Don Lindberg’s outreach legacy at the National Library of Medicine

Friends and colleagues of Donald A.B. Lindberg M.D. came together to give tribute to his extraordinary contributions during his tenure (1984–2015) as Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Dr. Lindberg died in 2019. The book, Transforming biomedical informatics and health information access: Don Lindberg and the U.S. National Library of Medicine. includes four sections. The ten edited chapters in section three (the Outreach section) are briefly summarized in this overview. As Associate Director for Health Information Programs Development, Elliot R. Siegel Ph.D. coordinated NLM’s outreach programming under Dr. Lindberg’s leadership from its inception in 1989 to his own retirement in 2010. Dr. Lindberg’s legacy at NLM is one of new possibilities imagined, significant changes made in the mission and ethos of a venerable institution, and numerous successes achieved in a variety of settings and contexts. Like so much else Dr. Lindberg accomplished, these Outreach programs that profoundly changed the character of NLM would likely not have occurred without him. He made a difference.

Human Factors and Organizational Issues Section Synopsis IMIA Yearbook 2021

Objective: To select the best papers that made original and high impact contributions in the area of human factors and organizational issues in biomedical informatics in 2020. Methods: A rigorous extraction process based on queries from Web of Science® and PubMed/Medline was conducted to identify the scientific contributions published in 2020 that address human factors and organizational issues in biomedical informatics. The screening of papers on titles and abstracts independently by the two section editors led to a total of 1,562 papers. These papers were discussed for a selection of 12 finalist papers, which were then reviewed by the two section editors, two chief editors, and by three external reviewers from internationally renowned research teams. Results: The query process resulted in 12 papers that reveal interesting and rigorous methods and important studies in human factors that move the field forward, particularly in clinical informatics and emerging technologies such as brain-computer interfaces. This year three papers were clearly outstanding and help advance in the field. They provide examples of applying existing frameworks together in novel and highly illuminating ways, showing the value of theory development in human factors. Emerging themes included several which discussed physician burnout, mobile health, and health equity. Those concerning the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) were included as part of that section. Conclusion: The selected papers make important contributions to human factors and organizational issues, expanding and deepening our knowledge of how to apply theory and applications of new technologies in health.

A Survey on Biomedical Informatics for Computer-Aided Decision Support System

Biomedical computing for computer-aided biomedical diagnostics and the decision support system has developed a platform for the biomedical setting during the last few decades. As early as 1971, there were elaborate and basic applications of management information systems driven by biomedical informatics. According to a 1994 assessment, this field's literature stretches back to the 1950s. Medical decision is more challenging than ever for doctors and other caregivers due to the amount and complexity of contemporary patient information. This circumstance necessitates the application of medical computing technologies to evaluate data and formulate suggestions and/or forecasts to aid decision makers. Over the past two decades, healthcare informatics tools, such as computer-aided decision support, have grown indispensable and extensively employed. This article gives a quick overview of such technologies, their productivity applications and methodology, as well as the problems and directions they imply for the future.

Translating Data Analytics Into Improved Spine Surgery Outcomes: A Roadmap for Biomedical Informatics Research in 2021

Study Design: Narrative review. Objectives: There is growing interest in the use of biomedical informatics and data analytics tools in spine surgery. Yet despite the rapid growth in research on these topics, few analytic tools have been implemented in routine spine practice. The purpose of this review is to provide a health information technology (HIT) roadmap to help translate data assets and analytics tools into measurable advances in spine surgical care. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of PubMed and Google Scholar to identify publications discussing data assets, analytical approaches, and implementation strategies relevant to spine surgery practice. Results: A variety of data assets are available for spine research, ranging from commonly used datasets, such as administrative billing data, to emerging resources, such as mobile health and biobanks. Both regression and machine learning techniques are valuable for analyzing these assets, and researchers should recognize the particular strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Few studies have focused on the implementation of HIT, and a variety of methods exist to help translate analytic tools into clinically useful interventions. Finally, a number of HIT-related challenges must be recognized and addressed, including stakeholder acceptance, regulatory oversight, and ethical considerations. Conclusions: Biomedical informatics has the potential to support the development of new HIT that can improve spine surgery quality and outcomes. By understanding the development life-cycle that includes identifying an appropriate data asset, selecting an analytic approach, and leveraging an effective implementation strategy, spine researchers can translate this potential into measurable advances in patient care.