Healthcare Informatics Science Components

With knowledge of the importance of information in healthcare practice and awareness of the information explosion, a need developed for specialists to manage and process information. The specialty is healthcare informatics. Informatics is multidisciplinary, and healthcare informatics is a combination of:
• Computer science
• Healthcare science
• Information science
• Cognitive science

Computer science refers primarily to the development, configuration, and architecture of computer hardware and software. The size of the memory, storage capacity, processing speed, and method by which computers communicate are all part of computer science. The power of computer hardware doubles approximately every 18 months. “Programs” and “software” refer to the way in which a simple, logical set of instructions (algorithms) is used to solve a problem to generate a product. Algorithms help create expert systems that, along with a set of rules and laws, assist with decision making. Software develops more slowly than hardware. The development of new automated tools has radically altered the understanding of knowledge and knowledge representations.

Healthcare science is the body of knowledge on which the healthcare profession bases its practice. The sciences of anatomy, physiology, and biology, as well as the discrete knowledge that makes each profession distinctive, offer a basis for allied health professions.

Information science and information technology involve the process of sending and receiving messages. Acquiring, transmitting, processing, and perceiving information all contribute to the effectiveness of the information. Various methods communicate information: verbal, visual but nonverbal, written, and digitized. The focus of information technology is application of information tools for the solution of business problems. Information science is interested in the flow and structure of information.

Cognitive science focuses on understanding the functions of the mind. The processes of human thinking, understanding, and remembering are part of this science. It is concerned with the nature of knowledge, its components, its sources, its development, and its deployment. How “user friendly” a computer program or piece of equipment is or how automation can reduce human error is the focus of study in cognitive science. During aur study about nursing informatics, but his observations can apply to all healthcare disciplines’ use of informatics. He suggested that informatics has evolved to include three special interest levels: technology, concepts, and function. He described early definitions ofnursing informatics that focus on technology; he also described the use of hardware, software, and system architecture in managing and processing information. Some later informaticists (Ryan & Nagle, 1994) became interested mainly in the underlying concepts of theory, arguing that without a well-articulated theoretical basis to guide the gathering of data, the practitioner will be inundated with meaningless data and information. They stressed the need for definitions, a standardized language, and criteria for organization of the data. Other informaticists interested in function focused on how the management and processing of information help nurses enter, organize, or retrieve information. They emphasized the usability of the applications to achieve specific purposes. Informatics includes all these areas, but the field has become so large that it is difficult for one person to be knowledgeable in all areas. This textbook gives an overview of all of the areas of informatics.