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We have said that Healthcare Informatics is the interdisciplinary field that makes use of computer science, information science and healthcare. In the baseline of Healthcare Informatics lie the information systems. Healthcare institutions employ Healthcare Information Systems (HCIS) to provide the staff with the computer and information support they need. In the background section, the basic definitions related to HCIS will be given.
HCIS can be defined as the system composed of data, workflows, users and technology, used to collect, store, process and provide the needed information to support healthcare institutions and professionals (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2005). It helps staff do their daily work for the services given to the patient, supports medical education by the education tools and clinical data, and provides research facilities. The aim of HCIS can be stated as to contribute to a high quality, efficient health care, for patients, consumers and medical research (Haux, 2006). HCIS may be a field-specific, e.g., Radiology Information System, or may be an integrated big one having sub-systems such as Hospital Information System (HIS). HIS serves for a whole hospital. The possible well known sub-systems of HIS are given in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Hospital information system components (most commons)
A HCIS may be a part of HIS, as given in Figure 1, or a standalone system. The most common HCISs are briefly defined below.
As the name suggests, it is the information system for the medical laboratories, Pathology, Microbiology and Biochemistry. LIS exchanges information with blood processing laboratory medical devices (auto-analyzer) automatically. LIS may be a part of HIS or it may be an independent information system.
It is the information system for the radiology departments. Like LIS, it may be a part of HIS or it may be an independent information system. Its common functions are appointment, reporting and image tracking. If the department has Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), it exchanges information with it.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Patient: A person who is under medical care.
Standard: An agreed way of doing something, published by an organization.
Nomenclature: The systematic list of names, terms and vocabulary in a particular field.
Classification: The organization of related objects according to the shared characteristics of interest.
Electronic Record: The type of record captured or produced electronically.
Medical Informatics: An interdisciplinary field that manages and organizes use of computer technologies to improve healthcare.
Information System: The system composed of hardware, software, data, workflows, users and technology, used to collect, store, process and provide the needed information to support organizations.