Healthcare Informatics, Introduction

Informatics is about developing methods and theory for creating, understanding, evaluating and improving IT systems. Health informatics embraces informatics on all levels, clinical roles and actors including patients, relatives and researchers. It also covers concepts such as eHealth, welfare technology and informatics that can help the elderly and others with disabilities to manage themselves more easily in everyday life. In step with the growing need for clinical documentation and collaboration, IT will have an increasing role in the health care system. Good information systems for the health care system presuppose close dialogue between several disciplines and professions; managers, purchasers, developers and users of the systems at all levels. The course offers an overall review of the most important issues in the field of health informatics. The course can be taken independently or included in the master's program in health informatics.

After completing and passing the course you will have:

Knowledge of:

• status of use of ICT in the health sector with an overview of different types of health information systems, information services and infrastructure
• health informatics in practice - different roles and actors
• electronic patient record - structure and functions
• models and concepts for health information
• standards and terminologies
• process and decision support
• current legislation and some ethical issues for privacy
• requirements capture and specification of health information systems
• design and construction of health information systems
• architecture of health information systems
• evaluation of health information systems
• development trends for eHealth

Skills for:

• basic development, specification, and introduction of health information systems
• reading professional literature and being able to make independent assessments of relevance to specific issues
• orientating yourself in the subject and finding important sources for documentation, standards, norms and practice
• reading, using and creating simple health information models

General competence so that you can:

• provide an overview of the use, opportunities and challenges related to ICT in the health sector

Lectures / exercises / group work.The course requires a minimum number of students.