies.


1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (02) ◽  
pp. 79-81
Author(s):  
V. Leroy ◽  
S. Maurice-Tison ◽  
B. Le Blanc ◽  
R. Salamon

Abstract:The increased use of computers is a response to the considerable growth in information in all fields of activities. Related to this, in the field of medicine a new component appeared about 40 years ago: Medical Informatics. Its goals are to assist health care professionals in the choice of data to manage and in the choice of applications of such data. These possibilities for data management must be well understood and, related to this, two major dangers must be emphasized. One concerns data security, and the other concerns the processing of these data. This paper discusses these items and warns of the inappropriate use of medical informatics.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leming Zhou ◽  
Bambang Parmanto ◽  
James Joshi

BACKGROUND The widespread application of technologies such as electronic health record systems, mobile health apps, and telemedicine platforms, has made it easy for health care providers to collect relevant data and deliver health care regimens. While efficacious, these new technologies also pose serious security and privacy challenges. OBJECTIVE The training program described here aims at preparing well-informed health information security and privacy professionals with enhanced course materials and various approaches. METHODS A new educational track has been built within a health informatics graduate program. Several existing graduate courses have been enhanced with new security and privacy modules. New labs and seminars have been created, and students are being encouraged to participate in research projects and obtain real-world experience from industry partners. Students in this track receive both theoretical education and hands-on practice. Evaluations have been performed on this new track by conducting multiple surveys on a sample of students. RESULTS We have succeeded in creating a new security track and developing a pertinent curriculum. The newly created security materials have been implemented in multiple courses. Our evaluation indicated that students (N=72) believed that receiving security and privacy training was important for health professionals, the provided security contents were interesting, and having the enhanced security and privacy training in this program was beneficial for their future career. CONCLUSIONS The security and privacy education for health information professionals in this new security track has been significantly enhanced.


2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (05) ◽  
pp. 385-387
Author(s):  
R. -D. Hilgers ◽  
R. Hofestädt ◽  
U. Hübner ◽  
P. Knaup-Gregori ◽  
C. Ose ◽  
...  

SummaryThe demand for evidence-based health informatics and benchmarking of ‘good’ information systems in health care gives an opportunity to continue reporting on recent papers in the German journal GMS Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (MIBE) here. The publications in focus deal with a comparison of benchmarking initiatives in German-speaking countries, use of communication standards in telemonitoring scenarios, the estimation of national cancer incidence rates and modifications of parametric tests. Furthermore papers in this issue of MIM are introduced which originally have been presented at the Annual Conference of the German Society of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology. They deal as well with evidence and evaluation of ‘good’ information systems but also with data harmonization, surveillance in obstetrics, adaptive designs and parametrical testing in statistical analysis, patient registries and signal processing.


2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (04) ◽  
pp. 596-600
Author(s):  
Jan H. van Bemmel

SummaryDr. Donald A. B. Lindberg, Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, received an honorary doctorate from UMIT, the University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology in Innsbruck, Tyrol. The celebration took place on September 28, 2004 at an academic event during a conference of the Austrian, German, and Swiss Societies of Medical Informatics, GMDS2004. Dr. Lindberg has been a pioneer in the field of computers in health care from the early 1960s onwards. In 1984 he became the Director of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, the world’s largest fully computerized biomedical library. Dr. Lind-berg has been involved in the early activities of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), among others being the chair of the Organizing Committee for MEDINFO 86 in Washington D.C. He was elected the first president of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and served as an editor of Methods of Information in Medicine.


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