Informatics

Informatics
Student’s Name
Institution
Some terms are crucial to understanding health informatics and health IT in general. One of these is information management which may be defined as the collection, generation, validation, organization, integration, and analysis of data and the subsequent transmission, dissemination, utilization, presentation, and communication of the information (Giannangelo, 2012). A document or content management system would be one of the modes of information management. Information system, on the other hand, may be defined as an automated system that utilizes computer software and hardware to store, record, recover, manipulate as well as disseminate data (Giannangelo, 2012). With regards to health, information technology may involve the sharing, storage, and retrieval of healthcare data, information, and knowledge for decision making among other functions. Examples include financial and administrative systems that enable accounting, customer billing, among other functions.
Biomedical informatics, on the other hand, is the field that aims at pursuing the effective deployment of knowledge, information, data to problem-solving, scientific inquiry, and decision making to realize better health outcomes. Examples may include the use of computer-based techniques as well as computational approaches to solving complex clinical problems. It has four subfields which include bioinformatics, imaging informatics, clinical informatics, and public health informatics (Giannangelo, 2012).

Public health informatics examples may include immunization information systems, immunization registries, homeland security, and “The National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System” among others. Clinical informatics, on the other hand, is the application of clinical science, information, and computer science to manage clinical knowledge, information, and data for better clinical practice. An example is the Electronic medical record (EMR). Imaging informatics, on the other hand, is concerned with issues relating to images and their use in health care. Examples include the CT scanner and the “Picture Archiving and Communication Systems” (PACS). Bioinformatics, on the other hand, attempts to explore how information is transmitted and represented in various biological systems for example in genomic sequencing.
This content is important in that there has been an increased need for the use of IT and technology in health care in recent years. The focus has been on the implementation and adoption of electronic health records as well as medical records, eHealth, and on a desire to exchange health information from one institution to another within a larger hospital system, community or region. The use of information technology has made diagnosis, treatment, and follow up faster and easier as information can be readily found and disseminated to areas needed in a faster manner. This has led to high-quality healthcare. It is, therefore, important as a nurse to know how the various informatics work as I will constantly be interacting with them at work. In preparation of electronic health records, I will be making use of the informatics knowledge. I am also planning with time to take a course in healthcare informatics to enable me to help patients to interact with their nurses and physicians in a better way after knowing more about the electronic medical records. I would also contribute largely to bringing quality health care to the community by making various information available to hospitals, nurses, and physicians.
I can currently say that my knowledge in informatics is just basic, but I am confident that it will have improved by the time I am through with this coursework and after interacting with more patients and colleagues in the workplace. While working as an intern in one of the hospitals, I was able to come in contact with some informatics such as the electronic health and medical records that would be used to follow up diagnosis and treatment of patients across various departments and hospitals. The EMR normally contains health-related information about a patient that is consulted by nurses, physicians and other staff in an organization (Giannangelo, 2012). It, on the other hand, can be used across various hospitals. These records ensured that we were able to keep track of patients’ medication and requirements easily.
References
Giannangelo, K., Johnson, C., Crockett, S., Flass, D. & Reynolds, B. (2012). Unit 1: What is health informatics? In Introduction to health IT systems. Duke University. Retrieved from http://www.healthinformaticsforum.com/courses/6-health-management-nformation-systems.
Giannangelo, K., Johnson, C., Crockett, S., Flass, D. & Reynolds, B. (2012). Unit 2: What is health informatics? In Introduction to health IT systems. Duke University. Retrieved from http://www.healthinformaticsforum.com/courses/6-health-management-nformation-systems.
Giannangelo, K., Johnson, C., Crockett, S., Flass, D. & Reynolds, B. (2012). Unit 3: What is health informatics? In Introduction to health IT systems. Duke University. Retrieved from http://www.healthinformaticsforum.com/courses/6-health-management-nformation-systems.