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Health Informatics Research

Decent Essays

There is limited understanding of what Health Informatics (HI) or Health Information Technology (HIT) is outside of their respective realms. (Hersh, 2009, p. 1) When confronted with the question of what HI and HIT is, I first reach into my past for an early encounter with HI and HIT. A physician I was shadowing about a year ago, Dr. Zamir, attempted to explain the system he used that contained his patient’s electronic health records (EHRs). My limited understanding of the system he was using at the moment was analogous to my grandparent’s understanding of a cellphone. Little did I know, that Dr. Zamir guiding me through an intricate EHR system was but one of many examples of how HIT is used. Now, a year later, with a more thorough understanding of HI and how HIT is used, this essay is written to …show more content…

Informatics, as defined by The New Oxford American Dictionary, is “the science of processing data for storage retrieval” also known as information science. Hence health informatics is information science applied to healthcare or as Hoyt put it, “…is the field of information science concerned with management of health care data and information through the application of computers and other technologies”. (Hoyt, 2014, Chapter 1, Section…). The different names for Health Informatics include, clinical informatics or medical informatics in some cases also biomedical informatics (Hoyt, 2014,…) Since health informatics is more focused on information than actual technology, HIT can be thought of as being a tool to HI. (Hersh, 2009, p.2) Health information technology is simply defined as being the “application of computers and technology in health care settings.” (Hoyt, 2014, Chapter…Informatics Definition). Some examples of HIT include EHRs, personal health records (PHRs), E-prescribing and personal health tools (i.e. apps that monitor fitness). (HealthIT.gov, "Basics of Health

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