Fourth Year Course in Medical Informatics Dr Peter Cantillon Mr. Ben Kanagaratnum What is Medical Informatics?

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?

Medical Informatics is “the study of how medical knowledge is created, shaped, shared and applied.” Enrico Coiera 1997

Medical Informatics? Information Science Information Technology

Information Science Sources Types Flow Value Classification Processing

Information Science Strategic learning Perception Memory and recall Application in context Interpretation Processing information

Information technology Storing Processing Analysing Transmitting Displaying Information

Informatics Information ScienceInformation Technology Health Care IncidentalMedical ManagementClinical

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?

Managing information Greater speed and efficiency Facilitating evidence based practice Improving communication Shared environment with patients Momentum toward IT solutions Why bother?

Why bother with medical informatics????? Information explosion Drowning in an ocean facts Overloaded curriculum Running to stand still Empowered patients

Medical uncertainty Appendicitis Pain site, character, severity Associated symptoms Physical signs Low grade fever Is medicine a science? Is there uncertainty in medicine? If so why is there uncertainty in medicine? If so where does it occur in medical practice?

Medical uncertainty 40% removed at the appropriate time 30% perforated at the time of operation 30% “lily-white” Making decisions within an uncertain context

Communicating information The true meaning of any utterance is that which is construed..... Doctor to doctor communication Doctor to nurse communication Doctor to patient communication Coding/defining medical phenomena

Is the saying “doctors differ and patients die” true?? Inadequate communication Different information gathering skills Attention to detail Different interpretation skills In-built speciality biases Patient factors

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?

Electronic patient record Research and audit Evidence based medicine Communication Diary and personal management How is used? Decision support systems

Internet diagram

Virtual Private Networks Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) run over the Internet and transparently encrypt the links between sites. Dr. B. O Mahoney

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?

How doctors make decisions How medical “truth” is derived Ensuring basic IT skills Introduction to EBM Review of relevant statistical knowledge Medical uses of the internet and on-line databases Electronic patient records What this course is about?

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?

Assessment Mini thesis(September-January) OSCE !(February 2002) MCQ(February 2002) The Berman Prize is worth the effort

Medical Informatics? What is Medical Informatics? Why bother with it? How is it used? What will this course be about? How will I be assessed? How will this course benefit me?