Informatics for Healthcare Professionals.

Informatics for Healthcare Professionals

Young KM. Philadelphia, PA 19103, FA Davis Co, 2000, paperback, 304 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-8036-0619-2, $29.95.

The purpose of this text is to provide a generic, mid-level informatics (the organization, analysis, management, and use of health care information) book for use in professional health care curricula. It is intended for entry-level students in any health care profession, and it can support an entire informatics course or serve as a supplement to existing textbooks. The author clearly states the need for such a text by writing that effective information management is critical to clinical problem solving and decision making. In addition, she states that, because informatics education is more than teaching computer literacy, few books are available to provide educators with the breadth and depth of material that is presented in this text.

The text consists of 14 chapters, each of which contains pedagogical aids such as learning objectives, an applicable clinical scenario to engage the interest of the student, a chapter summary, learning exercises, and a list of references. The text also contains a glossary of terms common to medical informatics. The first 4 chapters underline the importance of informatics by presenting an overview of the nature of information management in health care and its effect on clinical practice. These chapters discuss the need for accurate information in decision making and describe the role of humans versus machines in this process. The author points out a series of problems that can occur with inaccurate or insufficient information resulting from either inadequate information systems or human limitations. She discusses the potential effect that these problems can have on patient care.

Three chapters, one of which is an excellent chapter on information security, are devoted to the specifics of classifying information from the use of words to several forms of electronic health records seen in today's practice environment. The 2 chapters that follow are devoted to the process of changing the information management system and include a detailed discussion of the steps used in the development of an information system at the organizational level. An entire chapter is devoted to the role of informatics in the managed care environment, an environment that emphasizes outcomes tracking and case management. In addition, one chapter briefly covers electronic communication, focusing on e-mail and the World Wide Web. Although this coverage is limited, it is probably adequate given the familiarity of today's students with electronic communication. Conversely, the subsequent chapter on telehealth is likely to provide the reader with a good overview of newer initiatives in this form of communication. The final chapters deal briefly with the use of data and databases in research and the future of informatics.

Although the text is designed for the student in the health care professions, it could serve as an excellent reference for any clinical department, especially those in which changes in the information management system are occurring. The author has presented the key aspects of this expanding field clearly and in a "user friendly" manner, making this an excellent initial exposure to informatics. If a health care curriculum has a course in information management, this book certainly could provide the basic elements that need to be covered. It also would be an excellent entry-level resource for the educator who teaches this content.

Rosalie B Lopopolo, PT, PhD, MBA Beaver College Glenside, Pa

Dr Lopopolo is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. Her research interests are in clinical management, clinical outcome assessment, and health care change.