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Health Informatics

Encyclopedia of Big Data

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Background

The growth of informatics as a technical discipline reflects the increased computerization of business operations in both the private and government sectors. Informatics focus on how information technologies (IT) are applied in social, cultural, organizational, and economic settings. Although informatics have their genesis in the mainframe computer era, it has only been since the 1980s that health informatics, as Marsden S. Blois notes, have gained recognition as a technical discipline by concentrating on the information requirements of patients, health-care providers, and payers. Health informatics also support the requirements of researchers, vendors, and oversight agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

The health informatics’ domain is extensive, encompassing not only patient health and continuity of care but also epidemiology and public health. Due to the increased use of IT in health-care delivery and management, the purview of health informatics is expected...

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Further Readings

  • Falik, D. (2014). For big data, big questions remain. Health Affairs, 33(7), 1111–1114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, R. H., & Sim, I. (2004). Physicians’ use of electronic medical records: Barriers and solutions. Health Affairs, 23(2), 116–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office of the National Coordinator. (2008). The National Alliance for Health Information Technology Report to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on Defining Key Health Information Technology Terms. Health Information Technology. Available from http://www.hitechanswers.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/NAHIT-Definitions2008.pdf.

  • Raghupathi, W., & Raghupathi, V. (2014). Big data analytics in healthcare: Promise and potential. Health Information Science and Systems, 2(3), 1–10. Available from http://www.hissjournal.com/content/2/1/3.

  • Richesson, R. L., & Krischer, J. (2007). Data standards in clinical research: Gaps, overlaps, challenges and future directions. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 14(6), 687–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ScHar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, 3351 Fairfax Drive, 22201, Arlington, VA, USA

    Erik W. Kuiler

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  1. Erik W. Kuiler
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Correspondence to Erik W. Kuiler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Policy, Government and International Affairs, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Laurie A. Schintler

  2. School of Policy, Government and International Affairs, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Connie L. McNeely

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Kuiler, E.W. (2017). Health Informatics. In: Schintler, L., McNeely, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Big Data. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_109-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_109-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32001-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32001-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Health Informatics
    Published:
    23 July 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_109-2

  2. Original

    Health Informatics
    Published:
    08 September 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32001-4_109-1

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