Medical Informatics Around The World

Abstract

In the last ten years there has been an explosion in the use of computer technology in many facets of our lives. Many industries such as finance, manufacturing, and retail have embraced modern technological advances through the use of advanced computer and telecommunication technology. Unfortunately, the international health care community has been quite slow to effectively integrate new computer technology into the daily care of patients. Nevertheless, governments across the world are developing strategic plans and allocating financial resources to support the use of technology in healthcare. Medical Informatics Around The World: An International Perspective Focusing On Training Issues provides a global snapshot into such activities in 13 different countries (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States of America). Of interest, the perspective is not from recognized leaders in the field, but rather, from health care personnel embarking upon their own post-graduate training in medical informatics. The chapters of this book were essay assignments submitted by students in the Diploma of Medical Informatics course at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg in Scotland, United Kingdom. As such, the perspectives provide a fresh, original, and unique view into the individual countries use of information technology in health care as well as the unique approaches to medical informatics training.

About the Author

Andrew W. Steele, M.D., M.P.H. is an Internist with a practice at Denver Health in Denver, Colorado. He is currently Director of Medical Informatics at Denver Health and has an appointment as Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He is certified in Internal Medicine and Public Health/General Preventive Medicine. He received his B.A from Stanford University, his M.D. from Yale University, and his M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health. He has completed post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He has been working in the medical informatics field for the last six years with an emphasis on cost-effective utilization of computer technology in the clinical arena. He is currently a student in the Diploma of Medical Informatics course at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg in Scotland, United Kingdom. He currently oversees the clinical system selection, design, and implementation activities for a large integrated healthcare system. In addition, he has management oversight for the medical library, and the decision support services.