Informatics Books

I have used this book since 1992, both as a student and as a provider. My past editions have been well thumbed through and open imediately to the charts I used most. It is invaluable in the decision making process of changing pills or starting OCPs. The ability to safely manage side effects and fine tune women's health is found in this book. I highly recommend this to the student and experienced practitioner. Well worth the money, many times over. Not sure I would want it in a PDA format.

I daily use this handbook in my practice and have bought every edition since the 7th. Every question is answered. Allows sense to be made of oral contraceptive choice and adjustment without relying on big pharma's propaganda.

This book has clear guidelines for prescribing oral contraceptive agents. It provides a section on bothersome side effects, causal factors and options. The section on contraceptive activity is good as is the composition and identification section. Very helpful, easy to use and it takes the guesswork out of oral contraception.

Consistent in it's format, easy to use,concise and up to date. Recommended to all medical personnel managing patients on oral contraceptives. I have purchased the last three editions over the last 7 years and have not been disappointed.

An excellent reference guide and teaching text for every clinician who has a personal relationship with patients of reproductive age. The book fits in a lab coat pocket and has a unique design, which enables the user to find critical information quickly and easily. It is strongly recommended to physicians, residents, nurse practitioners and all other medical professionals in an OB/GYN clinic or teaching hospital. The 11th edition includes the new patch, ring and all new pills available 9/02.

Vergil Slee, Debora Slee, and Joachim Schmidt are to be congratulated on their outstanding contribution to the field of medicine and to the management of medical information. Their book is strong on diagnosis--the authors addess the many problems with the medical record as it is currently used in most clinical settings. But unlike so many treatises on the problems with medicine, their book is equally strong on what to do about these problems. They have a powerful prescription for the endangered medical record. Furthermore, in the tradition of William Strunk and E.B.White in their masterful essay on English grammar, "The Elements of Style," the authors offer their cure in the same well-written, well-organized, comprehensible, and eminently reasonable manner that they would prescribe for the medical record itself.

Vergil Slee, Debora Slee, and Joachim Schmidt are to be congratulated on their outstanding contribution to the field of medicine and to the management of medical information. Their book is strong on diagnosis--the authors addess the many problems with the medical record as it is currently used in most clinical settings. But unlike so many treatises on the problems with medicine, their book is equally strong on what to do about these problems. They have a powerful prescription for the endangered medical record. Furthermore, in the tradition of William Strunk and E.B.White in their masterful essay on English grammar, "The Elements of Style," the authors offer their cure in the same well-written, well-organized, comprehensible, and eminently reasonable manner that they would prescribe for the medical record itself.

Before I read this book, I had given virtually no thought to the state of my medical record, assuming that it is accurate, complete and helpful to any physicians who care for me now or in the future. Like most non-healthcare professionals and average patients, my concerns have revolved around whether or not I received effective and compassionate care and whether my health insurance covered the costs. This book clearly explains why and how the current electronic record system is woefully lacking in specific diagnostic and treatment information that is critical in patient care and in determining public health policy. It also spells out how these flaws can be corrected. I am appalled to think that my medical record is in such sorry state...the information in this book should be common knowledge, and something should be done to correct the problem!

I found The Endangered Medical Record very interesting indeed. I had no concept of what a convoluted mess the medical record info was in. Pretty sad situation when you consider the medical industry moves more billions of dollars annually than the economies of most small countries.

The authors' proposed keyed entity coding system, if done properly, would retain a vast amount of accessible, critical medical information. A goldmine for epidemiologists. If all codes were then somehow put into a WHO/CDC (or other national databases) and were available as a global data pool it would be a quantum leap foreword in some of the upcoming bio crises which will surely emerge. It would all depend on a global sandardization of source coding and subsequent code capture/analysis mechanisms.

This is a fine book. Considering the span of the subject matter, the authors have done a remarkable job of reducing it to clarity. After completing the book I had an old familiar feeling I used to get after completing a college course.

Information from the health record forms the basis for health services administration. One of the reasons for health care crisis in Canada and the United States is the lack of pertinent, reliable and valid information about health services and the results of health services.

The authors weave compelling arguments to explaine why current health information systems 1)encourage distortion of information 2) fail to capture sufficient clinical detail, 3) Use ambiguous codes and 4) use classification systems for purposes for which they were not intended.

This thoughtful book will help those who wish to understand the underlying reasons why there are major problems in American and Canadian health care delivery systems.

