Health Informatics: A Systems Perspective, Second Edition

Instructor Resources: Authors’ responses to the chapter and case study discussion questions; guidance on how the case studies may be used; PowerPoint slides of the exhibits to supplement classroom discussions and lectures; and suggested activities for exploring chapter topics, including data sets.

As the reach and influence of technology grow, the world becomes increasingly connected. What happens in one system—finance, manufacturing, research, infrastructure, supply chain, and many more—can have a significant impact on the activities and outcomes in other systems. Healthcare is no exception. Connecting all of these systems is vital in order to properly support clinical care. Health informatics has the potential to align these interlocking systems in a way that transforms clinical decision-making and healthcare delivery to optimize overall system performance.

Health Informatics: A Systems Perspective takes a systems approach to leveraging information in healthcare and enhancing providers’ capabilities through the use of technology and knowledge transfer. The book offers a conceptual framework for aligning clinical decision processes with system infrastructures, including information technology, organizational design, financing, and evaluation.

The book’s contributors—all leading academics and healthcare practitioners—balance theoretical viewpoints with practical considerations. Case studies and informative sidebars support theory with real-world applications, while learning objectives, key concepts, and discussion questions facilitate learning and reinforce content. A glossary, which defines the main concepts and key terminologies presented in the text, provides a useful overview of the material.

Thoroughly updated and revised, the second edition includes three new chapters on information systems in relation to population health, global health systems, and alternative financial mechanisms and their compatibility with innovative delivery models. Additional topics include:

• The role of human resources and information technology in healthcare
• Knowledge-based decision-making
• Transforming clinical work processes
• Nursing informatics
• Precision medicine
• Data and information security

An essential resource for students and practicing managers alike, Health Informatics: A Systems Perspective explains how information technology can enable the transformation of health organizations to improve not only the quality of healthcare, but also the health of individuals and populations.

About the Author

Gordon D. Brown, PhD, is professor emeritus in the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, where he served as department chair for 28 years. He has worked as a consultant on health system development and global health systems and as a scientist for the World Health Organization. Dr. Brown was also chair of the Commission on Accreditation for Health Management Education and a founding director and faculty member of the National Center for Managed Health Care Administration. He is the author of numerous articles and books. He has held faculty appointments at the Pennsylvania State University and the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. He earned his MHA and PhD degrees from the University of Iowa.

Kalyan S. Pasupathy, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences Research at the Mayo College of Medicine. He is the founding scientific director of the Clinical Engineering Learning Laboratories and leads the Information and Decision Engineering program in the Mayo Clinic Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery. Dr. Pasupathy’s research advances the science and technology that function at the intersection of people, processes, and information to transform care delivery systems. He received his MS and PhD degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Timothy B. Patrick, PhD, is an associate professor and was founding chair of the Department of Health Informatics and Administration in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He received his MS in computer science and PhD in philosophy/logic from the University of Missouri–Columbia, where he also completed postdoctoral studies in medical informatics through a National Library of Medicine fellowship. His current research focuses on metadata, data representation, and informatics to improve the reproducibility of biomedical science.