6. MEDICAL INFORMATICS – DO WE FEEL THE NEED?
Medical
Informatics is nothing but the science and art of processing (bio) medical
information (where information is the processed data). The use of computers is
inevitable here. The information may be retrieved both on-line (e.g.,
through Internet) or off-line (e.g.,
through CD-ROMS, floppies, magnetic tapes, and last but not the least: paper i.e., books and journals). EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) is
gradually becoming popular for managing both common and uncommon medical
problems. In this age of “Information Explosion” choosing the useful one is
rather difficult, and that brings in the scope of data management and research.
The usefulness of a database can be assessed only by its proper management
(building, indexing and updating). However, still many outstanding personnel
related to the healthcare sector take pride in being “computer illiterate”.
Reaching
a foolproof diagnosis is never an easy job for a clinician. Often, a simple
diagnostic procedure or test is overlooked and the disease eludes diagnosis.
Clinical reasoning and decision making are phased. Initially there is a clinical
evaluation (history taking and physical examination), followed by precise
laboratory investigations. Then integration of clinical findings and test
results is done. After that, comparative benefits and risks are weighed among
the alternative courses of actions, like drug interactions. Finally, the
patient’s preferences are taken into account, along with ethical and other
considerations like cost of therapy, compliance expectations and a therapeutic
plan is developed. Right from the first step (history taking) to the final one,
computers can be of immense help to the clinician. I have the pleasure of
developing some diagnostic decision support systems for medical education,
research and communication. Nevertheless, for computer-assisted diagnostic
systems, a human clinician (“man in the loop” for “Intelligence
Amplification”) must be a necessary component. Moreover, the clinician must
understand completely the strengths and limitations of them. Computerized
diagnostics and clinical acumen are not mutually exclusive; rather they should
reinforce each other for the alleviation of psychosomatic suffering of mankind.
However, with sophisticated
gadgetry taking the upper hand, the “human touch” should not be overlooked
or forgotten.
Modes
of information
•
Voice (cf. Shruti &
parampara)
•
Images (x-rays, slides, ekg, others)
•
Simple data (e.g., Blood, urine
or csf report for biochemistry, pathology, microbiology)
•
Combination of the above
•
Mechanical intervention (e.g.,
Robotic telesurgery)
Scopes for medical informatics
•
Retrieval of information
On-line (internet)
Off-line (cd-rom, etc., Books
& journals)
•
Information explosion management
•
Database management
•
Final analysis & inference
Uses
of computers:
Ø
Hardware
•
Dedicated
•
Networked
•
Magnabyte / lcd projector
Ø
Software
•
paper
•
Text books / journals on
cd-rom
Accessories
Scifinder scholar)
§
Monochrome
§
Multi-color
§
E.g., Color laser printout
directly on transparency film
§
Scanner
§
Scan
any figure
or photograph
& display or print
§
Cf.
Epidiascope, pexiscope & lcd projector
Websites for literature survey:
1.http://www.medportal.com
(Medline Search)
2.http://www.doctorspage.net/quotes.asp
(Medical quotations)
3. http://cebm.jr2.ox.ac.uk/docs/searching.html
(Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford)
Websites of International Institutes
1. http://www.who.org (WHO)
2. http://www.hhmi.org(Howard Hughes Medical
Institute)
3. http://www.ibro.org
(International Brain Research Organization)
Websites for Indian Biomedical Organizations
http://sctimst.ker.nic.in/ (Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical
Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) an Institute of National Importance under
the Government of India)
http://www.nrdcindia.com/ National Research Development Corporation (A
Government of India Enterprise)
http://www.medisourceasia.com/industrynews/
http://www.mcsindia.org
http://www.indmedica.com
http://www.icmr.nic.in (ICMR)
Websites for Museums
1. http://www.si.edu (The Smithsonian
Institute)
2. http://vh.org (Virtual Hospital)
3. http://members.evansville.net/ict/prostheticvalveimagegallery.htm
Some journals on-line:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/gandb_online.html
http://www.ndigital.com/research.html
http://www.blacksci.co.uk http://www.bmj.com
http://www.jima-online.org
Another useful, powerful and fast SEARCH ENGINE is http://www/google.com
Some useful sites for Medical Informatics are:
1. Duke Clinical Informatics Home Page <http://dmi-www.mc.duke.edu/>
Click here to link to New Duke University Clinical
Informatics site
dmi-www.mc.duke.edu/ - 1k
2. On-line lessons in Clinical
Informatics <http://www.informatics-review.com/lessons.html>
The Informatics Review > On-line
lessons in Clinical Informatics.