The recommended solutions could be helpful as clinicians and administrators attempt to gain vital information about access to care, the outcomes of care and the efficency of health care delivery.

This book provides clear, concise, practical information for the nurse informaticist - regardless of beginner or expert. Excellent for quick reference and also as textbook for academics. A 'keeper' in any nursing informatics library. The Advice tips are straight from the field and tested in practice. The authors have done an excellent job of balancing theory and practicality - a reference to go to again and again.

The Nursing Informatics Implementation Guide presents a practical approach to implementing clinical information systems. It provides clear guidance for all phases of the system lifecycle. The authors draw on years of implementation experience to provide strategies for successful implementation. Additionally, the authors have a unique feature called "A Bit of Informatics Advise" with topic specific comments and tips from over 25 nursing informatics practitioners. This is a great book for anyone currently involved in system implementations or for those just getting started. This is a great resource you will return to again and again!

THis product is awesome!! with alot of information that is helpful and paramount on project implementation in general.More specifically also it provides the steps through which you follow if you wanna implement a health information system project. Thanks to the authors of the book and Amazon who readily makes the product available cheaply.

I personally know the authors through my participation on the Council on Nursing Informatics within the North Carolina Nurses Association. These women are at the top of their field. They are a wealth of information and have provided the rest of us informatics grunts with a great guide to help us along in our goal towards a national EHR.

I would recommend this text to anyone interested in informatics...or to anyone who is contemplating the purchase and installation of a electronic health record. Implementation can be a daunting task, but these ladies have broken a complex process into managable "bites" for anyone to accomplish.

I purchased the implementation book you co-authored and I just wanted to tell you thanks for giving nursing informaticists such a great tool to help us along the way during clinical information system implementations.

Des genies du Ministere de la Defense Nationale creaient l'ARPAnet, ce qui devenait l'Internet de nos jours. Quant aux auteurs, les infirmieres sont des internautes qui connaissent toutes les destinations dans l'Internet, les plus anciennes et les toutes dernieres. Car on va au File Transfer Protocol, pour savoir quelque chose des soins preventifs des diminues physiques et mentaux. On voyage au Gopher, pour connaitre le lieu pionnier Nightingale. D'une part NURSENET et NRSING-L, et d'autre part alt.support et sci.med, sont des plus reconnus et recherches lorsqu'on veut, respectivement, les nouvelles de l'Usenet et les troiscentaines de discussions Listserv. Bien sur, on fait des recherches dans les bibliotheques du Telnet, et au moyen d'Agency for health care policy and research, Alta Vista et Yahoo du World Wide Web. En fait, les voila, toutes les destinations de l'Internet!

The High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 by Vice President Al Gore Jr when he was just a young Tennessee Senator is one of the forces behind expanding the US Defense Department's ARPAnet into a personal and professional network of the people. Authors Leslie H Nicoll and Teena H Ouellette show how nursing has taken advantage of the different parts of the people's Internet: File Transfer Protocol, for fall prevention support and handicap; Gopher sites, such as the pioneer Nightingale site; about 300 Listserv health-oriented discussion lists, such as NURSENET and NRSING-L; Telnet, with specific health science libraries accessed by the associated University home page; Usenet health- and nursing-related newsgroups, mostly among the alt.support and sci.med groups; and the World Wide Web, with the AltaVista and Yahoo engines searching for free and with the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research uniquely searching and downloading full-text clinical practice guidelines. COMPUTERS IN NURSING: NURSE'S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET is a one of a kind book that works well with Robert Kiley's MEDICAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.

In order to stay abreast of the ever-changing healthcare IT and online security lexicon, it is not unusual to learn new - and review - old terminology and apply it to daily practice.

By bringing together more than 10,000 computer definitions, network terms and internet healthcare acronyms, including HIPAA, HL7 connectivity and MSFT-Windows Vista for Healthcare; the "Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security" offers a wealth of information that will help you understand something about EMRs, EHRs, CPOESs and the health related IT lingo and online security terms in use today.

The references, bibliography list and resources section was extensive and impressive. The editors really did their homework in aggregating this compendium which is the largest I have ever seen. I particularly enjoyed the "slang terms", as well as reading about the "movers and shaker's" of the industry.

For example, I was astounded to note that the early computer and software pioneer Edward Roberts of MITS and Microsoft fame (well, almost) is now a practicing physician.

I highly recommend this work which goes a long way in helping to establish a standard lexicon for this "red-hot" industry, and have the prior two related texts in the series: the "Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care" and the "Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance".