Informatics Lessons. ...
The Informatics Review > On-line
lessons in Clinical Informatics.
...
www.informatics-review.com/lessons.html - 16k
3.
The Informatics Review: An on-line journal focusing on clinical
...<http://www.informatics-review.com/>
...Clinical Computing and Informatics
News: A User's Manual For The IOM's 'Quality Chasm' Report Patients' experiences
should be the fundamental source of the ...
Description: An on-line journal devoted to the field of clinical informatics and
computer-based decision making. www.informatics-review.com/ - 44k - 19 Jun 2024
4. NIH
Guide: CLINICAL INFORMATICS TO PROMOTE PATIENT SAFETY <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HS-01-006.html>
CLINICAL INFORMATICS TO PROMOTE PATIENT SAFETY Release Date: February 22,2024
RFA: RFA-HS-01-006 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (formerly AHCPR ...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/ RFA-HS-01-006.html - 57k
5. Center
for Clinical Informatics <http://www.clinical-informatics.com/>
... The Center for Clinical
Informatics provides tools to mental health professionals to
demonstrate the value of their services while enhancing treatment outcomes...www.clinical-informatics.com/
- 7k
6. Applied
Medical Informatics <http://www.med.umich.edu/ami/aci/>
... ACI(Applied Clinical Informatics);
Healthcare Technology Standards;
Patient Care Information System (PCIS); TeleMedicine; Video Services.
www.med.umich.edu/ami/aci/ - 2k
7. Office of
Clinical Informatics <http://www.mcw.edu/oci/>
Medical College of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin Office of
Clinical Informatics. Rick D. Gillis, MD Director. Gary P. Barnas ...
www.mcw.edu/oci/ - 3k
8. Calgary
Health Region Clinical Informatics Unit Home Page <http://www.crha-health.ab.ca/supp/ciu/>
... Welcome to the Clinical
Informatics Unit Web Pages. ...
To educate Region staff and physicians on the role of clinical informatics in
their service delivery....www.crha-health.ab.ca/supp/ciu/
- 17k
9. Eskind
Biomedical Library: Clinical Informatics Consult Service <http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/biolib/services/cics.html>
... Clinical Informatics
Consult Service. ... Information
needs of clinical teams: analysis
of questions received by the Clinical
Informatics Consult Service. ...
www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/biolib/services/cics.html - 23k - 19 Jun 2024
10. Main Informatics Page <http://hesweb1.med.virginia.edu/informatics/>
... The Division of Clinical
Informatics is involved in clinical
investigations and
management studies with the other divisions of DHES and other units of the ...
hesweb1.med.virginia.edu/informatics/ - 8k
11. Medical Informatics Unit Home Page <http://www.medinfo.cam.ac.uk/>
... exchange of clinical knowledge (eg WAX ) are a growing area of the Unit's
research,
resulting recently in the creation of the Centre for Clinical Informatics. ...
www.medinfo.cam.ac.uk/ - 8k
12. Centre for Clinical Informatics <http://www.medinfo.cam.ac.uk/cci/default.asp>
Centre for Clinical Informatics
(CCI). The Centre for Clinical Informatics
supports research into, and development of, information ...
www.medinfo.cam.ac.uk/cci/default.asp - 6k
13.Emergency Medicine at NCEMI: emergency medicine and primary care ... <http://www.ncemi.org/>
... Emergency Medicine Informatics
Library Computerize your emergency department ...
Specific
epidemiological, clinical, and
microbiological findings should lead to ...
Description: Collection of medical resources for emergency medicine, primary
care, and acute care. Medical search... www.ncemi.org/
- 101k
14. Research Informatics 2000: Optimizing and Integrating Informatics ... <http://www.healthtech.com/conference/00dmn/>
... e-Research Informatics Scaling up into the Future Integrating Drug Discovery
and
Evaluation Information Clinical Informatics:
From Academia to the Field ...
www.healthtech.com/conference/00dmn/ - 33k
15. MJA: Coiera, 10 essential clinical informatics skills <http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/apr6/coiera/coierbox.html>
Ten essential clinical informatics skills. Understand the dynamic
and uncertain nature of medical knowledge, and be able to keep ...
www.mja.com.au/public/issues/apr6/coiera/coierbox.html - 5
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