According to the editor's website: HealthDictionarySeries.com, there may be a fourth work on health policy and administration in-the-making. I will be sure to add it to my library and reference it often. I may even make a contribution, as I understand it is a wiki-like and peer-reviewed collaborative effort, for all to enjoy and participate.

Thank you.
Cecelia Teresa Perez, RN
Baltimore, Maryland

Whither the Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security?

A simple query that demands a cogent answer!

There is a myth that all stakeholders in the healthcare space understand the meaning of basic information technology jargon. In truth, the vernacular of contemporary medical information systems is unique, and often misused or misunderstood. It is sometimes altogether confounding. Terms such as, "RSS", "DRAM", "ROM", "USB", "PDA", and "DNS" are common acronyms, but is their functionality truly understood?

Computer technology and online security is also changing, and with its rapid growth comes an internal "lingo" that demands still more attention from the healthcare sector. Legislation, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, the Wired for Health Care Quality Act (WHCQA) of the Senate in 2005, the Health Information Technology Promotion Act (HITPA) of the House in 2006, and the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) of 2007 has brought a plethora of new phrases like "electronic data interchange," "EDI translator," "ANSI X-12" and "X12 277 Claim Status Notification Transactions" etc., to the profession. Hence, healthcare informatics is now being taught in medical, dental, graduate and business schools as its importance is finally recognized.

Moreover, an emerging national Heath Information Technology (HIT) architecture; in the guise of terms, definitions, acronyms, abbreviations and standards; often puts the non-expert medical, nursing, public policy administrator or paraprofessional in a position of maximum uncertainty and minimum productivity. Unfortunately, this opinion stems from the under appreciation of HIT as a prima-fascia resource that needs to be managed by others. The Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security will therefore help define, clarify and explain.

So too, embryonic corporate positions like Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) or Chief Medical Technology Officer (CMTO) continue to grow as hospitals, clinics and health systems become more committed to IT projects that demand technology savvy physician-executives. Many medical errors can be prevented, and guesswork eliminated when the Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security is used by informed cognoscenti as well as the masses. The work contains more than 10,000 entries and code-names, with extensive bibliographic references that increase its utility as a useful tool and illustrated compendium.

Of course, authoritative linguistic sources like the Dictionary serve a vast niche. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and e-prescribing has languished, and more than nine in ten hospitals have not yet implemented Computerized Physician Order Entry systems (CPOEs)*. And, HIT lags far behind other sectors in ease-of-use. As an educator, my task is to help students, late-adopters and adult-learners understand key medical information concepts. This daunting task is aided by the Dictionary as my charges use it, become more conscientious in their studies, and recognize its value as a tool for virtually every healthcare worker.

My suggestion is to use the Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security frequently. You will refer to it daily.

[...]

Richard J. Mata; MD, MS, MS-CIS
Certified Medical Planner© (Hon)
Chief Medical Information Officer [CMIO]
Ricktelmed Information Systems
Assistant Professor Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas
phone: 210.341.1739
mobile: 210.778.4925

Computers have revolutionized the workplace in many industries. However, healthcare is just beginning to grapple with the many opportunities that integrated computer systems can provide. With the quickening pace of computer innovation, many clinical healthcare workers cannot and do not have the time to sift through all the various aspects of how computers and medicine interact. Essentials of Computers for Nurses provides a strong foundation for busy professionals, researchers, and administrators in health care organizaitons. I found the book fascinating with each individual contributing author having insightful comments valuable information in their area of expertise. The overview of how medical informatics is used throughout the world was particulary helpful where we are and where we are going. The last chapter was especially welcome and has enhanced my view of how computers will impact the every day delivery of healthcare. Overall, Essentials of Computers for Nurses is an excellent book and should be a part of a professional library for not only nurses but also informatics specialists throughout the healthcare industry.

The third and latest edition of Saba and McCormick's text is almost completely unrecognisable to those familiar with the second edition, published only five years previously, and perhaps rightly so. This reflects, at least in part, the advances within nursing informatics over that time, one aspect of which is the increasing difficulty of any one or two individuals being able to cover, with the necessary degree of detail and expertise, all of the field. If any two people could cover the whole of the field, it is probably the editors of this volume, but they have adopted a sensible and pragmatic approach and brought in additional contributors to provide address many of the specialist subsets within the domain that is nursing informatics.

With over 500 pages, and 46 contributing authors, the contents page reads like a veritable who's who of nursing informatics, or at least, of US interpretations of nursing informatics. The book does, however, as befits the international involvement of the editors, draw on expertise from around the world, and includes contributions from all parts of the world, particularly in addressing the international perspectives.

The book is divided into 11 sections, and begins with an overview of the development of nurses' use of computers and of nursing informatics. It then covers informatics theory, practice, administrative, research and educational applications, as well as some of the international perspectives and emerging areas such as consumer health informatics.

I would recommend this book to all who have an interest in nursing informatics. It provides a valuable introduction to the field as a whole, and to specific applications, and good references to further reading.

I was looking for something that had an approach to healthcare informatics evaluations, and I found what I wanted in this book. This is the second edition, so don't be put off by the title, which was revised from the first edition.

The authors of this book set out the basics of evaluation techniques very comprehensively, and backed that up with excellent examples of evaluations. Even though they modified what we might recognize as standard research methodology, (use of subjectivist and objectivist approaches, when we might use qualitative and quantitative), they explain it so well, that it is easy to follow, quite apart from providing additional information about other approaches.

I thought the key theorem they included is one that Dr. Friedman developed about the use of computers to increase the value of the outcome. That is a wonderful basis to keep in mind when undertaking evaluations. Essentially the question is, does the addition of the computer improve our knowledge?

Finally, I liked many of the practical examples that they included of studies and approaches to them.

Overall, this is a great book and a solid reference for anyone interested in the subject of healthcare systems evaluations. It is as relevant to the academic reader as to the commercial practitioner.

I've read the book about 3 times. Not because of I didn't know what else to read, but more to its condensed character in covering state-of-the-art evaluation methods valid in medical, dental, and biological sciences. The authors start with a general introduction to evaluation per se (What is it? Who needs it and Why? What makes it so difficult?) and discuss next mainly in two different parts 1) objectivists and 2) subjectivist studies giving detailed hands-on the general structure, basics of measurement, study design, conduct, and analysis of each study modalities, including methodological guidelines and a proposal quality checklist! They finaly describe the organizational evaluation and hierarchy of medical information resources as well as ethical and legal considerations during evaluation studies. References after each chapter are as standard as the self-tests to give feedback and motivation. In order to get maximum benefit the reader should be familiar with basic mathematics and biostatistics. A must for all helthcare professionals conducting research.

This book hits a large cross section of audiences for the complex healthcare IT industry of vendors, user, federal, DoD, Long-Term Care, Hospitals, HMOs, and other.(...)

The degree of cross-reference terms is superb, with acronyms as well as expended terms. Very useful ... I carry it with me!

Until very recently, informatics is something pathologists typically learned by need or by personal desire. When I was a resident over 20 yrs ago, it was mainframes, and Anatomic Pathology was essentially univolved in informatics. Unfortuneately, Anatomic Pathologists largely are decades behind in informatics, which will become a major detriment in the coming Molecular age. This should be required reading for all residents in pathology and most Anatomic Pathologists. Informatics is here to stay...and if you do not start paying attention you will be left in the dust. I applaude Dr. Cowan and hope others begin to publish other works in this area, particularly related to Anatomic Pathology.

This book is an excellent resource or companion compendium for those who seek to become fluent or proficient in the corpus of knowledge that this tome represents. With the paucity or dearth of pathology informatics textbooks the authors bring a fresh and innovative perspective on the state of the art whilst covering the area with great detail. This book is a must read and should be on the shelf of any self respecting pathology informatician. This interesting read shall remain dust free with dog eared and well worn pages. Lastly, it should suffice to say that Cowan et al. have captured the true essence of the technology, and those who involve themselves with such endeavors will likely flock to this volume instinctually, like the salmon of CAPistrano. My wholehearted congratulations to Dr. Dan Cowan for help putting the field of pathology informatics on the map.

Information technology is an integral part of healthcare today but most physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals don't have the time or interest to learn more than absolutely necessary to maximize the benefits or minimize the headaches.
Definitely a handy guide to medical informatics that's easy to understand and full of useful resources and references. You will agree if you search inside this book.

Most healthcare professionals are using technology in healthcare without any formal training on how to best incorporate it into their practice, clinics, hospitals and training programs so the learning curve is often steep and slow. This book is used as a textbook for the University of West Florida online course "Introduction to Medical Informatics" which is one of four courses needed for its Certificate in Medical Informatics.
If you want to have an easy to read practical reference in your office on online patient and medical resources, clinical practice guidelines, medical programs for PDA's, patient safety to name a few...this is the book to buy!